2023 Morning Walk Photos - July Through December

December 23, 2023 -  Sony A7, Zeiss 25mm F 2.8

China Camp State Park

It's hard for some images to be duplicates of earlier attempts. I was hoping for some new inspiration, but I was too comfortable enjoying a perfect Marin morning.  I visited last in April of 2023, but I was more concerned with monochrome images at the time. I am also having my doubts about whether I should be exposing images at 1/6 of a second, which I attempted on the interior photos. A wee bit shaky, to my eyes.

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December 22, 2023 -  Sony A7, Zeiss 25mm F 2.8

According to my records, these are the first Morning Walk photos taken with one of my newly gifted Zeiss lenses. So far. so go.

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December 19, 2023 - Fuji X-E1, 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

I brought the Fuji on a walk to mail some letters, and was attracted to the contrast of the brass mail flaps on the reddish doors. The cloudy sky acted as both a diffuser of the direct light, and as a reflector when the light was bounced off of other clouds. Unlike Open Shade, the light was close to a true white, the colors rendered truer, and the highlights much less specular. The brass mail box flaps are rendered closer to how we expect them to appear.

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December 13, 2023 - Sony A7, TTArtisans 50mm F 2.0 Lens

On gray mornings, incandescent lights can appear much brighter when photographed before the ambient light has a chance to overpower them. Seeing the image on the LCD screen is always a surprise.

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December 7, 2023 - Fuji X-E1, 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

The Fuji was easier to carry during my morning walk to the Post Office. I found this futuristic / outer space tableau on the Corbin Stairway.

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November 30, 2023 - Sony A7, Super Takumar 28mm F 2.8

I gravitate towards warm colors on cold mornings. For the moment, we are easing gently into what I hope is a relatively dry winter.

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November 28, 2023 - Sony A7, Super Takumar 28mm F 2.8

I am out before dawn, which is easy since the sun rose at 7:03 this morning. I am still fascinated by early morning, high ISO photos made with legacy lenses. Mounting a 30- year old Takumar on a 10-year old Sony full-framed body gives me the freedom to ignore all expectations of optical perfection. 

Ethical Quandary: The first image in this post was heavily corrected for perspective in post production. This could be considered a violation of the rule that published (news) photos be presented in their unaltered form. But what if I had used an expensive, tilt-shift lens? I would have produced the same results without resorting to post production tricks. But the facts remain that the two products would have been visually identical.

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November 27, 2023 - Sony A7, Super Takumar 28mm F 2.8

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November 25, 2023 - Sony A7, Super Takumar 28mm F 2.8

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November 23, 2023 - Sony A7, Super Takumar 28mm F 2.8

Thanksgiving Morning is quiet in the Inner Sunset. The last vestiges of Halloween are beginning to disappear.

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November 20, 2023 - Sony A7, Super Takumar 28mm F 2.8

Overgrown Mailboxes

The Housekeeper's Nightmare, Corbett Avenue

Over the years I acquired several of these Takumars in both M42 screw and K bayonet mounts. I was delighted at how this K version snapped in and out of focus. 

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November 18, 2023 - Sony A7, Voigtlander Skopar 25mm F 4.0 Lens

On gray mornings, I am attracted to warm colors. Early morning pumpkins are a particular favorite. It started to drizzle just as I was returning home.

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November 17, 2023 - Sony A7 

7artisan 35mm F 5.6 - Sharp from edge to edge.

25mm F 4.0 Skopar

25mm F 4.0 Skopar

25mm F 4.0 Skopar

I changed from the 7artisans lens to the Skopar shortly after making the first shot. The 35mm lens provided too narrow a view for my taste at the moment, plus the lens is difficult to focus properly. Contributing to the frustration is the small open aperture and the short focusing arc. The Scopar's higher contrast made it easier to use, although I was still finding it still not wide enough.

Perhaps I was just cranky this morning.

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November 14, 2023 - Sony A7, 7artisans  35mm f/5.6 Lens

I Expected The Remains Of A Burrito.

Dog Toys

Ominous Fork In The Road

I bought the lens for a bit if Dumb Fun. Were it not for its low price, I would have passed it up. I already had the necessary adapters, so it represented a minimal expense. 

Interesting, it appears to be a reasonably sharp lens, but is hampered by the limits of its design. Having used the Snapshot Skopar's preset distance detents and relatively long focus lever throw, it's easy to see how the 7artisans' design comes up short.

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November 8, 2023 - Fuji X-E1, 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

Nothing noteworthy encountered, except for this Pixie House just down the block from my  home. Whenever I take the X-E1, I find a reason to miss the rotating display of the Sony.

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November 3, 2023 - Fuji X-E1, 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

In-Camera Monochrome Simulation

Took an afternoon walk to the Post Office. Weather was warm and sunny. Lighting was harsh.

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November 1, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

Flash Enhanced

The colors of this callbox seemed more nuanced when I made this image. I used the 35mm Vivitar again and found it oddly comforting. It reminds me of how my film cameras handled, and the size and layout of the lens are more conducive to manual adjustments. 

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October 31, 2023 - Fuji X-E1, 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

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October 25, 2023 - Sony A7, TTArtisans 50mm F 2.0 Lens

Bad Morning, Bad Lens: It was cold, windy, and a little moist. It was also the first and last time I'll use this lens. Touted as a "wunderlens" for its price, its performance was less than satisfactory. First, the vignetting was beyond what I would accept as artistic. Next, the degree of  smearing (a.k.a. coma)  of specular highlights (streetlights) was so unexpected, and so disappointing. 

I will admit it was a nice attempt at producing a full-frame, manually focused lens at this price point. I got the performance that I paid for, which wasn't much by any measure. Pity though, as I thought it was a nice lens.

Until I used. it.

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October 24, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

The morning walk isn't as inspiring when the fog hides that gorgeous dawn light. I am left with streetlights, headlights, and lit doorways. 

Without a second thought I set my ISO to 6400, an homage to the days when Tri-X could be over-processed (we called it "pushing") to an effective ISO of 1600 and higher. The monochrome conversion was simply a "remove color" click on the original color file. 

The lens flare on the last image is bad by modern standards, but what should we expect from a lens that's nearly 50 years old?

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October 21, 2023 - Sony A7, Voigtlander Skopar 25mm F 4.0 Lens

These shots were made at F 8.0, with a "Cloudy" white balance, exposed in the Aperture Priority mode. Exposure Compensation is normally at -1/3 stop, but would be adjusted, up or down, if I wasn't happy with the Preview. 

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October 20, 2023 - Sony A7, Nikkor 35mm F 2.8 Lens

Snapshot Skopar comes today.

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October 18, 2023 - Sony A7, Nikkor 35mm F 2.8 Lens

Twelve

Halloween Decoration - Aging Relevance

New Twist On An Old Fable

Cole Valley comes alive with parents, children, and dogs in the early morning. Halloween seems to get more popular with each passing year.

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October 17, 2023 - Sony A7, Nikkor 35mm F 2.8 Lens

I switched to a non-AI 35mm F 2.8 Nikkor that was given to me by a friend whose late husband had accumulated many older Nikkor lenses. I mounted it on the Sony, and left on my morning walk well before sunrise. Initial ISO setting was 6400.

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October 16, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

Abalone Shell, Al's Park

Mystery Eyes

Texting

My Snapshot Skopar should arrive soon. That may help me get out of this rut.

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October 13, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

Spines

Chard

Outlook For The Day - Clear And Bright

Seasonal Decoration

Cemetery Of Political Statements

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October 9, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

'Tis The Season

Mysterious Concrete Acorn

Good Advice

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October 6, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

I was standing in Al's Park, just off of Corbett Avenue. Just moments after the sunrise photo was made, the entire sky was flooded with light, obliterating the sharp outline of the sun. 

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October 4, 2023 - Galaxy Note 10

I wanted to take a quick pre-breakfast walk before the sun rose. Assuming that there would be no daylight, I chose to not bring a camera. Left with only my phone, I made these images. I was surprise by the artificial light was enough to make images, in part due to the quality of the high ISO values.

The results were interesting, and worthy of further exploration. I am not convinced that a smartphone will ever replace a good digital camera. Those who champion the phone as a camera's equal may not be as familiar with the potential available using some basic exposure adjustments. 

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October 1, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

Autumn is here. Halloween decorations are popping up.

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September 29, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 35mm F 1.8 Lens

I purchased this Vivitar lens in the early 1970s. It was considered very fast for a third party lens, perhaps the first F 1.8 lens produced by the company. It handled well, and I could see myself using it more often. Many consider the (full frame) 35mm lens more useful than the ubiquitous 50mm lens, and I am inclined to agree.

I am not a big bokeh fan, and the twin flower shot is the first that I can remember publishing. The hexagonal "bokeh balls" are the result of the Vivitar's 6-bladed aperture, a probable design concession to minimize inertia when the blades must quickly stop down during exposure. The current crop of inexpensive manually-focused lens will often have upwards of eight blades, giving those highlights a more pleasing round appearance.

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September 29, 2023 - Sony A7, 20mm F 2.8 Nikkor

Red Hull, Teak Trim

Cats Drink At Their Own Risk

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September 25, 2023 - Fuji X-E1, 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

"Red sky at morning, sailors take warning." This morning's light was unusually warm, and while inspirational, the subjects I encountered weren't. I really missed my Fuji's faux Kodachrome film simulation. Perhaps I should call it "Cyanachrome".

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September 24, 2023 - Sony A7, Vivitar 20mm F 3.8 Lens

Air quality has finally improved to a point where it was a pleasure to be out and walking. This harbor on Richardson Bay in Sausalito was a combination of moorings for luxury yachts and residential houseboats, all peacefully bobbing together in the wakes of passing boats.

This young man scampered about the rocks of the breakwater, searching for, and finding, small sand crabs scurrying about in the shallow water. He was particularly adapt and finding the little creatures, and proudly announced his discoveries the moment they occurred. Fill flash was used to improve shadow detail. I asked for, and received, permission to photograph from his mother.

There is some obvious distortion due to the short working distances required when working with wide angle lenses. Since all of my subject's appendages were in the same plane of focus, distortion was minimal.

A humorous, and somewhat prescient, message from the residents of the harbor to any visiting dogs and their owners. A flash held at arm's length brightened the foreground and minimized overexposure to the background. That single hotspot along the upper edge of the sign was the unavoidable result.

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September 21, 2023 - Sony A7, 50mm F 2.0 TTartisans Lens

This particular manual focus lens received good reviews, cost less than $80.00, and is very compact.

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August 30, 2023 - Sony A7, 28mm F 3.5 Super Takumar

This batch of photos was taken with a Super Takumar I acquired a long time ago. I remember that used Takumars were inexpensive, and impulsively purchased.

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August 29, 2023 - Sony A7, 50mm F 1.8 Nikon Series E Lens

These are a few of my first Morning Walk photos taken with the Sony 7A body and a conventional SLR camera lens. In this case, it was a "pancake" Nikon lens taken from my Uncle Bob's Nikon FE2 camera. This was basically a 30-year old lens mounted on a 10-year old body. I was hoping to be "wowed" by this vintage lens's performance, but I wasn't smitten by the results. The color renderings of the Sony seem bland when compared to my juiced-up film simulations of my Fuji bodies. But I must remember that the purpose of the body was to breathe some new life into my legacy lenses, and to that extent, the Sony did a proper job.

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August 24, 2023 - 28mm F 2.8 Meike

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August 7, 2023 - 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

Our Mother Of Sorrows Reboot

Shadow In A Shadow

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August 3, 2023 - 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

Yellow, Today's Accidental Color.

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July 29, 2023 - 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

So here we are, closing in on August, and the mornings a still dark and drear. Still, these roses can be seen in a variety of conditions from pristine to weary.

American Fresco Circa 2023. Stucco transforming from one phase to another.

This child's Fairy Garden had a patriotic Mickey preaching from behind a stone pulpit.

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July 25, 2023 - 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

Banyan On My Mind.

 Need to break the Kodachrome Rut.

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July 22, 2023

"Kodachrome Simulation"

Meike F 2.8 28mm

I photographed the red-hulled rowboat before, Until today, I didn't realize that the job hadn't been finished.

Meike F 2.8 28mm

TTartisan 50 F 2.0

Laowa 10mm F 4.0

Spaulding Marine Center, Sausalito. Laowa 10mm F 4.0

All three of my manual primes were used this morning. The 10mm still seems to suite my morning walks best, although sometimes the vast expanses of background can be distracting.

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July 17, 2023 - 50mm F 2.0 TTartisan

"Kodachrome Simulation"

Hidden In The Garden

Morning Sentinel

I switched lenses to get a little closer to the two bird sculptures. Shooting with a short telephoto after weeks of using the super-wide 10mm forced me to look for subjects at a distance.

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July 16, 2023 - 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

"Kodachrome Simulation"

Summer Morning

Lending Library Reject

Junior Coach

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July 13, 2023 - 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

"Kodachrome Simulation"

Condensation

Red To Pink

Toadstools

Broken Mirror

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July 12, 2023 - 10mm F 4.0 Laowa

"Kodachrome Simulation"

 

Doorway

New Identity

Homage To Golden Gate Park

Sandwich Shop

I don't know if Kodachrome ever really rendered color in this manner. I only know that I like the results.

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