Category Archives: Photographs

My latest addition

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Amidst all the world’s turmoil, and the destruction being wrought by the disgusting man serving as president, life goes on.

And for those who follow some of my photos here and over on Facebook, this is a little update.

I bought myself a new camera for Christmas in 2024. My choice at that time was a full frame Sony A7cii or the Panasonic Lumix S9.

The Sony had better specs and a longer track record, more lens choices, but cost substantially more. The S9 was smaller and lighter, and although missing several features, I decided their absence didn’t bother me. And Panasonic was a founding member of the L-Mount Alliance, a group of companies now producing lenses for cameras using Leica’s L-mount design, started along with Leica and Sigma to produce lenses that can be used on all of their cameras.

So I’ve had the camera now for about 14 months and feel like I finally figured out the basics, and my photos–these days featuring lots of dogs, cats, and colorful sunrises–are generally looking better.

This week I added another lens, built by a relatively new company, TTARTISAN, which has been producing lenses in Shenzhen, China, since 2019. At first, they sold primarily manual focus lenses, but recently have added several auto focus products.

I decided to try their 40mm f/2.0 lens for L-mount. It is one of the smallest lens available for the S9, and is available for less than 1/3 the price of it’s closest competitor made by Sigma. I took it out this morning for the first time, and came back very pleased!

For the price, it is a very, very pleasant surprise! Here are a few photos from this morning’s first time out.

FYI, it is also available for Sony E-Mount and Nikon Z-Mount.

Old snapshots = amazing memory aids

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Slogging through the process of scanning old snapshots stimulates the brain cells by reminding you of those past lived experiences! It turns a tedious task into a rather fun ride!

It appears that 1995 was one of Meda’s sabbatical years, although it looks like she took the spring semester off at full pay rather than the full year at half pay. That seems likely because the photo evidence is that we took at least two trips within a few months of each other, Boston in March and Melbourne, Australia, in July.

Seeing the horses reminded me that we stayed at the conference hotel, a Marriott in Copley Square. The horses are installed outside the hotel. From there, we walked around a lot of Boston.

I remember that there was a lane in back of the hotel, and we discovered two restaurants back there that took us through the week. One was a Thai restaurant that we must have gone to three of the nights we were there. And there was also a pizza place that drew us in, or where we would pick up a pizza to take back to our room.

My favorite photo from our couple of weeks in Melbourne that same year was taken on a tour of the wine country north of Melbourne with a the husband of Meda’s colleague at the University of Melbourne.

Feline Friday: Welcome to a new year

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New Year’s Eve is much quieter in Kahala than it was during our quarter-century in Kaaawa. There it sounded like a war zone, and some of our cats were scared from the very first isolated pop of a firecracker. The dark, black corners of closets became prized hiding places for the duration. But Kahala benefits from a combination of far fewer fireworks and much better insulation that keeps much of the noise at bay.

In any case, we’ve all slid involuntarily into a new year of adventures yet to come. It’s not a blank slate by any means, but it has lots of potential.

So sit right down and enjoy your weekly dose of feline energy!

Feline Friday: January 2, 2026

Feline Friday falls on Boxing Day

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Well, it’s Boxing Day, December 26, the day after Christmas. It’s also Feline Friday. Which means you’re in luck!

Friends arrived on Sunday bearing gifts for the cats, as well as a few for us, but Santa seems to have driven past our house without stopping this year. But no worries, you don’t have to feel sorry for us. We make reservations to spend a week in Portland in March, but that was about our only significant purchase. I guess the “problem” is that if we need something, we buy it without waiting for a proper “occasion.” So when the occasion arrives, there’s nothing left to give ourselves. A problem, it seems, that isn’t actually a problem.

So, the cats. Kinikini makes a rather ungraceful appearance while cleaning his ample stomach. Kali shows off her transparent ears. And Bessie is caught again with her tongue out.

Just another week in the lives of our Kahala cats!

Feline Friday on Boxing Day