And here are a few cellphone photos from the latter half of my visit to the Arboretum on Friday, May 14th. The sun came out soon after I had arrived at 11:10 a.m., and I am glad. It really brightened the colors of the plants.
There were no crowds that day, which was to be expected during the weekend. It makes me feel safer, even though the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) has issued the policy statement that people who are vaccinated no longer have to worry about wearing masks either indoors or outdoors. I will still wear my mask for a while longer, it just feels comfortable for me (well, not comfortable physically, it still annoys me, but comfortable mentally).
There were a few places I visited that I had not seen before. Just a few trails, not large sections, but I always like to explore new areas. I was using film cameras as well today, my Kraken 6x17 and my Minolta Autocord. And I was making mistakes, so, so many mistakes.
One expensive and frustrating mistake with the 6x17 involves not winding forward after I have made an exposure. I went to the rose garden to take this photo, both with cellphone (photo follows) and with infrared film on the 6x17.
So, what happened? Well, I had already taken a photo at another location, probably the herb garden as I recall, which is nearby, and I had not winded forward. Mentally I told myself that I would remember when I was about to take another exposure, but I had to wait about 10-15 minutes for the rose garden to clear up, with people walking through it. As soon as the elderly white couple (with an even older family member in a wheelchair) had gone through the whole motion of taking off a sweater and opening drinks and storing things in various bags, while I was waiting, another group came by, and they were going to enter the frame. Hurry, hurry!, I told myself. Big, big mistake. I had the camera already on the tripod and the cable release in hand, and had focused while waiting for the prior group to leave, so I went ahead and snapped, and as I did, I had a terrible feeling. I didn't wind to the next frame! Double exposure! So, because I was annoyed and in a hurry, I made a big mistake. I had to retake this shot again, but I lost the previous one.
I saw this statue and the light was a little better on it. I've seen and photographed it in prior visits. It looks at a glance, from far off, as a statue of Mary, mother of Jesus. She seems to be a material figure holding a globe which I take is the world.
But then, as you approach, you know it can't be a religious statue, much less of Mary. She has a bared breast, they would never allow that, plus the cut of the skirt is rather high. It must be a classical reference.
There is an aquatic garden I have never visited, in the area above the waterfall. How did I miss it before? Well, it must have been closed, that is why. It offers some beautiful pools. I was able to take a few photos here too.
I got tired that day, very tired. I was only planning on staying for two hours, so I figured, I would be done by about 1 p.m., but I ended up staying until about 3 p.m. I was, however, very tired at the end. I knew by then that I was doomed, traffic home would be terrible, and it was somewhat bad, but it could have been worse. The stretch on the 71 freeway as we approach the city called crown was especially bad, just moving at a crawl. However, I had a good visit, so that helped my state of mind. Now I have some film to develop.
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