The woods behind my son's house

A number of folks I know post an image a day to Instagram as part of their practice of photography, as a way to keep their hand in (or, better, to keep their eye in). A further constraint is that the image needs to be made on the day it is posted. Often, that means taking a walk at 5 or 6 AM to fit it in before work. Sorry, but I'm having my coffee at that time of the morning. Today, I got out and did a turn in my local woodland area, but I didn't get home until noon. It is not as if I don't appreciate constraints, though. So, this morning I had the 100mm f/2.8 macro lens mounted on the Pentax KP. That is a pretty tight perspective for a walk among the trees. Documenting this area near where my son lives is becoming a little project for me, I think.

Go figure

When I came upon this burl on my walk, I felt compelled to make a photograph. I was able to find a composition that reflected my experience that morning, the dappled light, the diversity of species, the action of time. The burl is significantly larger than the diameter of the trunk itself. At some point, this tree will fall to the woodland floor, where perhaps a woodcarver will find the old burl and turn it (quite literally) into a work of art. It sure would be interesting to see what the wood looks like on the inside. Highly figured burl wood is not something that can be mass produced and each example is unique. Kind of like a darkroom print or a polaroid in that regard.

Savoring a slower pace with an aging camera

Last year, I sent my Rolleiflex SL66 in for a clean, lubrication, and repair service. It came back a few months later working much more smoothly, but still not perfectly. I mean, it's a 60 year old camera that has been used extensively; there's only so much that can be done. I can't help feeling that our time together is limited, and that at some point, the camera will freeze up and become a display piece. That being said, I don't mind working with broken cameras just so long as they are not too broken. I have an old Japanese rangefinder camera that needs to have its lens twisted hard to the right before shooting with it. You just have to be aware of the quirks. So, I'm pretty sure I'll be using the Rollei for many years to come. Still, I've been making a point to enjoy the process every time I go out to shoot. This weekend, I exposed a roll of Ilford Pan F+ and got several decent negatives. The image above was an 8 second exposure at f/32. I've been observing this tree for a number of years. The ivy is a new arrival on the scene. In the woodland, drama unfolds at a much slower pace. The old Rollei was more than up for the task.