Things are mellow around here. I'm catching up on lunches with friends and dinners with family. Cameras and lenses come and go. In a short while my son will be 30 years old and a few days later I'll be 70 years old. Still can't believe it. I know I should complain about something physical but with the exception of a dermatologist who never met a small growth on my skin that she didn't want to biopsy I still feel like a kid. No aches or pains. No limping around. Haven't lost my car keys yet. Still know how to set up a custom website. Not yet lonely and isolated. If anything the recession/abandonment of commercial work has caused a surge in socializing. Swimmers, electrical engineers, curators, fellow photographers, writers and family all seem to want to get together for coffees, lunches and dinners. If anything I'm having to be strict with them about carving out time for myself.
My friend Paul keeps presenting me with photo gear deals that are too good to pass up. Currently considering a Leica 35-70mm f4.0 R lens that was a stellar performer back in the film days. Still is. Last month he let go of a Voigtlander 35mm f2.0 APO for the M mount that I just had to add to the collection... Who knows what will crop up next month?
Last week I deposited the last outstanding check from a client. It was for the last official job. It was odd to experience; like the passing of an era. Next month I'll get my first Social Security payment. Free money. Can't wait.
I wrote earlier about hitting the wall when it came to the motivation to photograph. I pushed myself out the door every day since then and am happy to report that finding good photos is still exciting, fun and fulfilling. Sometimes thrilling. But the desire for more cameras seems to be receding day by day. It's either because there's nothing new and exciting out there or it's because I have too many wonderful cameras to play with already. Currently cycling between the CLs and the SLs.
My latest foray was with two Leica SL2 cameras. One fitted with the VM 50mm APO and the other fitted with the VM 35mm APO. Both lenses are made for the M series cameras but I sourced Leica's M to L adapters for both. I grew tired of trying out third party adapters only to have them fall short in one way or another. And I wanted to carry two cameras so I wouldn't have to stop and change lenses or deal with dust on sensors as a result of changing lenses in a dry and windy environment. The two cameras brought back memories of film day shoots where we might use three cameras with three different prime lenses on them. Back then it was both the reticence to change lenses all the time but also it improved the odds that the cameras would still have un-shot film in them if things came up quickly.
The SL2 is one of the best cameras I've bought (back in 2019). The sensor has very high resolution, the body is solid and highly weather resistant and the thinner filters on the camera's sensor make using wide angle M series lenses more practical. Providing better results. While it's not the best high ISO performer I find well exposed files are very good to 3200 ISO and very useable up to 6400 ISO. Add in IBIS for the M lenses and it adds up to a really nice package for someone who might vacillates between mirrorless Leicas and M series rangefinder Leicas. And right now you can pick up used bodies for roughly a third (or less) of the original retail purchase print. About $2200 for a body in pretty good cosmetic condition...
Short term plans are to celebrate the two birthdays (Ben's and mine). See if any one of my family or colleagues took my gift "wish list" seriously (M11P - $10K --- hope they are not that crazy!!) and to eat really, really good chocolate cake. On Saturday the 25th, right between birthdays, I'll head down to Austin's ever interesting downtown to make photographs at the Day of the Dead festivities as I have done for the past four years. Thinking that this time I'll limit myself to an SL2 and that 75mm TTArtisan AF lens I picked up last month. That lens has been a very good performer. A good match up.
In the middle of November I'll go forward with my zany plan to spend another week in Montreal. Not a family vacation but a chance to walk around for five or six days and make photographs at random. Once I have the dates nailed down I'll send along a note to my friends and acquaintances in Montreal and see if anyone is interested in meeting for coffee. I promise, not at Tim Horton's.
Before the Montreal trip B. and I will have our usual fun evening passing Halloween candy out to the kids in the neighborhood. If the weather works out we'll do what we've done for the last couple of years and that's to set up a table at the top of our driveway and hang out there so the little kids don't have to make it all the way down the driveway to score candy. It also gives us a chance to catch up with the parents who bring them along. We'll keep something fun to drink at the table so the adults can get a treat as well.... We've had a fun time with neighbors on Halloween in past years and, amazingly, 99% of them are great people.
Still waiting patiently for the big announcements from Leica. The one about the new 11 EV (an M 11 with an EVF instead of a rangefinder window) and the long awaited Q3 Monochrom. I'm also wondering if there are going to be any new lens announcements. Maybe some more stuff for the SL system? A 28mm f2.8 Elmarit would be a nice addition... Something that doesn't dwarf the camera bodies.
Texas continues to be a weird and interesting place to live. Austin buffers the worst parts. Hope everyone is happy and well.
Got to six swim workouts in a row last week. Thank goodness for a great pool and a great program. Trying to six again this week. Can't see any big obstacles. Those miles don't swim themselves....
