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Nice! I do miss seeing them dance in the sky.

Rare sight in NH - northern lights visible due to a significant solar storm. It was clearly visible and photographed more impressively than it looked. Still fun.

I've been attempting to take meaningful photos at 300mm. It's been a nontrivial task. First up is some carefully edited photos taken with my (never not crap) Canon 75-300mm. A heron stepping around the pond. 75-300 @ 300mm, F/10, 1/800, ISO1600. I took advantage of the 5D4's high ISO performance to use a small aperture (the 75-300 sucks ass at anything else) and maintain a decent shutter speed. First day with the 300mm F/4 Nikkor. The subject is more native MV wildlife. This time, the wheelbarrow belonging to my (sainted, octogenarian) mother. It was holding still and well lit. The 300mm Nikkor works on a Canon body with an adapter, but it's nontrivial to use. First off, it doesn't have a hard stop at infinity focus. Many (most) old manual focus lenses have one and I find it super useful at any focal length. At 300mm, lacking a hard stop is a serious handicap. I eventually learned to deal with it. Not terribly interesting shot of Sweetened Water Farm, from my driveway. The main point of this shot (besides capturing some golden hour sun on some trees) was to demonstrate just how far back infinity focus starts with a 300mm. Bonus: (Nearly) the same view last summer, taken with my second Orestegor 300mm (which is significantly bigger and heavier than the 300mm Nikkor.) Again, not the wacky depth of field the 300mm provides. Both of these shots were taken wide open, which is to say F/4. Late afternoon sun on Jernegan pond. The 300mm Nikkor does produce a tiny bit of CA wide open. You both have to work to make it in a shot and then look for it afterward. A small plane flew overhead and I managed to capture it. Not as easy as one might imagine. There's shooting the moon, then there's shooting the moon. F/4, 1/160 with my hand on the front of the lens (steadies it a bit), ISO3200. Moments later, F/4 (I *think*), 1/160, ISO6400. More use of the 5D4's ISO performance. When I took this shot, I was very proud that I captured two herons and a duck. Upon editing I realized it was actually three herons. TBH I haven't picked up the 300mm Nikkor in a few weeks. I've been too busy editing photos from 2013 and 2023. More on that later.

For the Yashica? Split focusing would be great on any TRL; I dunno how many have one. I guess that’s what you mean: consider a third party screen. Probably not for the Yashica, it isn’t very good, but I could see it on an Autocord or Mamiya C3! I see myself with either a Mamiya 6 or 7, in 2025. I haven’t shot 6x7 yet, but I like 6x6 a lot.

@EdipisReks1 Mamiya 6 is a super cool camera. You might consider a split circle focusing screen

If I’m spending Rolleiflex money I’m just going to save up and get a Mamiya 6! Minolta Autocord with meter is likely my next purchase, and I’ll just get more practice with composing. I really do think the incredibly dim viewfinder on the Yashica is the biggest problem for me. I picked up a variable diopter for the FM2. Cheaper than getting new glasses; I find critical focus very hard to get if I’m even a little bit off, of course, so it’s great being able to dial in with my imperfect corrected vision. Oatmeal Johnny was made for the camera. A combination of methods and equipment, but the same cat.

Happy belated Shelly!

We chose the correct joint....yummy chow EDIT: as long as someone takes their mushy peas seriously...LOL HS

Mmmm, fish and chips!

I'm determined to find the best fish and chips in town for lunch today. Likely means the Red Lion but I have a bit of reconnoitering to do in case things have changed over the years... HS

My back hurts just thinking about playing a record on that turntable.

Interesting but don't like the aesthetic in that room.... I DO like the side view pic, maybe a variation on "His Master's Voice" perhaps?

Ferguson Hill Jetstream loudspeaker system:

https://bluemooncamera.com/shop/product/AAA0823|14810/rollei-rolleiflex-penta-prism

Thats whats needed but, stax logic is simple: why make a better product when you can sell something worse for much more and the hifi magazine reviewers are guaranteed to say its the best thing since non-sliced, small batch, organic artisan, seeded, whole meal, bread... *sigh* between on semi and Stax we just can't have nice things.

Saw a Play in Ross. We may well have been the youngest people in the audience.

Very happy birthday Shelly!

Shots back from The Darkroom. If I didn't know better I would think I had found some old pics in the bottom of a long forgotten box. HP-5 400 is way too grainy for daylight candids, but I love how it looks like the 90s. The shots from the Yashica (well, the in focus ones) look very much like they were shot on a camera from the 1960s. This was with new Kodak Gold 200. I definitely want a better medium format camera (the viewfinder is very dim on mine), but I can't say I'm too mad about the ones that were in focus and had decent composition (I'm still not used to things being backwards).

Built a vent board for our van AC unit that fits in the back window since they do not provide one and the only prebuilt one was really pretty cheap. This one is much more solid. Outside view inside view. We are almost ready for van life, which starts this Saturday.

Happy Birthday, Shelly!

Fortunately I have Hilton Diamond status, so I get the one closest to the pier.

This is how you make a car video. That bugatti looks insane. This was also filmed where I autocross.

Happy birthday, Shelly!