daily slice-of-life photo blog of a Gen-X dad
Photography-related posts. I talk about inspiration, settings, gear, other photographers, etc.
Today is National Camera Day! By coincidence, I had already gathered a few of my old film cameras to do some decluttering. In the photo above, you can see my current Fujifilm X-E4 sitting next to my Minolta Alpha 507si. I really enjoy using both of them. There’s still a roll of film loaded in the Minolta, so I’m planning to finish it and find out what’s on it. Always fun to see what surprises a forgotten roll might hold!
I’ve been using the SD200 a bit. The technology is so old but it makes some neat images. I like it!
I was looking for something in the cabinet when I came across our old Canon SD200 camera, the GOAT. 3.2 glorious megapixels! I’m so sad I can’t find my charger… I’m tempted to ebay one.
Our one full day in Big Bend was a busy one! After a quick breakfast and camp breakdown, we headed over to the Hot Springs. The water was clear and warm, and we took advantage of the cool river to alternate between hot and cold. The healing waters of the Rio Grande felt so good!
Next up was a hop over the border at the Boquillas Crossing for lunch at Jose Falcon’s. My chile relleno and beer was great. It was very different from the kind we get in Austin.
Fuelled up on Mexican food, it was time to burn those calories on the trail. We’ve never hiked The Window Trail in the Chisos Basin, so that was our destination. It was such a cool trail when ends at a viewpoint which is the actual Window. Such a great view, and we chatted with a few other hikers who arrived at the same time. Very cool vibe with the cool air flowing into the canyon, and Mexican Jays joining us.
Our campsite for the evening was Robbers Roost, a backcountry site that you need a high-clearance vehicle to reach. Because it so remote, the sky is super-dark and it’s perfect for astrophotography. Unfortunately, the winds were very strong this weekend, so there was a lot of dust and haze in the air. That made shooting the Milky Way (which was just over the horizon) difficult. But the dust did make for nice sunset colors!
And guess what? The Lyrid meteor shower was just starting up, so we got treated to a nice show!
It’s nice that my friend and I like photography. Dark skies in Big Bend are a highlight of the trip for sure, and we stayed up until 3 am taking photos. So fun, and nice way to end an awesome day.
I bought this Sigma 10-20mm lens in 2013 to use on my Sony A77 DSLR, and when I switched over to Fujifilm, I used it only rarely. But I have recently found it to be a great lens for my Twitch stream. The ultra-wide field-of-view allows me to show my desk, as well as Yuzu as she sleeps on her pillow next to me. I’m so happy I didn’t have any takers when it was up for sale a few years go. 😀
