Little Si was my choice for a first post-COVID hike.

Doing a bunch of hiking, then lazing around ill, and then trying not to push myself too meant that this was the first post-COVID mountain I’d climb, and I’d say it was a good choice.

It was fairly short, fairly moderate (though it has some steep and rocky sections), and.. only fairly crowded on this particular drizzly Saturday in February. I had thought about going elsewhere, but I had hoped the weather conditions would help ensure that the hike would be less crowded.

I think you can imagine the elation and joy I felt when after spending nearly two weeks quarantining in my apartment, I was suddenly able to be in the outside world again.

And so, I felt as though I was seeing my surroundings with fresh eyes again. The city was having moments of glorious sunshine in between fits of drizzliness. The temperature was rising, flowers were blooming. And fate compelled me to check out one of the city’s most popular tourist attractions when I was looking at replacing my increasingly scratched glasses. (Yes, that’s what two years of wiping condensation with my shirt when I entered an indoor space with a mask did to ’em.)

Besides this, of course, I’ve gotten sundry joys from birding and going on a few recent hikes, but those have (or shortly will have) their own posts.

This is my photographic perspective from various corners of the city. If things seem weird… it probably means that I’m experimenting.

No more words, just images.

I made it to the Black Hills of South Dakota. A place that was profound, beautiful, kitschy, and touristy in equal measure. A place that was simply gorgeous.

So, what was happening in the Black Hills in mid-September of 2021?

We enter my fourteenth month (!?) of weekly photographic challenges. This month’s photographs represent my experiences, interests, and happenstances at least as much as they do the specific challenges.

Let’s get into it!

Earlier this month, I decided finally got around to signing up for the “Olympus Test & Wow” program.

As far as I can tell, this promotion has been running for quite a number of years now, without any regard for the shifting landscape of photography or the sale of Olympus’s camera division.

The Test & Wow program works thusly: if you are lucky enough to live near one of the ten or so retailers who are in the program, you can fill in a form and then borrow some nice Olympus kit for four days free of charge. Obviously, I decided to borrow the most expensive thing possible: the Olympus 300mm f/4 Pro.

You’re prohibited to use the equipment for commercial purposes, and your sole goal should be “testing.” As a consequence, I have elected to host these photos on Flickr at maximum resolution under a Creative Commons Non-Commercial Share-Alike license, rather than to host them privately.

(Side note – the code that embeds the Flickr images here is janky and not totally bug free, so if something doesn’t display, just click the link on that image to see it.)

What could I do?

(Warning: a bajillion, zillion, quadrillion images follow)

Oh yes.

As I mentioned in my January 52 Frames post, I finally caught that dastardly coronavirus.

Fortunately, it was a mild case of the Omicron variant, and with time and social distancing, I recovered quite quickly. I am very grateful to have been vaccinated and boosted, which I believe helped my symptoms be as mild as they were.

One of the questions I got asked a fair amount was, “where did you catch it?” Given the nature of the ultra-contagious virus that may or may not show its symptoms for days… who’s to say?

My best guess is a coffee shop in Tilamook, Oregon, where I may have sipped a beverage whilst admiring a blackboard, home to cafe goers’ communal musings.

The topic: your New Year’s Resolution.

The answers: generally a range from “put myself out there more,” “support indigenous/black/trans voices,” and “more Jesus.”

Mine was probably, “to continue being COVID free,” but alas…

I visited Lebanon for a mere four days in October 2016, and I had a fantastic time that I can’t help but want to reminisce about…