A Walk in Armstrong Woods

Every few years, I take a camera for a walk in Armstrong Woods, a grove of redwoods just outside of Guerneville, CA near the Russian River. I always try and capture the majesty of these giant trees, some over a thousand years old, but I never do the place justice. I don’t think a man and a camera can.

It’s dark and damp on the trails that wander around the bases of these trees. Light plays down in shafts, tickling the branches above and on the clover below. The light here fools even the hardiest of light meters, but I think the one in my Canon A-1 did a decent job on some nearly expired Kodak ColorPlus.

There are always a fair number of people in the preserve, but everyone speaks in hushed tones as if they were in church. The grove feels like a holy place.

I sent my Canon A-1 in for service about a year ago. Jim Holman at ICT did a nice CLA on it and got rid of the annoying Canon squeal that so many A-1 and AE-1 Canons have. I only shoot this camera a few times a year but always enjoy the experience.