Season to taste

Many of the older homes in our area have multiple varieties of maple trees dotting their yards. I guess there was a big interest in Japanese design, including maples and koi ponds, in the 1950s. The trees planted in the '50s are mature now, full of character, and interesting to photograph. I particularly enjoy lighting them using the little on-camera flash that comes with some lower end cameras. One of the things I have observed about camera design over the years is that many of the 'non-professional' models have a small flash unit built in, while the so-called 'flagships' do not. It is really convenient to be able to use fill flash from time to time without having to carry a separate piece of gear.

 

Photography as therapy

Today was the day I had to face the music about our taxes. The bill was somewhat higher than I would have liked, so after picking up the paperwork, and bitterly making the payment, I drove over to one of our local woodlands for a casual hike. The weather was just about perfect, and I did not see another human being on my visit. I brought along the Pentax KP, the 35mm f/2.8 macro lens, a Fujifilm GA645Zi medium format point-and-shoot film camera, and a roll of Tri-X. These cameras are pretty different from each other, but they do both come equipped with a small, built-in flash. Fill flash is actually an incredibly useful feature to have on a walk in the forest, where the lighting can be quite tricky at times. If you set the flash exposure compensation to –2/3 stop, you'll get nice balance with the ambient light. And, you will be the only one who ever knows that the flash fired during the exposure.