Real photography is harder than I remember…

I used to make images, now I seem to take snapshots. Photography takes practice and I’ve been rusting for a while. Mind you, I enjoy snapshots and they definitely have their place, but it’s good to spend time practicing too…

To that end I’ve acquired a Fujifilm X100. It’s a bit of a throwback to a lot of the old Japanese fixed lens rangefinders I’m so fond of, though it is not a rangefinder (has the look though). It does have a fixed lens though so composition is everything. It can make spectacular images when the brain behind the lens is up to it…me? Not so much.

It arrived today in time for me to run off to the Punahou Carnival and spend some time playing. Here’s one…

Ride at Punahou Carnival 2012

Thunderstorms last night…

Yesterday I was lucky enough to get in a decent ride before the weather decided that we needed a real scouring. Thunderstorms moved across the state unleashing rain, hail, lightning, waterspouts, and bringing us downed trees, power outages, as well as some spectacular fireworks.

My friend Andy Collins took some images last night and gave me permission to post them here. Pretty wild stuff.

Lightning - Branches of Fire

Branches of Fire - Photo Credit: Andy Collins


Honolulu Lightning

Honolulu Lightning - Photo Credit: Andy Collins


natures fury lightning

Nature's Fury - Photo Credit: Andy Collins

Thanks Andy!

Sick…

I came down with a nasty cold which, I suspect, was caused by my moving in and out of the heavily air conditioned buildings in San Antonio. They really kept things cranked up there. The weather outside was just fine for me though…I like hot.

Anyway I’ve been on my back since Friday afternoon and am still feeling under the weather. I’d love to get out for a few minutes sometime today, just to say I saw the outdoors, but it’s hard to say whether I should even try. I’ve been looking at websites which attempt to answer the question of whether sick people should exercise like the Mayo Clinic.

I did manage to spend some time putting up the rest of my San Antonio Mission Trail images though. I really enjoyed that part of my trip, perhaps because no air conditioning was involved.

Rollei 35SE

I just got back the first roll of film shot with my new Rollei 35SE. It took some really sweet shots limited only by the skill of the photographer, damn him. It’s quirky to say the least, but it does have a great lens. I was really impressed, even considering the relatively small scan size done at Sam’s Club.

Here’s a typical shot:

Statue

That image has not been corrected by me, though I’m sure the developer did something or another as that stuff is pretty much on autopilot. It’s pretty darn good in my opinion though (maybe not the image itself, but the clarity and such).
Aloha!