The southwestern desert is a vast expanse, whether you’re driving through it, hiking its myriad trails, or simply staring out across the distances for miles and miles. I did a lot of that last one my first week at Organ Pipe Cactus National Monument. And then serendipity brought me to a little shop in Ajo where a photographer had a case of lenses for sale. Sitting there on a shelf, calling my name was a beautiful old Minolta lens, a 100mm sibling to the 58mm lens I had inherited from my Dad several years ago.
It will be a big learning curve to get good images with this lens but that purple bloom was a good start. Over three days, I practiced with f-stops and ISOs and focus lengths till I was mostly satisfied with this image. I think I’ll need the tripod to get really tack-sharp photos but it will be worth the effort.
This one was a late evening shot, very close-up using an iPhone 12. There’s something about the way that center hasn’t yet unfolded that captured my eye.
During my time at Organ Pipe, the ocotillos blossomed, rioutous red things at the end of spiky sharp branches. The contrast was too much to pass up. I probably took a hundred photos or more of ocotillo blooms trying to capture their essence. The cover photo to this post is a close-up of a fully-blooming ocotillo.
This skeleton of a cactus branch was so lovely that I had to try it with my new lens. The bokeh (out of focus background) is just creamy delicious with this lens, much like the other Minolta lens I have. Both of them are heavy glass, circa 1970s, when cameras were SLRs and nothing was digitized. Using either one is all manual, so I’m going back to basics to figure out how best to use them.
I’ll close this post out with another ocotillo image, taken with the Minolta 100mm lens. It was so hot when I found this three-bloom shot, so I didn’t spend a lot of time on it, but I still like how it came out.
Nothing like a new (old) lens to inspire a different way of looking at the world. Or the desert.
Those who contemplate the beauty of the earth find reserves of strength that will endure as long as life lasts.
Rachel Carson
Beautiful <3
It’s definitely fun! Works very similar to the other Minolta lens, all manual, baby, so at least I’m not starting from zero.
Congrats on the new lens, Annie! I know you’ll do beautiful things with it.
I confess that the photo taken with the iPhone 12 reminded me of none other than The Little Shop of Horrors!
I admire your outstanding photographs and descriptions yet, more so, the depth and richness of the quotations you choose for each entry are multi-meaning full and dimensional all at once. Many thanks.
Hi Annie,
Loved this post. Sort of pushing me over the edge to upgrade to the 12! But I also love your use of the early lenses and your photos. I’m guessing that you also came out the old days of film photography. I am grateful that I have had that experience in my photography past. Knowing the basics of composition and using the manual adjustments gives you a great appreciation for your subjects and more creativity for your own artistry. Priceless.
I continue to read all your posts and see all your lovely images. Thanks for continuing to share!
Jenny