Here’s the view from the cafe where I’m having a bite to eat. For me it’s an hour on the bike to get here from LAX. Others of you will, of course, be faster.
Sent from my iPhone
Olympus Trip 35 Test Shot
Here's a shot I took this morning with my Olympus Trip 35. I've edited the digital image a bit, mostly cropping. If it doesn't look great part of the reason is that I had a cheap scan done at a box store where it was developed instead of scanning the negs at a high resolution. Still I was very, very surprised at how well this camera works, even with ti's zone focusing.
Camera Orgy…
It’s been a while since I played around with my collection of old rangefinder cameras. A while back I ended up buying way too many of the darn things, cleaning them up, and then shooting a few rolls through them. For the most part I’ve not used them a lot, tending to stick to a batch of Nikon SLRS I picked up the same way.
On Saturday, due to the tsunami keeping me home, I took out a few and checked which ones needed batteries I didn’t already have around. Later, when it was all clear – thankfully there was no damage anywhere – I picked up the batteries I needed.
But that got the bug going again. Apparently, just like bikes, one needs n+1 rangefinders. Thus I found myself on EBay again indulging that part of me. I lost out on a couple of FSU (former Soviet Union) models and perhaps that’s just as well. I may still order one from fedka.com. What I did win were these models:
Olympus Pen EE – Not a rangefinder actually, but a fun camera that uses half frames to double your pleasure.
Olympus XA – I have two, neither are reliable. I’m hoping this one actually works.
Rollei 35 SE – Again, not a rangefinder, but supposedly has a superb lens – we’ll see.
And today, I’m turning in a bit of film from another camera of mine, an Olympus Trip 35. It’s not a rangefinder either…hmmm…but is a cute little beast with zone focusing I’ve just run a roll of film through. Perhaps in an hour I’ll have a shot to put up!
Aloha!
Tsunami warning…
It’s just a few minutes until the islands most likely will be hit by tsunamis generated by the devastating quake in Chile.
Hawaii has, of course, been hit before. Warnings have been going on since before sunrise. The warning sirens first went off at 6:00am (HST) and are, in fact, going off now. The island of Hawaii will be hit first, in about 30 minutes, Oahu, where I live, sometime later.
There’s really not much to say about it. I hope and pray there will be no loss of life here in the islands. Indeed, I hope the wave proves to be tiny and not the 6-8ft that may hit.
Aloha!
Hammocks, cooking gear, bicycles, …
My smaller, but deluxe, rainfly from Hennessy Hammocks arrived yesterday. I’d originally gotten mine with the larger “hex” model, but I’ve found that it blocks off more air than I’d like and is a bit harder to pack as you can’t simply roll it up into the “snakeskins.”
I pulled out my hammock when the rainfly arrived and put it all together and packed it up so it’s good to go! I’d love to try it before I go out to Malaekahana, but I may or may not get the chance…can you say Sand Island?
Hennessy Explorer Deluxe Asym (regular rainfly)
I’ve used it at Malaekahana before, but I guess I really should give them a call and ask if it’s all right. They didn’t say anything the last time. Of course if I ask, I give them the opportunity to say no. Sigh.
All in all, my bike is ready, especially with it’s new Platrack (more on that in another post). 
I’ve also got a very light cooler I can use while camping that is light enough use on the bicycle, especially if it’s filled with my hammock and blanket on the way out.
Add to that my new cookset, the Trangia 27-7 UL/HA and I should be styling!
I’m still sort of debating the whole thing, 250 miles in 4 days and all, but I’m really almost there. My big worry is they won’t allow my hammock if I ask. On the other hand, getting out there after cycling 60 miles and not being able to camp because they don’t like my hammock would be a bigger problem. And to top it off, I really should be making my reservations soon just in case it’s a popular thing to do. My fallback position would be to try for one of their “Li’l Grass Shacks“, but that sort of defeats the camping deal.
….breaking news….
It’s all good. I called, asked about my hammock, and was able to make a reservation and secure my site! Sweet. I can even have 5 friends!
Aloha!
