Light Night, Take Flight

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It was a lovely evening after I finished work today, so I went out for a drive and put the drone up for a bit.
I think this is the first drone photo I've posted this year.

Unoccupied

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I finished and developed another roll of film this afternoon, this time shot in my old Fuji STX-2. I quite enjoyed using it again after a very long break.
The last film came out pretty underdeveloped, so I gave this one longer in the developer, but it could have still taken more.
I also tried scanning this film with my EOS R5 and macro lens, using a film holder I 3D printed from a design on Printables.
It worked quite well, and was much faster and more predictable than scanning with my film scanner. As it works nicely, I think I'll try and clean up my setup to make it a bit more stable and less hacky. Currently, the holder isn't restrained, the camera is on a tripod, and I'm using an LED flat panel ceiling light as an illuminator.
While effective, it is not convenient. A smaller light, a dust brush, and something like a copy stand would seem to be indicated.
I can see myself eventually throwing money at the problem and buying a Valoi setup, but we shall see on that front.

The Boy Who Caught The Eclipse / The Eclipse

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Although only partial, this was still an interesting thing to see. I'm fairly pleased with these two.

I took a few bracketed shots that had some actual detail in the sun, including a sunspot, so I might try and merge them into an HDR photo later - I had a quick go as I was editing these, and wasn't happy with the results, so more work is required!

I'm posting this one late on here - I posted it on Instagram, then drafted the post here before I had to dash out on soundman related duties, and left without posting.
For some reason, it's had a remarkably low like count on Instagram so far.
Social media is an ugly beast. If you aren't careful to keep it in its box, it can really dent your self confidence when something you're pleased with gets ignored.

One more after the jump.

Hide And Seek / Intense Schnauzering

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A bit of a sad day today - I discovered that my days with Holly and Pepper are numbered, as they're going to be moving away from the area soon.
I'll really miss this pair of funny little furry things; they have been a significant part of my life for a long time now.
And to think I once said to Lucy "I'm really not sure I want to be in loco parentis to a dog!".
I'll have to try and squeeze in a few extra days with them in the next few weeks.

One more after the jump.

Blowin' Smoke

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A backup photo today, shot near work a couple of days ago.

Picking Up The Load.

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I felt utterly exhausted and headachy when I got home today.
I saw the light was looking interesting, and managed to drag myself out to shoot this, but then completely crashed out when I got back home.
This week is proving to be a real slog.

I'm wondering whether requesting a sabbatical would be a good idea, as I've been having increasingly frequent episodes of frustration and near-burnout for quite a while now, and this might be a way to reset things without chucking everything in completely.
The question that naturally follows is what I might be able to focus on during such a sabbatical. There are a couple of work-related projects I'd like to do more focused work on - one in particular, but there might also be scope to do something more serious with my photography.
Suggestions on a postcard...

2025-03-25

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