A Week In Photos

Life is but a dream. I took this image on one of the few walks I managed between shooting for the Santa Barbara Film Festival. The vernal pools of the Ellwood Mesa are very interesting, tiny, seasonal ecosystems that have always sang a little song to my heart. I love seeing them reappear and the changes that take place as winter and spring arrive. I've photographed them before in both a literal and artistic way, but I think I prefer the more abstract versions like this new favorite, taken with the Leica M11 and the amazing 75mm Summilux. Hmm... could become a series.

This is our wonderful star we call the sun. It's not a great image of it, and I have been thinking of how to get better photos of it, but it was a fun experiment. I found a set of very nice solar filters for binoculars at a thrift store for $2.50 and put them on my vintage Zeiss bins. I've never had the opportunity to look at the sun like this before. While it's a fairly small and shakey viewing, being able to make out solar spots with your own eyes is pretty wow. It amazes me how, even after seeing much better, more detailed images of the sun, seeing it in real life like this, even with fairly low magnification, can be profound. I took this image by holding up a little Canon M3 with a 22mm lens to the eyepiece of the 8x30 scope. Tricky endeavor, as anyone who has tried something like this knows. 

This was taken just over a week ago, when the tides were extreme with the slimmest waxing crescent moon. My evening walks have been pretty severely hampered by work, weather and scheduling lately. I enjoy the rhythm of it all and the moment of appreciation for the day, our planet, the Universe, and Life. I spent a while here, following along with the Sanderlings feeding, as the colors and clouds changed. Leica M11 w/75mm Summilux.

Sometimes, I see things that just resonate. I saw this guy out there and immediately felt him. He, of course, is a log. But his struggle is real, and his struggle is mine at times. Felt appropriate. Another Leica M11/75mm Summilux shot, as that was my main combination outside of work.