Lancaster. A city I have not visited since highschool, if my memory is accurate (it's probably not, but let's roll with it). The last time I was here was for a trombone gig at Cedar Valley, where I played in a big band for a theater production at the school.
So I guess it's appropriate that my subsequent visit 20 years later is yet again at Cedar Valley. Not for music this time, and not for pay, but for a proposed nine-acre prairie, riparian, and woodlands restoration project on campus.
While today's walk and accompanying words and photos have absolutely nothing to do with Cedar Valley or even that area of town, I mention it because I absolutely must stay true to the name of this site: Dallas Rambler.
The walk today was interesting mainly because Lancaster is QUIET. Or at least it was in the area I was in on the middle of a random Wednesday in the month of April. It was so quiet and the energy so much calmer that it was hard to believe I was so close in proximity to Dallas.
My main objective today was to explore shooting with a dedicated camera once again, rather than with an iPhone. I certainly have a ways to go to get back to at least some level of skill I once had with camera-in-hand, but I'm not convinced the camera I chose is the right one for me.
The camera? An Olympus E-M10 MinIV with an Olympus 17mm f/1.8 lens – fully capable on a technical level. But, it doesn't fit my hands well, so it's out.
Another option is to go back to an updated version of my favorite camera, the X-Pro1, and pickup an X-Pro2 with a 23mm weather-sealed lens, dial-in some great JPG recipes, and be done with it. Another not serious option is to shoot everything with the RichieCam app on iPhone.
I'll likely end up with a Fuji X-Pro2 or X-T4.
But what about Lancaster itself? Well, judging by the photograph above, it appears they lack best practices in riparian zone management. But no matter – the place does have some interesting history – history I'll ramble about in future posts.
