I saw several fishermen working the surf. I did not see much caught. But, like this young woman, they were all as serious as the hookbills. I think the Hook Bills did better, though. However, I think I am the real winner, though. Captured with X-T5, 2026-04-23 22:01:57, 420mm, 1/1600sec, f/8, ISO-1600, light processing with PhotoLab 7.
I really enjoyed the show after I finished my POTA activation at Pismo Beach. Once the station was recovered and stowed, The Girl and I had a big play. She loved running around sniffing at the piles of seaweed on the shore. Sometimes she found something to eat (yuck) and was told to drop it. Sometimes she dropped it, sometimes she darted off to munch whatever it was before I could catch her.
She ran at me and bit at my boots, which caused me to dance around and then play grab ass. We ran down to the edge of the sea and she pattered about the water, but stayed clear of the incoming surf.
After a few minutes of play, we returned to the rig. I then turned it around to face west, into the Sun. I retrieved my X-T5 from the bag and affixed the 70-300mm tele-zoom and the 1.4x teleconverter to the camera. We spent the next couple of hours before sunset watching the show.
There were three fishermen working the surf. The young woman was part of a pair that were fishing to my left (south) and the light presented them well. She was the closer of the two and was turned facing into the Sun such that her face was illuminated. Her focus captured my attention, so I made a few images of her as she worked.
People working at something always fascinate me. The better they are at the work, the more interesting the become. So it was with this young woman.
I did not see any fish taken from the sea on this outing. That does not mean none were taken; just that I did not see any caught.
I continued to work the scene until the Sun fell far enough behind the cloud bank on the horizon to take the light. That was between 1930–2000h and I started to get hungry. So, we packed it in and headed into town for me to get some supper and then to our room, where The Girl got hers. Yes, she did get a bit of my halibut on my return to the rig. I almost always pay the dog tax.
It was a good day. I remain grateful, because life is good.
I had a few hours after the site walk, so I decided to take in Pismo Beach. Captured with X-T5, 2026-04-23 22:37:31, 16mm, 1/900sec, f/8, ISO-1600, light processing with PhotoLab 7.
To the best of my recollection, it has been more than 50 years since I last set foot on Pismo Beach. The time was the mid-1970s and my Dad’s dad had terminal throat cancer. We decided to go see the west coast family and see grandpa off.
It was in late March, so we decided to take the south route. We had friends at Los Alamos, so we spent one night there visiting Frank and Christy. Then we headed on to the LA Basin to visit Pat and Beth, then turn north. We spent a couple of days with them, before turning north to see family for a few more days. There are many stories from our short stay with our old friends, but not for now.
On our way north, we stopped for a few minutes at Pismo Beach. There I made a capture with Dad’s Argus C3 (the brick) on Kodachrome. My composition was so awful because I did not notice the “No Parking” sign right in the middle of the frame. The sunset was gorgeous, but ruined by the sign.
We paused there for a few minutes to listen to the surf, before heading on to our hotel for the night.
Thursday, after completing the day’s work, I found myself with a few hours. I booked two nights at the hotel, expecting that we would not finish early enough to make the trip home. So, after a short nap, The Girl and I headed to the beach to spend a few hours. I wanted to activate the park (ATNO) and had a small camera kit built around the Fujifilm X-T5. I paid the permit fee, asked the young man working the entry about best places, and received direction to find a place clear of people. Heh…
This time I drove on the beach. We motored along the way to the south until I found an area that others decided was unacceptable. I deployed my station and wondered how I would hear over the sound of wind and surf. Fortunately, I found a set of earbuds in the radio kit (sometimes I am actually smart) and stowed the hearing aids.
With the station setup, I started hunting POTA activators on the 20m band. I worked a few of them using both phone and code, then picked a frequency, spotted myself, and started calling to announce my availability to take calls. I worked the radio for about an hour, logging plenty of contacts to make the activation, and then turned off the radio. I just sat there for a few minutes, listening and watching the surf, the birds picking at the sand, and the passersby.
After a few minutes, I recovered the station and got The Girl out of the rig. There was no one close, so we played grab ass off-lead for a while. She did the attack-the-boots thing she sometimes does, and we had a great time. She hunted the piles of seaweed for things to eat while I chased her off of them, not particularly caring for the thought of kisses later.
With her energy burned off, I turned the rig around to face the surf and retrieved my camera bag. There were two lenses to use in that kit — the Fujinon 16-55mm f/2.8 zoom and the 70-300mm slow zoom. But, I also had the Fujinon 1.4TC in the kit, which really extended the reach of the telephoto lens.
So I spent the next couple of hours watching the Sun set, making images of the birds hunting for nibbles in the surf, watching a pair of surf fishers working the waves, and watching others pass through my field of view. I also spent some time remembering the stop there with Wife so many years ago. I think she would love the place again, waiting patiently while I played radio and then photographer while reading her book and enjoying the place.
Yeah, that would be what she did. Then we would have gone into town for some supper and talk. Yes, she is still missed.
Doggo and I recently celebrated our sixth anniversary together. Well, she enjoyed the celebration even if the time does not mean much to her. That means Sera is between seven- and eight-years old. I do mark the time.
As the Sun set, we headed back into town. I drove to The Quarterdeck, a small restaurant near the hotel. It is a little dated, but the food is pretty good. I had blackened halibut and a margarita. I even saved a bit for The Girl, who quickly munched it when I returned to the rig. Then we called it a night.
I saw many interesting things during my few hours at Pismo Beach. This pair of equestrians were just one of them. Captured with X-T5, 2026-04-23 22:23:51, 16mm, 1/2700sec, f/8, ISO-1600, light processing with PhotoLab 7.
Again, this is not a good photograph, but adequate to display the Squala Corallo chronograph-diver with a NATO strap on it.My watch-nerd buddy emailed last week that he found a Hamilton Khaki for me. I have a soft spot for tool watches. (Well, maybe a weak spot…) I have a proper field watch in the form of an old Hamilton Milspec issue from the 1980s, but it is not one I want to wear everyday. But, I digress.
I read about the Khaki using the reference number for the unit and found that the case is 44mm in diameter. That is more like a wall clock on my 6.5-inch wrist. At least, I thought it might be. I responded to his email with this fact and he laughed about not even checking that.
The Hamilton came with a bracelet, but I rarely wear watches on bracelets. I can never get a bracelet to fit well — either too loose or too tight. I have a projecting wrist bone that a loose watch will bang against, making me uncomfortable. For that reason, I prefer a strap or I wear the head of the watch on the inside of my wrist, military style.
I ordered a few 22mm NATO and Zulu straps to try with the Hamilton. I could not get the bracelet off the watch. One spring bar just would not release for me. I handed it off to my buddy and he used his jeweler’s tools to cut it and remove the bracelet. When we regrouped for a weekly breaking of bread, I put a strap on the Hamilton and put it on my wrist.
It really does look like a wall clock on my small wrist. He offered to let me wear it for a week and I really like the look of the watch, so I accepted. But, in the end, it just does not fit me. I need a 38mm or a 40mm case to look proper on my wrist.
He also left me with a Squale Corallo chronograph-diver and a lovely vintage Wyler Incaflex. The former is a watch I am unfamiliar with, having not heard of a chronograph-diver before. They are difficult to design and build because of the start/stop and reset actuators. Those are points of entry for water. A watch on my wrist is unlikely to be subjected to any significant water pressure because I am not a diver. But, a watch on my wrist could get wet, so some water resistance is appropriate.
The Corallo is built on a Valjoux/ETA 7750-based caliber, which is a legendary watch movement. The time is set by pulling the crown out to Position 3 and making the adjustment. Position 2 is used for setting the Day/Date, but only when the hands are outside the range from about 2000h to 0200h/0300h. Avoiding that range is necessary to avoid damaging the movement, which is under stress during that period as it prepares to advance the Day/Date wheels. That said, and knowing that, I was at first unable to put the watch in time-set mode. The crown/stem seemed to require too much force and I did not want to force it.
After an email to my buddy, I finessed the stem/crown a bit with a thumbnail and it clicked into Position 3 yesterday afternoon. I set the watch using my phone’s NTP time connection and removed the bracelet.
It fits my wrist well, not with a bracelet, but with a 20mm NATO or Zulu strap. I had this subtle NATO in my inventory from a previous purchase, so I pulled it out and put it on the watch. It is fine, but I might want just a bit more color so will likely try a couple others straps from my inventory.
This is not a good photograph, but it is good enough to present the G-Shock with the strap adapters and a colorful NATO strap on the watch.I also had a electric blue NATO strap on my G-Shock. The G-Shock is my beater watch and it is on my wrist when I go out into the field. They are not easy to break and are not expensive to replace, although my version is the 5610-series, which are not exactly cheap. But, it is certainly less expensive than any of my nice watches. In any event, while rummaging through my watch box, I remember that I had put a interesting black and red NATO on the Hamilton to try. I decided that the colorway of the watch and the Texas Tech colors might work well together. So, I put the strap on the G-Shock (also 22mm) and I think it works.
I have not made an image of the Wyler, yet. My buddy was disappointed when he received it, with the seller claiming the unit to be “mint.” The case has been more than polished, but the sharp edges ground down, likely because of bad nicks. So, it is not suitable for a collector in its current condition. I am not a collector, but a user. Therefore, I do not particularly care whether the unit is collectible or not — the dial is a true stunner and the Wyler brand was built on a solid caliber that resists shock better than most.
It will go for service and will be part of the trade we made. I decided to let my Speedmaster Triple-Date go because I prefer the Speedmaster ’57. The Triple-Date is also a bit difficult for me to read (old eyes), so this is a good trade for me.
It remains to be seen what I keep from my small collection of watches. A couple of them are on bracelets and should be. Neither would look good on a NATO strop. They might be OK on a leather strap. But bracelets do not work well for me, so if neither of them make the transition to a strap, then I will probably sell them. I no longer want to keep things just because. I want to keep them because they serve some purpose other than just “having” them.
I walked to the pharmacy a few days ago and came back a different route. I think Young Son would probably like this place. Captured with X-Pro3, 2026-03-28 15:03:59, Fujinon 23mm f/2, 1/480sec, f/8, ISO-500, post in PhotoLab7.
Life continues to be very busy with project work. That seems to be the case looking forward over the next months. Then, maybe, the workload will let up a bit for other things.
Do not get me wrong, I am very grateful for the work. I am a little less pleased with myself for saying “Yes” too many times. The resulting workload (self-inflicted) is a little challenging, but I will get through it.
Regarding the image, a couple weeks ago I decided to walk to the local pharmacy and pick up a waiting prescription. I carried the new-to-me Fujifilm X-Pro3 with the little Fujinon 23mm f/2 lens affixed to the body. This is a favored focal length for street photographers. But there was nothing going on in suburbia.
But… I knew there was an interesting store of some kind on the south side of Fairview, so I walked home that way. What I found is a place I think Young Son would really like — a game store. I went inside and walked around a bit. There were a couple of small groups playing MTG in the back room and a few interesting items on the shelves in the storefront. I chatted with the young man working the counter, and then left. I might go back to peruse the movies as there might be something to add to my collection.
In any event, I came home with a nice capture. I converted this one in Photolab 7.
I remain grateful. I remain prayerful, at least most days. Life is good.
While on walkies with The Girl, I came across this sandwich board, seen many times, but this time I stopped and made a capture. Captured with X-Pro3, 2026-04-14 10:16:18, Voigtlandar 35mm, 1/22000sec, f/1.4, ISO-160, light processing in PhotoLab 7.
Two reports are now completed. It was a hard push to get the work done and generate the reports. With them complete, it is now time to turn my attention to the next projects needing it. That will be another hard push, I expect. But, that is the consulting business. At least I will get a small break before the pressure builds again.
I just finished Alex Kilbee’s video about Steven Shore, a photographer was was active in the 1970s and whose work is considered by many to be of mundane subjects. But, there is something special in his treatment of ordinary things and scenes, and Killbee did a good job of pointing out what makes Shore’s photographs important.
I will buy at least one of Shore’s photo books to spend some time with. That will be fun and maybe I will learn something.
The Girl and I got out about noon for a short walk before my next meeting. I carried the Fujifilm X-Pro3 with a new-to-me Voigtlander 35mm f/1.2 manual focus lens affixed to the camera. It is a lovely little lens that matches the rangefinder aesthetic well. There is a jeweler not far from our place and they had their sandwich board displayed on the sidewalk. So, I paused to make an image of it with Fairview Avenue in the background.
While not the same as Shore’s lovely images, it is reminiscent of his use of ordinary scenes to display something special. Perhaps I managed to capture a little of that in my own.
I will spend some time working today, but also some time recovering. I am grateful for the work and for its completion. Life is good.
While out and about one evening, I noticed the light on the renewed Legislature Building. Captured with X-Pro3, 2026-01-29 16:11:30, 23mm, 1/550sec, f/9, ISO-640, light processing in PhotoLab 7.
I have another big push on a project to make. But, I decided that I must do some things that are self care. One of them is a bit of writing here. Another is a bit of photography while out and about.
I have been carrying the Fujifilm X-Pro3 quite a bit since I purchased it. It generally has one of the small Fujinon primes mounted, sometimes called the f/2 line. Not all of them are f/2, of course, but a good number of them are. Most are weather sealed. None have any in-body image stabilization. They might not focus particularly fast as well.
All are good, optically. I think the weakest is 18mm f/2, in part because it is the oldest and in part because it is a pancake lens.
On this particularly outing I had the Fujinon 23mm f/2 mounted to the camera. The light was good.
Life is good. I am grateful, particularly on this Easter morning.
On walkies with The Girl Sunday evening, we both were enjoying the lovely winter Sun and the mild temperature. I noticed this storefront and the light and geometry, so paused to make a capture. She kept pulling at me to go. I won. Captured with X-Pro3, 2026-02-15 16:31:56, 27mm, 1/680sec, f/8, ISO-640, in-camera Classic Chrome film simulation, SOOC.
An old friend sometimes says “Fall back, regroup, and prepare for the next assault.” He was an infantryman in a former life. Although the context is substantially different, as are the risks, this is something I do just about every time a project comes to an end.
The last three months have been a story of increasing pressure to complete such a project. I first thought I was brought in to look at one specific task, a hydraulic model. The scope expanded substantially when I noticed a number of irregularities in a drainage network design. I was sucked in to the vortex of this project. It is self-inflicted; I am a team player and the team needed me.
The result is that my workload blossomed to the point of almost unbearable. I think the effort peaked last week with delivery of the second report draft. There is a workshop tomorrow that I hope will be the last effort on this one. This is good because another is waiting for a similar push.
There are a couple more waiting in the wings for my attention. They all have deadlines. Therefore, I will be quite busy for the next couple of months, maybe three.
I must be more careful about saying “yes.” I must be aware that boundaries are necessary and healthy.
In the meantime, I began doing some of the things that feed my soul. I have a couple captures of the spring cherry blossoms from the landscaping in my neighborhood. I noticed that the desert peach is blooming when I hiked with The Girl yesterday. The sagelands smell lovely right now, with the bitterbrush in bloom as well.
I will put the Fujinon 60mm macro lens on the X-T5 this week and get some images before the flowers fade for the season. I love the look of the desert peach blossoms. They are lovely.
So is life. I love my life with The Girl. I have enough. I am grateful. Life is good.
I learned that Chuck Norris died a few days ago. He was 86-years old.
I recall seeing him first in a Bruce Lee movie as the antagonist. I then recall seeing him on the talk show circuit with his impossible-to-block punch. He was very fast.
Best I can tell, he was also a solid businessman, managing a number of training schools in Southern Callifornia.
I can say I watched a few episodes of “Walker,” but I was not a particular fan. It was light fare, but reasonably produced. Now, with him departed, I might decide to go back and revisit the series to see if I find it interesting.
His passing is a yet another reminder of the dynamic nature of life. Change is constant and an expectation of stability is unreasonable. We all come with an expiry date.
On the trail Sunday afternoon with The Girl, I noticed this BLM marker for the trail we were on. I like the contrast, so I made the capture. Captured with X-Pro3, 2026-02-15 12:43:59, 27mm, 1/1900sec, f/8, ISO-640, in-camera Monochrome-R film simulation, SOOC.
I am having some fun learning the Fujifilm X-Pro3. I decided to mount the Fujinon 27mm f/2.8 pancake on the body and carry it for a few outings. I have the second generation model that has an aperture ring. (It is absolutely necessary for my style of shooting.) The small size of the lens makes for a very small package. I like it.
It is a decent lens. It might not have the character of some of my other glass, but the form factor sort of makes up for that.
On the trail, I noticed this BLM trail marker. I wanted to do something with it, so here it is. Enjoy.
This was something, once. Captured with X-Pro3, 2026-01-28 11:57:38, 23mm, 1/640sec, f/8, ISO-640, Classic Chrome film simulation, in camera.
I am in a busy season, once again. But I still carry a camera daily. An image does not always present itself, or I am not paying sufficient attention to see the image presented.
Walkies through the sagebrush out at Silver Saddle Ranch sometimes provides an interesting image. This pile of boards, while presenting a hazard for doggo with respect to exposed nails (and later the possibility of a rattlesnake hide), was something, once. It might have been a door or gate. Or maybe a platform for some other purpose. There was clearly a structure in the area by virtue of other ruins. But I do not know what it was.
In any event, the area provided some fodder for a daily image.
