Finished The Roll

I was itching to get out and finish a roll of film I had loaded in this camera, so on a cold day went to the historic town of Long Grove, IL for a photowalk.

Leica CL | 40mm | Ilford HP5+ | ISO 400

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic

Mill Pond

8'-6"

All In A Row

 

Sleigh Ride

Testing The Ice

Long Grove, IL

Cold weather brought on the freezing of creeks and ponds. Fortunately, this one held, but this young person didn't venture out too far.

Leica CL @ 40mm | Ilford HP5+ | ISO 400

Voigtlander 40mm F1.4 Nokton Classic

Photographed 12/21/25

Experiments

Two experiments going on with these photos.

First, using a circa 1979, 50mm F1.7 manual focus lens from my post-college era camera adapted to a present day digital camera.  Second, using the same scene, looking at near and far focus points with the lens wide open to see the differences in depth of field and bokeh.  This is what happens when you're a photography nerd!

 

Focus Point - Near

Focus Point - Far

Genre Detour 2

This was an inadvertent omission in yesterday's post of images photographed at Arbor Theatre Park in Vernon Hills, IL on August 9, 2025.  Same camera but a manual Voigtlander 40mm F2.8 Heliar lens (adapted) instead.

Out Of Context

Genre Detour

Landscape is not my normal genre of photography, but it's good to get out and mix it up every once in awhile.

These were all photographed at Arbor Theatre Park in Vernon Hills, IL on August 9, 2025 using a Sony A7Cii digital camera and a manual 1948 vintage Leica 50mm F2 Summitar lens adapted to the digital camera.

ZZZs

Stand

Secluded

Frozen Shadows

52Frames - Week 51 - Black & White Minimalism

Quick trip to the forest preserve this morning to capture a streak-saver!

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/320 | 186mm | ISO 100

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

Photographed 12/21/24

Bridge Over Untroubled Waters

52 Assignments Exposure 10 - Mirror Image

Wright Woods Forest Preserve

Libertyville, IL

Sony A7IV @ f5.6 | 1/400 | 70mm | ISO 250

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 10/21/24

Stroll

52Frames - Week 40 - A Quiet Moment

EC: Golden Ratio

Independence Grove Forest Preserve

Libertyville, IL

During the week, this is an especially peaceful place for a stroll.

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/400 | 111mm | ISO 250

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

Photographed 10/2/24

What A Face!

Simbambili Game Drive

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Caught this guy at his highest point above the water and did a deep crop to show those facial features.
 

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/125 | 218mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/19/24

Have You Ever Wondered...

Buffalo Camp Game Drive

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

...how giraffes drink water?

Sony A7IV @ f5.6 | 1/500 | 99mm | ISO 1000

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

Yawn

Game drives on our Africa trip were in the very early morning and late afternoon/evening.  Sleeping and hunting occurred at various times throughout the day so I was able to sometimes catch an awakening animal in a yawn.

Kapama Game Reserve, South Africa

Sony A7IV @ f6.3 | 1/500 | 227mm | ISO 1600

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/15/24

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/500 | 50mm | ISO 1250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/16/24

Sabi Sands Game Reserve, South Africa

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/125 | 132mm | ISO 250

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 9/19/24

Age and Innocence

52Frames - Week 35 - Rule of Thirds

Went to a local park with a pond and small beach hoping there would be some activity on this Labor Day weekend.  Got several shots, some even with the EC, but this was my favorite.

Sony A7IV @ f8 | 1/250 | 181mm | ISO 160

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

Photographed 8/31/24

Really...It's Pink

52 Assignments Exposure 01 - Light The Way

The pink flamingos were out at the Milwaukee Zoo.  The bright sun, dark surroundings, and stark contrast on the water made for a striking composition emphasizing the importance of light position.



Sony A7IV @ f7.1 | 1/1250 | 387mm | ISO 100

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 (A067)

Photographed 8/7/24

Nature With A New Lens

Half Day Preserve

First outing with a new Tamron 50-400mm lens.  Alternate shots for this week's challenge 52Frames - Week 47 - Nature.

Take-Off

Sony A7 IV @ f8 1/125  104mm  ISO 160

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Cruising

Sony A7 IV @ f8 1/160  400mm  ISO 100

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

All Photographed 11/22/23

In The Reeds

52Frames - Week 47 - Nature

EC: Portrait

First outing with the new Tamron 50-400mm lens. Got several shots with ducks on the pond at a neighboring forest preserve.  Alternates to follow in a separate post.

Sony A7 IV @ f8 1/1250 400mm ISO 100

Tamron E 50-400mm F4.5-6.3 A067

Photographed 11/22/23

Bank Left!

52 Assignments BW - #06 - Feel The Tension

The drone...water landing or land landing?

DJI Mavic Mini @ f2.8 1/5 4.5mm (24mm equiv) ISO 800

Photographed 4/18/23

4-Square

52Frames - Week 16 - Blue Hour

From my drone 19 minutes after sunset.

DJI Mavic Mini @ f2.8 1/4  4.5mm (24mm equiv) ISO 800

Photographed 4/18/23

2023_CLondon52_March: Community

From the C.London website: "A big part of this challenge is the community we’re building together. This month we’re focusing on that in attempts to really strengthen it. Some of us are still strangers, so let’s take the time to change that. We’ll have weekly voice chats on the discord and various times that hopefully are suitable for most, and I’m going to ask you to reach out to other members of the community for help with this month’s prompts."

"1.  Feedback to and from a peer.  Giving and receiving feedback is a valuable skill for any creative. For this challenge, we’re asking that you engage with another participant of the challenge to both ask for and give feedback. The photo you create should be made with feedback you received in mind. When giving feedback, remember to make it constructive and with actionable things which can be done. The way you see an image is different than how your partner saw it while making it, so your eye and thoughts are valuable."

I received feedback from my friend @photofinishsid as follows:

1. This is my kind of photo. I love it.

2. I like the crop ratio that you have chosen. Most people would have chosen to include much more of the railroad cars. I like that you have decided to include just the couplers.

3. I like the rust, teal and orange colors in the photo.

4. I wonder if you could have blurred the background at all?

5. I also would have liked to see you differentiate the coupler from the track with a filter of some kind. Not sure if that would have been possible or not.  Great photo.

In response to Sid's comments, I made adjustments to the background (#4) and the pipe beneath the coupler (#5).  When making this image, I also was cognizant of the complementary colors of orange/blue on the train cars and red/green on the coupler & background.

Hitched

Sony A7 IV @ f2.8 1/125 28mm  ISO 100

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

Photographed 3/7/23

"2.  Re-creation of a peer’s photo.  Choose a photo from a peer that you find interesting and inspiring and use that as a launching off point for your photo for this week. It doesn’t necessarily have to be an exact replica, but more inspired by. You can look at other participants’ submissions on the discord, reddit, flickr, and facebook. It’s encouraged to reach out to the original creator to show them what you’ve made."

Prime oceanfront property abandoned along the Boardwalk in Kapa'a, Kauai, HI.

Inspired by @baddog.

Abandoned

Sony A7 IV @ f8 1/200  20mm  ISO 100

Tamron E 20mm F2.8 F050

Photographed 3/4/23

"3.  Your community outside photography.  We’re spending this month really solidifying the community within the challenge, and one way to do that is to bring what you value in a community to the group. For this prompt, focus on another community you are a part of - what makes it valuable to you? What do you give it and what do you take from it? Share that through your photography with this community."

12 Step Community.  You get out what you put in...and more.

From Darkness to Light

Sony A7 IV @ f8 1/125  31mm  ISO 100

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 3/22/23

"4.  Your neighborhood.  Step outside your home and walk no more than a half mile (800m to the non-imperial unit users) documenting your surroundings. These are things you see every day, so I’m asking you to look at the familiar with new eyes. Put yourself in the shoes of someone from a completely different background. What may the find interesting? Don’t be afraid to over shoot during this exercise. The culling will be part of the exorcise. We’re looking for one final image that you feel best represents your neighborhood."

A difficult task representing my neighborhood in a single photo.  Within 800m is residential, offices, retail, restaurants and a county forest preserve.  Pretty great!

Welcome to the Neighborhood

Sony A7 IV @ f8 1/160  20mm  ISO 100

Sony FE 20-70mm F4 G

Photographed 3/22/23

Family Paddle

Independence Grove - Libertyville, IL

Playing around with some film simulations in Lightroom Classic.  Ektachrome E100

Sony A7C @ f8 1/125 28mm  ISO 160

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

Sony A7C @ f8 1/125 28mm  ISO 125

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

All Photographed 7/16/22

Catch & Release

52Frames - Week 28 - Silhouette

Independence Grove

Libertyville, IL

Sony A7C @ f6.7 1/500 157mm ISO 100

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

Photographed 7/16/22