🔥 Current year posting percentage: 100%

Days posted this year: 283 / 365

Current streak: 327 days in a row

Longest streak: 327 days

Total photos on site: 1060

Total posts on site: 588

Welcome

Welcome to 365pixels 👋🏻

Home for my 365 photo challenge, where I attempt to take and post a photo every day for the year.

Click on Photos to see all the photos on one page, or scroll down and look at each post. You can find more pictures and some not-very-good blogging at Cliff538, and my dedicated photoblog Cliff538Pixels. You can see the Polaroid archive page here.

You can learn more: About this blog - About me - Blog stats.

Curious about my journey back into film shooting, you can find all those posts here. There is also a dedicated page to the journey and resources that I have personally used and can recommend.

I hope these pictures bring a smile and inspire you to go take some pictures.

Thank you for stopping by.

Saguaro in Black & White (283/365)

Auto-generated description: A tall cactus with multiple arms is shown against a clear sky in black and white.

Nikon Z8 & LR

Lots of thunderstorms rolling through today, dust advisories, and very dirty brown air out there. Shot from the truck window, cropped and converted.

Spent a lot of time today scanning Kodak Gold 200, using the Frontier and Noritsu scanner color models. It’s a unique film; it has lots of color and punch. More experimenting to do with this film.

Desert on Kodak Gold 200 (282/365)

Auto-generated description: A desert landscape featuring several tall saguaro cacti under a partly cloudy sky.

Pentax 67II • Kodak Gold 200

Still not venturing out yet, but I scanned and processed two rolls of 120 from the Pentax 67II.

Scanned with the Valoi 360 and a Nikon Z8. I processed them in Lightroom Classic with Negative Lab Pro.

This was my first time shooting Kodak Gold, and it’s got some punch!

Minimal II (281/365)

Auto-generated description: A minimalist building partially casts a shadow against a clear blue sky.

iPhone shot & processed

Apologies, but it’s a reframing of yesterday’s shot with color. I never even left the house today.

The good news is I’m off the hardcore drugs, and I was able to shower today. Lots of swelling, but healing nicely. Oh, the life of post-op. Got some good work done on Cliff538Pixels, including a way to post pictures from the archive and make it clear they aren’t new. Got the first From The Archive test picture up.

I babbled a lot more than normal on Masto today; I blame the drugs.

Toast with me. To good health!

Minimal (280/365)

Auto-generated description: A minimalist architectural composition featuring contrasting light and shadow on a modern building under a clear sky.

iPhone shot & processed

Another day of healing and fighting off the fog of drugs and lack of sleep. Hours after the surgery, you think, “Oh, this isn’t bad at all; I feel pretty good,” then you wake up the next day feeling like you got hit by a semi-truck.

Good day, though, lots of reading, journaling, and behind-the-scenes work on the new blog. Working on the stats page and figuring out how to bring in film vs. digital. Went outside for a short walk to blow the stink off, as they say; got an iPhone shot I liked. Judging by how I walked, I definitely don’t need to be driving anywhere…

Half a Thyroid Down (279/365)

Auto-generated description: A person lying in a hospital bed with an IV inserted in their arm, wearing a hospital gown and an identification wristband.

iPhone shot & processed

Well, you can’t get rid of me that easily. I lived. LOL. Although missing 50% of my thyroid now. Tough way to lose weight. I’m really glad I did the surgery; I had a nodule that was growing 4mm every six months, and it was inconclusive on whether it was cancerous or not. So, it was either get it removed or do a fine-needle biopsy every 6 months, which is no fun. But while the doc was in there, he found a golf ball-sized mass pressing up against my windpipe!

I’ll find out soon if there was any cancer in there. The one bad thing about flying airplanes for over 40 years is the constant exposure to excessive amounts of radiation.

Anyway, no Stray Pixels today, because you don’t want to see the neck scar! I’ll have to come up with a good story about how I got it. Thyroid surgery is boring. I need a good knife-fight story or a caught an arrow in the neck drama!!

Pretty damn sore today, but glad it’s all over.

I pushed out the new blog today and had some good testing on it from my Mastodon friends. Thank you, everybody. You can read the details about it on the about page.

It’s been a really fun experience setting up and running a blog without a professional service. I’ve learned so much, and I know there is much more to learn. I’m not leaving Micro.blog or abandoning my other blogs; each serves its own purpose. I’ll have to see how things go with the new blog after I hopefully hit my 365-in-a-row posts on this blog. Should I keep posting daily photos, or just post when I want on the other blog? Time will tell. It’s always good to have options.

May we live in less interesting times!

I really appreciate you stopping by.

Solo Palm (278/365)

Auto-generated description: A solitary palm tree stands tall against a clear, gradient sky at sunset or sunrise.

Thought I’d post a picture I took last night during sunset in case I’m too out of it after surgery.

Wherever this picture finds you, I hope it was a good day!

City Cow (277/365)

Auto-generated description: A cow is standing in a grassy field with a fence, trees, and distant hills visible in the background.

Surgery is tomorrow morning, early.

If you see a picture posted tomorrow, you know I lived.

See ya on the other side.

Concrete Camouflage (276/365)

Auto-generated description: A lizard is sunbathing on a rough, textured concrete surface.

Nikon Z8 & LR

Another fine day: mild temperatures, a good swim at the gym, and cleaning and organizing the garage. Then my favorite thing: working on the new project. Getting close to publishing. Still adding some photos and working on the about page, etc.

Ya, I need another blog like I need a hole in my head, but yet here we are, working on a new blog. It’s a photo blog, but it will be more photo-forward, clean, simple, and have a few nice features to highlight the photography along with photography trips. There won’t be any rules with this one, and I’ll just post my favorite photos and some “Cliff Notes” about anything photography-related.

I’m not sure if I’ll keep posting to 365Pixels after I (hopefully) complete my goal of posting every day for a year. I may, but this other blog may win out. We shall see. I’m not sure I want the pressure of posting every day. But it’s become such a habit that it may not be that hard to continue. The hardest part some days is just remembering to take some photos, any photos, when the day is long and busy.

I’ve been trying not to think about it, but Monday is my thyroid surgery… I’m hoping I’ll feel up to posting a pic after the surgery. We shall see. I don’t pre-post on this blog! There are rules! LOL. I have a suspicious nodule on my thyroid, and they are going to remove half or more of it. Ya, not great. But better than leaving a possible cancer nodule thingy in your body. They are hoping to leave enough in so I won’t have to take medicine every day for the rest of my life to produce whatever the thyroid is supposed to produce. Good times will be had by all. Thank goodness for modern medicine and drugs that knock you out. Can you imagine surgery without anesthesia? Prior to 1846, you just took a swig of whiskey and hoped to pass out. Ugh.

I hope it was a great day in your world today. Thanks for stopping by and taking a look around. Go take some pictures!

Cholla Light (275/365)

Auto-generated description: A cactus with fuzzy stems is illuminated from behind, creating a glowing outline against a blurred background.

Good day today. Had lunch with an old friend; always good to catch up in person. Got a few desert shots today out on a drive and worked on my new web project. Nothing to announce right now; it’s still not ready for the public, and I’m still thinking it through, but it’s always fun to dabble in a fun new project!

Never stop learning!

The Rising (274/365)

Auto-generated description: A dramatic sky filled with large, billowing clouds looms over silhouetted palm trees and buildings.

Nikon Z8 & LR

This shot is from yesterday, but I just got it processed today. It was time for some black & white.

Lots of work on the blog today. I didn’t have a proper photo viewer you could scroll through all the photos with; now we do. You also couldn’t click a picture on the main page to bring up a photo viewer, so I fixed that. I cleaned up the footer a bit. I also set the default for my photos to post at the largest size, so now they extend out from the post. In my blog settings, this was called photo overflow. I like it this way better. I changed the give kudos button on posts to “Send Some Love” and it now gives a nice shower of confetti.

Lots of little changes all add up to a better experience, and I get to learn more about these Hugo-based blogs.

I hope it was an outstanding day!

Stormlight (273/365)

Auto-generated description: A dramatic sky filled with large, dense clouds hovering over a distant industrial or warehouse complex near a barren landscape.

Nikon Z8 & LR

I’ve been going for drives around sunset the past two nights to get my daily shots. It’s been slim pickings around the house. Yesterday, I took 50+ shots of bees on the flowers with my iPhone, and not a single one was post-worthy. I was going to be so proud pulling off a nice bee on the flower shot with the iPhone. It’s better to go for a drive with the Nikon.

Today was a big day on the film front. Using new-to-me Jobo tanks and reels, I loaded two rolls of 120 and got them developed. The Jobo reels are not user-friendly at all. I practiced with them at least 20 times to figure them out and feel somewhat confident. 120 is unique because you have to remove the paper backing and the tape holding it on; then you can tackle getting the film on the reel. It went better than I thought. I was unwilling to sacrifice a roll of 120 to practice removing the backing paper, so I watched a YouTube video and called that good enough. I used Bellini C-46 chemicals. I couldn’t scan today because apparently I don’t have a 6x7 film mask. It’s on order.

I hope you had a great day wherever you were today. I appreciate you stopping by to take a look.

Grey Day (271/365)

Auto-generated description: A narrow outdoor walkway beside a building features a large overhanging light fixture, potted plants, and metal awnings.

iPhone shot & processed

It’s sure easier on vacation to get shots you like! Back to the daily grind, and it becomes harder to get good pictures.

Today was overcast and rainy all day, which is pretty nice and pretty unusual for the desert. I just loved it.

I worked on some film-developing flows and techniques and used a small aquarium pump in my tub water to get better temperature control. Made some good progress. I just need to finish off a roll of 120, then I can develop two or three rolls.

Appreciate you stopping by, and I hope you saw some beautiful and friendly smiles today.

👾Click for Stray Pixels👾

Auto-generated description: A black and white photo showcases an exterior wall with a vintage industrial-style light fixture and a metal awning above a door and windows.

Daisy in Stripes (265/365)

Auto-generated description: A dog is lying down on a textured floor with shadows of horizontal blinds creating striped patterns across its body.

iPhone shot & processed

River has been getting all the love on the blog; gotta get Daisy in on the action.

Another slow day on the photography front. I seem to be in film develop-and-scan mode now, and I’m finding it hard to get out and shoot. It is still too hot outside; it will be until mid to late October. I have some shooting (picture-making) ideas but need a good kick in the pants to get out there and actually do it.

I have a thyroid surgery coming up soon, which I’m trying hard not to think about much. I’m hoping the recovery will be fairly short, and I’ll feel well enough to get out and take some pictures during recovery. If not, maybe develop some film.

That 120 film is still staring at me. I’ve watched a few videos on spooling it and sacrificed a roll to practice with. Almost ready.

I hope the day was good to you, and as always, thank you for stopping by.

Golden Child (264/365)

Auto-generated description: A golden retriever is lying down on a tiled floor, resting its head near a wall.

Nikon F3 • Ilford Vintage Tone 400

Allow me another film shot today. It wasn’t shot today, but it was developed and processed today (I need to add this to the house rules! LOL). If I keep developing and processing this much, I may get good at it.

I made a photo set of all my PNW Road Trip keepers. I wrote up tips & tricks for developing and processing the last three rolls.

O.K., now onto that 120 film… I’m not going to lie, I’m a little nervous about spooling that up in the dark bag.