Photos taken with the Leica SL2 and my new 50mm APO Summicron lens. The IQ and colour rendition from this lens is extraordinary. Leica "magic".
You cannot set these photos up.You have to take them as you find them.
After the sad passing of beautiful Marvel four weeks ago we decided that we should adopt another rescue cat so that our other cat, Smudge, did not adjust to being the boss cat of the house!
Fortunately by sheer luck we very quickly found a recue cat waiting to be adopted in a rescue sanctuary, the NinthLife Foundation, very close to home.
The foundation takes in older cats whose owners cannot look after or keep them any longer.
Sadly most people want to adopt young cats so finding homes for older cats is not easy. Poor Holly had been in the foundation for 7 months when we spotted her on their website. Her room in the sanctuary was nice but she must have been very bored. She had been surrendered when her lady owner had to move back overseas to look after her sick father.
Holly is a domestic long hair and she is big-very big. She is six years old and very affectionate and friendly. She was obviously doted on by her previous owner.
We had no hesitation in adopting her. Who could resist those beautiful eyes? She has settled in very well although relations between her and Smudge are still somewhat fraught.
Holly has a magnificent coat but she needs daily brushing to avoid knots and hairballs. She is obviously used to brushing and is fully cooperative which is a relief as she is a big cat and wrestling her would not be easy.
Every day I miss Marvel still but I cannot believe how lucky we are to have found Holly.
Yesterday, Wednesday, was a beautiful, warm day. Unlike Monday-see previous post-there was no cold wind. It was 24ºc -ideal for walking-so I decided to walk up the Coast Track in Wyrrabalong National Park just a 20 minute drive from home to hopefully see the displays of flannel flowers along the track.
Flannel flowers -Actinotus helianthi- are found on sandstone heathland in small areas around Sydney and the coast of New South Wales and they briefly bloom in the spring.
I drove to Bateau Bay and then walked up the Coast Track to Crackneck Lookout and then along the track towards the Wyrrabalong Lookout. As the first part of the walk is a steady uphill climb I decided to take only my water bottle and the light X-Vario camera. A sensible decision.
The flannel flowers did not disappoint. I only saw the displays along the track on the ridge but was told by some walkers that there are equally impressive displays further along the track which involves going down -and then coming up again- a long steep set of steps. I passed on that one.
I did not see any snakes which are now starting to come active in the warming weather and I did not even see any snake trails in the sand on the track. However I did see a large bluetongue lizard which unfortunately did not stay around long enough for me to take a photo.
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| The beautiful walk up the hill through eucalypts and scrub. The large dark bulb up the tree is a termite colony. |
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| 180º views from Crackneck Lookout. This is looking north. The pristine sand beaches extend into the distance |
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| Flannel flowers |
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| The scrub vegetation is bent over by the wind which blows off the sea onto this cliff top location |
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| Typical sandy heathland vegetation enhanced by flowering flannel flowers |
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| The flannel flower lined Coast Track. |
I took my Leica SL2 and a 16-35mm lens with the intention of taking some panormas. Here are the "keepers"
The top two were taken from Snapper Point and the bushland was beside the track on the way there. This type of bush with low grasses and ferns is ideal habitat for very venemous Eastern Brown and Red Bellied Black snakes so I was reluctant to venture off the track.
It's a week since I posted the collection of photos I took on my one hour walk in Terrigal with my revived X1. I've walked every day since but I forgot to take the camera with me until today. Here's today's haul.
My 'vintage' Leica X1 has been restored to health thanks to friend Wayne fitting a new internal battery. It's not a straightforward task so many thanks Wayne
Last Monday I gave it a shakedown on my early morning walk here in Terrigal. It's been 5 years since I'd used the X1 and I'd totally forgotten how small and light it is and how simple the controls are. I'd also forgotten how good the image quality is and particularly the quality of the jpeg files. It may only have a 12mp sensor and it certainly lacks the frills and bells and whistles of later digital cameras but when measured on the only criteria which really counts it's still a top contender.
A few days ago Wayne had pointed me in the direction of an outstanding photography website A Cambridge Diary The outstanding quality and consistency of the photos on this site has really motivated me to keep taking photos even here at home.
So I set out on my beachside walk at 6.30 on a really beautiful morning. I'd set myself the target of taking three acceptable photos on the one hour's walk. The plan was to walk at my normal exercising pace and not to go deliberately seeking photo opportunities. In fact I came back with a bigger haul of worthwhile photos than I had hoped. Here they are-all taken within the hour and all jpeg files.
Last Sunday was the Italian F1 Grand Prix at Monza. It was an exciting race run in very hot conditions in front of a huge crowd of Tifosi-Ferrari fans. It was as if the spectator areas had been sprayed red.
And to their absolute delight they got what they wanted- a well deserved Ferrari victory by Charles Leclerc.
I would have loved to have been there for this year's race but sadly my days of crossing the world to go to the big races are over but I was very fortunate to go to the 1981 Italian Grand Prix. It was also a very hot day but that year both Ferraris were out by lap 7 so a large part of the crowd went home or headed to a bar at that point. So different to this year.
Monza is a special place with an atmosphere like no other track. Back 43 years ago-is it really that long ago-it was all very casual and chaotic and with a pit pass I was able to wander down pit lane taking photos as the mechanics-they were called mechanics back then, not technicians-worked on the cars.
The photo above is one of my all time favourite photos. Closest to the camera is the Ligier Matra of Patrick Tambay and in front of it is the Ligier Matra of Jacques Laffite.
The photo was taken with an Olympus OM2 camera with a 28mm Zuiko lens on Kodachrome film.
