Eye Of The Lion

52 Frames - Week 11 - Roll of 24

Venturing into Old Town Scottsdale, I committed that the first 24 shots would be my 52Frames "roll".  I made it a bit more challenging by using a manual 90mm lens that doesn't get out often enough.

This lion's eye/self-portrait represents my 16th shot. There is no crop here; all full frame resolution utilizing the close-focus capability of my Leica M to Sony E lens adapter coupled with the 90mm focal length.

Sony A7Cii @ f4 | 1/400 | 90mm | ISO 100

Leitz Wetzlar 90mm F4 Elmar-C (adapted)

Photographed 3/9/26

Today's Color Is Red

Old Town Scottsdale

Not a lot of time for manual focus, but I got the shot.  Fortunately the light was red also!



Sony A7Cii @ f5.6 | 1/200 | 90mm | ISO 100

Leitz Wetzlar 90mm F4 Elmar-C (adapted)

Photographed 3/9/26

Since 1958

Sugar Bowl

Old Town Scottsdale, AZ

The best Coffee Cafe  Float around (coffee ice cream doused with iced coffee in a large glass, topped with whipped cream).



#1: Sony A7Cii @ f5.6 | 1/160 | 90mm | ISO 100 w/ Leitz Wetzlar 90mm F4 Elmar-C (adapted)

#2: Ricoh GRIIIx @ f4 | 1/125 sec | 40mm equiv | ISO 640

All Photographed 3/9/26

Rhythm Is Life - Redux

I heard the melodic sounds and wondered if it was the same steel drum guy that I had heard last year and featured in a blog post.  Sure enough, it was!  Cole was, once again, filling the air with his beautiful music.  He remembered our encounter and allowed me to shoot some additional photos.  While doing so, I noticed that his drum looked different.  Cole confirmed that it was the same drum, however it had just been cleaned and not all notes had been re-written on the surface.

Check out the link to last year's post to learn more about these amazing drums along with links to Cole's band.  https://jeffm211-p52.blogspot.com/2025/03/rhythm-is-life.html

Photographed 3/8/25

Rhythm Is Life 4

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/1600 | 40mm | ISO 50

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

Rhythm Is Life 5

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/1000 | 40mm | ISO 50

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

La La Land

Kierland Commons

Scottsdale, AZ

State of the Union.

Sony A7Cii @ f1.4 | 1/125 | 40mm | ISO 100

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic (adapted)

Photographed 3/4/26

Over The Shoulder

Scottsdale, AZ

I saw this beautiful scene in the rearview mirror.  Unable to turn around and capture it, I used my phone's front facing camera and aimed it out the rear window.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f1.9 | 1/60 | 2.69mm (30mm equiv) | ISO 320

Photographed 3/2/25

Neural Network

52Frames - Week 10 - Black And White (Alternate)

Scottsdale, AZ

With a bright mid-afternoon light, the contrast in the branches of this early spring budding tree reminded me of what brain connections might look like.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f2.8 | 1/600 | 9mm (107mm equiv) | ISO 25

Photographed 3/4/25

Balconies In Bloom

52Frames - Week 10 - Black And White

Scottsdale, AZ

Under a beautiful late afternoon light, the plantings on the balconies against the striking patterns in the architecture caught my attention while sitting at a traffic light.  Captured this scene through my car windshield.

Apple iPhone 15 Pro @ f2.8 | 1/850 | 9mm (155mm equiv) | ISO 25

Photographed 3/5/25

Rhythm Is Life

I heard the melodic sounds and thought there was a multi-piece group playing near the pool deck of our resort.  I was very surprised to find one guy playing a single steel drum that created such beautiful sound.  No multi-piece band, no synthesizer, only a microphone, amplifier and speaker.  The tablet shown held only sheet music.

I learned that these drums were handcrafted from old, abandoned oil drums in Trinidad & Tobago.  Each drum was pounded into shape and tuned to generate specific notes when struck on a specific part of the drum.  It was quite remarkable.

Many thanks to Cole for sharing his music and information.  You can check out Cole’s band at https://www.instagram.com/rhythmislifesteelband/ and https://m.youtube.com/@rhythmislifesteelband/videos.

Rhythm Is Life 1

Sony A7Cii @ f5.6 | 1/250 | 200mm | ISO 160

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Rhythm Is Life 2

Sony A7Cii @ f4.5 | 1/250 | 108mm | ISO 160

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Rhythm Is Life 3

Sony A7Cii @ f6.3 | 1/160 | 200mm | ISO 160

Tamron E 28-200mm F2.8-5.6 A071

Zoned Out

Scottsdale, AZ

This gent has the right idea.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2 1/140 6mm (235mm equiv) ISO 25

Photographed 9/22/21

All Lit Up

Scottsdale Square

Scottsdale, AZ

After dinner stroll through the Quad, enjoying the weather and the lights.  As I was shooting photos, my wife reminded me that strolling with a photographer isn't much different than walking a male dog...always stopping along the way!

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2.4 1/40 1.54mm (14mm equiv) ISO 1250

Photographed 9/20/21

Harvest Moon

Another version of this past week's harvest moon.

Sony A7C @ f32 1/2000 300mm ISO 12800

Tamron E 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 A047

Photographed 9/21/21

Harvest Moon

A beautiful sight in the Scottsdale, AZ sky.  Best I could capture with the 70-300mm handheld.

Sony A7C @ f32 1/2000 300mm ISO 12800

Tamron E 70-300mm F4.5-6.3 A047

Photographed 9/21/21

Good Week

52Frames - Week 39 - My Daily Routine

Not an award-winning photo, but this is truly my daily routine this week.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2.4 1/1050 1.54mm (14mm equiv) ISO 25

Photographed 9/21/21

Ruthie Foster at the MIM

Clondon52w37: Somewhere New

From the C.London website: “So we’ve seen where your most comfortable (your home), let’s now explore a new space for you. It could be an area of your city where you’ve never ventured, or maybe you’re lucky enough to be going some place entirely new this week. As you’re seeing this place with entirely fresh eyes, think about what it is that compels you about that scene and try and create an image which highlights that.”

Admittedly, I had never heard of blues singer, Ruthie Foster.  However, her bio is impressive and we were fortunate to score some tickets to a sold out concert at the Scottsdale MIM Music Theater.  The venue is exquisite with outstanding acoustics and proof of vaccination was required for admittance.  This turned out to be one of the best musical performances I’ve ever attended.

I was surprised that non-flash photography was permitted, so was able to capture a few images during the performance.

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2 1/60 6mm (83mm equiv) ISO 500

Photographed 9/18/21

Apple iPhone 12 Pro @ f2 1/55  6mm (141mm equiv) ISO 500

Photographed 9/18/21

1690 --> 3204

Via Flickr:
Bell's Pass
McDowell Sonoran Preserve
Scottsdale, AZ

7.5 miles up & down.

B/W for SliderSunday. HSS!

Desert Bud

2/27/11 - Week 9
Shot last week in Scottsdale and processed today in SEP2.  It was a little early for the desert flowers to bloom, but I was able to catch one here.

Old Timer

2/26/11 - Week 9
Went to a local Scottsdale pizza place yesterday for lunch.  Little did I expect to see this old time radio in a pizza joint setting.  Since it had the names of cities across the top, perhaps it was also an old time shortwave?

Skeleton

2/25/11 - Week 8
This looked like the skeleton of a dead saguaro along the Desert Park Trail in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.  Not sure if it was a saguaro but very cool nonetheless.

Three Mile Climb

2/25/11 - Week 8
Had to work for a few hours this morning and missed an easy stroll with Lin and our friends.  So instead, I went out later on my own and did a 6.6 mile hike.  This shot is from Inspiration Point, the highest spot on this particular trail in the McDowell Sonoran Preserve.