For my 41st birthday, I asked my wife that we go camping. Luckily, we were able to find a open spot in Barton Flats Campground in San Bernardino National Forest (Near Big Bear Lake). Strangely enough, we've been camping all around California, and yet, this is the first time we've camped near Big Bear. I guess we always thought of it as a ski resort thing in the winter, but I'm glad we've found more use for it during the summer! Barton Flats turned out to be a great campground. There are many big trees here to provide good shades and there are nice clean toilets and free showers. The camp host does an excellent job upkeeping the place... each campsite is raked and cleaned before the guests' arrival. We definitely wouldn't mind coming back here again. Very near the campground, there's very nice short hike (approx. 1 mile) up to Jens Lake. It tooks us about an hour, with plenty of rests, to hike up to the Lake. The stunning view of the lake makes the hike worth it. Some of us went walking around the lake which probably took less than 30 minutes. The water is very clear, but we told to not swim in it because there are lots of fish hooks from people's line getting caught in the algae. All in all, what a lovely weekend to celebrate my birthday. I found that 16mm is great for taking selfies, so you might see more of me in my own photographs! NOT :) If you would like the see the full set of images from this weekend, [CLICK HERE].
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The WATE has been stuck on my M9 for the past month. Still learning its characteristics and adjusting myself to shoot at such wide angle. I'm starting to notice the distortions it brings when shooting at close quarters, but overall I'm still very happy with it. We'll soon be going on a camping trip and I can't wait to take it out in the wild!
Shooting with a wide-angle lens is a lot of fun. At 21mm, your field of view is about 90 degree, and at 16mm, it feels like looking with one eye open... it's WIDE! With the recently acquired Wide Angle Tri-Elmar (WATE), I figured I needed some time to get to know the lens, its operation, the frankenfinder, and just learning to shoot wide-angle shots overall. Today we took my son and our moms out for some sun exposure. We first went to Long Beach and stopped by the Restoration Hardware Outlet, and we went to Redondo Beach to walk around. I had a lot of fun trying to figure out how to compose a scene and here are the results:
I thought the Leica 16-18-21mm Wide Angle Tri-Elmar (WATE) was going to my landscape lens. However, I didn't know how much fun a wide angle lens can be in a close quarter, capturing scenes that I never imagined before. What a fun lens!
A father's day present that came early! 28'Cron has served as my wide angle lens for a while now. While I'm able to make it work most of the time, I always had a wandering eye for something wider. I've been hawking over the online forums and eBay for the 21'SEM and the WATE for a while now. Finally, last week I was able to pick up a great condition WATE for a very reasonable price, I'm so happy my patience paid off. My wife agreed with the purchase and said it'll be my father's day present :P
Here's a snapshot of my son while I tested the lens out: |
AuthorDavid Young Archives
May 2023
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My Journey into Leica...
A path not to be taken lightly, not without reservations, and not without dedication, but the results can be sweet, OH SO SWEET! This is a documentation of my trials and tribulations into the world of Leica Rangefinder Photography, and I hope you'll enjoy coming along with me.