We're not so used to standing still. I'm using some of this down time to look back at photographs I shot a while ago and haven't visited again.

Leslie Anne Leal in "The Witch and the Wardrobe" at Zach Theatre. Small format, big picture.

This was taken back during my flirtation with one inch sensor cameras. Taken with the Sony RX10-2 under available stage light in our smallest theater. I love the look of the file. I was trying to emulate the look for film documentations I'd done a couple of decades earlier. I like the contrast with everything else and the blacks.

Here's a fun video Joshua and I made for Zach Theatre's Production of "Every Brilliant Thing" last month:

https://vimeo.com/398689613


The Brilliant Things in Life | Every Brilliant Thing from ZACH Theatre on Vimeo.

We shot this in an hour or so on a rainy afternoon back in early February. It's a bit rough in places but there were no rehearsals, no crew and no control over the locations.

I used a Lumix S1 camera with the V-Log update but I shot in the flat profile instead of V-Log. We used the 24-105mm lens and stabilized in an "old school" manner with a monopod.

The mic is a Rode reporter mic and I broke all the rules by using it with ALC (automatic level control).

I like the footage and I like the energy of the people being interviewed.

It's a good message. Enjoy.

Notes from the field of photography. March 18, 2020. A nervous day...

The photograph, just walking around and trying to blend into the landscape.

Since there are no jobs and no swim practice I've been getting up later than usual. I have the bad habit of reading the news over coffee and kale pancakes and the news lately always tastes bad. Maybe it's the kale. Maybe I should buy some kale syrup or something. At any rate watching the Dow Jones average plunge under 19,000 was a poorly conceived way to start the morning...

I needed a break from the ongoing crisis and I needed some exercise so I laced up my favorite pair of walking shoes, grabbed my (current) favorite camera and got busy. Walking in Texas is not forbidden or discouraged. As long as we maintain good social distancing it's something we're actually encouraged to do as a remedy for "cabin fever." The route I did today was about four miles and it was perfectly pleasant weather for it. 

I've been using the Sigma fp camera all the time now. I don't think I've taken a Lumix out for anything other than an assignment in the last two weeks; maybe longer. The fp is small and light and I love the images it makes. I've been playing around with the cine setting which in no way is accurate or even always pleasant. I've discovered that you can dial in the strength of the color settings so I've pulled the cine color setting back to minus two which should bring it a bit closer to "normal" color. I think it's still a bit green but I kind of like it. 

Since all the pools everywhere within a hundred miles are closed I've taken to a new 

routine. Walk briskly for four or five miles and then, at some point in the day, do

100 push up and 100 sit ups. It's still a workout but nothing like the intensity 

of our typical swim workouts.

As you probably know, all of the restaurants and coffee shops have become "Pick up and take away" only. You can walk in and head to the counter to order but you're expected to leave as soon as they hand you your product. All the bars are closed. And if I had to guess I'd say it will be about a month and a half until they re-open. There are fewer and fewer people on the streets downtown and that's probably a reflection of there being fewer and fewer places to go into. The homeless are really taking it on the chin since the tourist population dropped from 'ample' to 'non-existent' in the space of two weeks there are few to none people to panhandle with. The line to get into the homeless resource center was long and quite rowdy when I passed by. It's gotta be tough.

While some of the coffee shops are valiantly continuing by serving "to go" coffee a number of them have decided to just temporarily toss in the towel and close the doors for the time being. Some, like Intelligentsia are brand new and obviously couldn't have seen this coming. It has to suck to open a new business and then have to temporarily close it just a month or two later...

Stacks of one inch plywood are all over Sixth St. 

If South by Southwest had occurred this year it would have been (as usual) a bonanza for the bars that line blocks and block of this old, historic, downtown street. But it didn't happen that way. Instead, the mayor, the governor and the federal health agencies decreed that there could be no gatherings of 10 or more people until further notice. Our city immediately required all the bars to close down. 

A bit of background: Austin is home to the number one party school in the country: The University of Texas at Austin. While students have rooms in dorms and apartments surrounding UT they mostly live at the bar scene (kidding = hyperbole). We are basically shutting down hundreds and hundreds of bars and clubs per square mile. The bar owners know that this might go on for a while and have started boarding up the fronts of their establishments. I presume it's to mitigate vandalism, looting and trespassing. But it looks like a big chunk of downtown is preparing to weather a hurricane at the coast. 

Random plywood box covering some utility connection. 

In times like these who doesn't want a unicorn?

The Sigma fp is a wonderful camera for this kind of walking documentation. It's small and light. The big sensor means detailed and mostly noise free photographs. The 45mm Sigma lens is the perfect complement to the camera body. I've been bringing along an extra battery on each walk but I've never had to use it. There's no wear-and-tear to your shoulder either. It's just a delight to use. And I've even gotten use to using the rear screen for composition and menu setting.  I mean, I really don't have any option otherwise, right?

I never thought I'd see Chez Nous, a very nice and very traditional French restaurant 

end up doing take out only. I hope it works and I hope it keeps the kitchen staff busy and 

getting paychecks...

I guess it is in the nature of some humans to be real assholes. 

How can the driver of the truck on the right and the driver of the SUV on the left 

really expect the driver of the car in the middle to be able to exit his/her space? 

As I walked on I realized that life in Austin, at least downtown, orbits around drinking in bars and eating in restaurants. There really are no other attractions. Once the clientele moves out the space seems  empty and quiet. Traffic was a tiny fraction of what usually blocks up the downtown streets. Driving around Austin was actually a pleasure as there were no slow downs on the freeways and no gridlock in areas that are usually cloggy during business hours. 

When you have a hammer everything looks like a nail.... Since I've always had fast 50mm lenses I've always tended to use them near wide open but with the 45mm Sigma, knowing it is at its best at f4.0 and smaller I've been shooting more and more stuff at f5.6 and f8.0 and loving the increased overall quality I get. 

The reason I take cameras out and use them all the time is to practice the craft; to keep the eye hand thing in sync, to keep from feeling self-conscious when shooting. I liken it to being a piano player, you keep practicing to stay limber and comfortable with the keyboard. I think it's the same in photography. I read recently about someone who had hosted Josef Koudelka in their home for a couple of weeks. He walked around and shot three rolls per day. Stuff that had no relation to his typical subject matter. When his host asked him about this he replied that he needed to shoot about a hundred images a day just to stay in practice. I can only imagine what Garry Winograd would have said...

I look at this giant tree, wreathed with little white flowers every time I park my car at my house. 

They are wonderful. I water them in the Summer. I couldn't bear for them not to be there...

The tree in the center is a Japanese maple. Belinda is concerned that it will eventually

overwhelm our front door. I think that would be great. We'll learn to go around and use

the back door. 

We live in one of those West Austin neighborhoods where people are buying older houses for a million dollars just to scrape the old houses off and build giant new houses to the lot lines. 

This is the latest one and it's right across the street from us. 

5000 square feet of progress.... Nothing we can do about it.

I see this branch of my Japanese maple every time I head into the house. 

I love that it's thriving. 

A young girl and her mother were out drawing with chalk on the pedestrian bridge today.

They were having fun. Their messages were sweet.

Social distancing doesn't have to be a prison sentence. Grab a camera and go for a walk in a wide open space. If you are in France or Spain then get a doctor's prescription for exercise. Just don't expect to stop at the café to have coffee with a friend and to argue about politiques.  Two meters between people and don't go if you are sick.

Notes from the fields of photography: March 17th.

 Opening up old boxes of prints can be like Christmas all over again.

Well, here we are again. First of all, happy St. Patrick's Day! 

I'm a little bit amazed to find that I'm still busy. Not with ongoing assignments but with the residue of and billing of assignments completed last week and the week before. I have lists of selected frames of portraits that clients would like for me to retouch and beautify and it's nice to have a bucket of tasks in front of me as I hear about more and more businesses temporarily shuttering. I was surprised when one of my clients in the healthcare field called to see if I was still taking appointments for portraits this month; they had an executive who needs a headshot. 

And, in fact, we are still open for business in our own way. We've never had street traffic or walk-in engagements. Everything we do is for an advertising or corporate customer and access to and from us is controlled by that filter. 

Even so, when I do portraits in the studio now I follow all the best practices for keeping my space safe. I will even ask the person booking the appointment if they would be less anxious if I wore a face mask. I didn't go out and buy or horde face masks but we did have a big package left over after we did an assignment for an eye surgery ad campaign....

I have hand sanitizer at every critical touch point in the studio as well. And, no, we didn't go out and buy new hand sanitizer we've had bottles around the house and studio, routinely, for years. I guess it makes sense since many of our clients are in healthcare and are more attuned to active prevention. 

At any rate, I'm thinking we'll all get through this phase of the crisis in the next few weeks and we'll be ramping back up to a more normal business environment. But we won't benefit in the recovery unless we take steps to do a bit of longer range marketing. 

During my long walk (solo-- at least 10 feet away from any passerby) yesterday I thought long and hard about what I should be doing for marketing. It doesn't make any sense to do advertising aimed at pushing up demand in the present. Few people are in a position where they can't or won't wait until stuff settles down a bit. Until the fear is more manageable.

The marketing I want to do is more long term and aimed at keeping myself at or near the top of people's mental lists of visual content creators. Now is the time to tell the small stories about what makes you fun and profitable to do business with. Now is the time to share personal photo projects with clients. Now is the time to catch up and send letters talking about new technologies you offer and new ways of approaching future projects that you've discovered. It's a longer term approach and more aimed at bolstering your brand and name recognition than it is driving short term sales. 

I'm also toying with the idea of creating a weekly video and a video channel to support them. The videos would be about various parts of my business and how we do the work. I don't need to be the star and would like to find an appropriate spokesperson to use as my presenter. Being behind the camera gives me a chance to also show off my video production skills. 

Even if we just remember to send out fun postcards over the next few weeks it will be helpful in the long run. The worst thing you can do right now for your business is to hunker down and go silent. You need to let your valued clients know that you'll be there when they need you. And that you'll be in the forefront of finding a way to work through the down spots. 

Speaking of the down parts: I was sad to get two e-mails yesterday evening. Both were from restaurants that I've enjoyed going to for the last 20 or so years. They were both announcing that they would be closing. One for the "foreseeable" future and the other for "two weeks, or more." Both restaurants together account for a large share of my family's "out to eat" budget every year, both are loved by everyone in my family, and we can't wait for the crisis to run its course so we can help them recover. 

To younger readers: The stock market and investing markets seem very scary right now and the values of investment accounts and retirement accounts have had dramatic swings (mostly down) over the last few weeks but....but....if you have the discipline to keep investing on a regular schedule you'll benefit in the long term from dollar cost averaging. It's the process of purchasing cheaper and cheaper shares as the values (temporarily) fall. When the markets recover (hopefully, and historically) the shares you bought at the bottom will help offset your short term losses and will help to restore the value to your financial portfolio. Not yet investing? If you are in business you should already be putting some aside for the inevitable retirement.

Do a Google search about dollar cost averaging to learn more details!

To scruffy, older, wealthier photographers: I have discovered a new index. It's called the "Used Camera Sale Price 1000" and it's not listed on the major exchanges. I've been watching the prices on used (but in 9+ shape) Leica SLs since the financial markets started tumbling. The average price on the average minty, used SL body has progressively and quickly dropped from $2795 to $2595 and most recently has fallen into the $2300 range. I've always wanted one and I'm not afraid to try and "time" this market. Waiting for the price to drop under $2,000 for a mint condition one. Alternately, I guess I could call one of the big, used Leica SL "depositories" and place a bid that's good for 30 days.....

How low will they go? If I miss the bottom of the market I won't shed any tears. I have enough toys to play with for the moment....

 Well. I'm getting back to the tasks at hand. A bit of retouching and bit of billing. Hope you are having a safe, happy and productive day. KT

A few misconceptions about the Panasonic S1 system. Just my point of view.

For decades most camera makers have attempted to build lines of cameras that would cover every price range and need parameter in order to garner the most market share and to give buyers a ready upgrade path as their skills and perceived equipment needs changed. At times the range from maker to maker was overly populated. At one point in their film days the number of Nikon SLR variants was out of control. From the EM all the way to the F5. From a super-cheap plastic camera with mostly automatic controls to a real, top-of-the line, professional camera. Lenses too were made in an astounding range of prices and capabilities. You could buy cheap consumer lenses or pricey, no-holds-barred lenses that mostly covered the same focal length ranges and you could spend a little or a lot. 

Camera makers each wanted to be the "big tent" and offer stuff that people in every price range could afford. That was the standard business practice at the time and, during the early days of digital, the practice was ratcheted up even more. By 2010 new digital cameras were being introduced in lots of 5 or more models per year; by manufacturer. So it's little wonder that buyers today just assume that a camera maker will give a smiling nod to each income bracket and keep producing a wide range of cameras so that a buyer who like the idea of a system (or their advertising) can find a model they can afford. Or a model they can "move up to." 

Recently I've read many articles, and comments on various forae, taking Panasonic to task for two things: (1). Not having enough inexpensive lenses for their S1 (full frame, mirrorless) system and, (2). Not having an entry level or mid-level body that would offer an upgrade path to consumers who are not yet ready to spend the big bucks it takes (relatively speaking) to enter the S1 system as it is right now. 

The underlying presumption is that Panasonic, in order to compete in the full frame, mirrorless arena, must inevitably show up with a full complement of models that can satisfy the budgets of both professional users as well as new parents, students, casual users and all the other sub-categories represented by the great cross section of photographers. 

But I'm of the opinion that Panasonic is taking a totally different approach to making and marketing their premium line of cameras than they would have in the past. Rather than make something for everyone --- within the S1 system --- they are focusing on providing tools for the higher end of the market: serious users. professionals. advanced artists. video specialist. and people with deep  pockets who want cameras built to a high level. 

My conjecture is that Panasonic will continue to market their mirrorless m4:3 cameras to a wider target and will use the smaller format cameras as stepping stone products, the final step up being from very proficient cameras like the G9 and GH5 to the S1 system. 

While there's no doubt that Panasonic could reduce the quality of materials and the feature set of their current S1 cameras and offer a $1500 model I have doubts that it would sell well because of the lack of consumer priced lenses. What Panasonic seems to be doing is trying to create a Japanese Luxe camera for the higher end markets, similar to that of Leica, around their S1 products. 

And I think it's a smart move. They offer a differentiation in build quality and their basic approach to photography compared to their competitors. Every S1 Pro lens I've bought is pricey but optically spectacular --- and built to handle professional bumps and bangs. While there was a less expensive 24-70mm f2.8 available in the Sigma Art series L-mounts I chose the Panasonic S-Pro lens for its feature set and the performance edge I expected (and received). 

My needs might be different from those of a more casual photographer and my budget, given that I make images and video for a living, gives priority to buying the tools I think will best satisfy my profit needs. 

While other makers chase a broader market I think Panasonic, with the S1 line, will continue to focus on a smaller niche and provide cameras and lenses that create a brand identity of being the mirrorless professional camera system rather than the system for every use and user. It's a strategy that Leica is using to good effect since buyers of high end gear tend to be much less price sensitive and more insulated from the ebbs and flows of global markets. The shifting global economy is a paradigm shift that has to affect camera makers. People in the middle and lower income stratas will, by necessity, be more cautious about buying in downturns and recessions. That will affect camera makers with the broadest diversification more so that makers who have limited and highly targeted product lines. 

Just as we probably won't see a budget, all electronic M camera from Leica at a price of less that $3,000 I think we won't see a raft of lesser spec'd products from Panasonic. If one is waiting for the S1-Z, with a 20 megapixel sensor and a polycarbonate body construction, for under a certain price point, or if they are waiting for the introduction of an APS-C model, I think they will be in for a long and fruitless period of frustrated anticipation. 

The one place where Panasonic could help their marketing would be with the introduction of lenses that are slower (apertures) but still made to the same high standards. Not every photographer needs fast lenses to do the work they like. Sigma has shown the way with the 45mm f2.8 lens and it's proven to be quite popular even though it's priced higher than competitive products. 

I would welcome the introduction of an 85mm f2.0 or a 135mm f2.8. If the optical quality is as high as that of the initial lenses the new ones would be a good value for photographers like me. 

For the time being I'll keep cherry picking lenses from Leica, Panasonic and Sigma's L-mount Art and Contemporary lens lines. While most are bigger than I'd like I'm happy with the quality of imaging and the robust construction I've encountered. 

Would I like a "lesser" camera body from Panasonic? Maybe. But if I really want a "beater" to use for day-to-day slamming around I'd probably just buy another used S1 and commit it to the "risk" camera set. Those are the ones I don't need to keep in perfect shape for client work... 

Right now that's where my Sigma fp is slotted. It's my "take anywhere" and "leave on the floor of the car" camera. It's been great to have hanging on my shoulder for days like yesterday when I walked through an empty downtown in a gentle but steady rain. 

Note: I'm not flexible enough to literally put my foot in my mouth although I am highly capable of doing so while writing. If I tweaked anyone severely with my blog about staying inside then I apologize. We're doing our best to stay close to home. All the city pools are closed now as well as my club pool. There's not much to do right now except polish the cameras and write silly stuff on the blog. 

I hope some of it make sense. 

A generalized update from Austin. Life in the time of contagion.

Mixed message, both from big governments:

1. Loneliness is an epidemic and a known cause of early death.

2. Self Isolate and stay home alone.

You can't fucking win. 

Well. More official news from the city of Austin management: We're limiting public gatherings to groups of 250 or less. All city sponsored events such as Kite Fest and the Flower Show are cancelled until at least May 1st. Schools are cancelled until April 1st (at the earliest). There have been no requests from state or local health officials to have the majority of the population self-quarantine. It is strongly suggested that the elderly and medically compromised self-isolate for the present. There is no current hysteria here like the #StayTheFuckHome messaging coming from other quarters.

On Friday, during and after the failing administration's declaration of a national emergency, there was a run on food, cleaning products and toilet paper at all the local stores. By yesterday morning more rational thought prevailed and people started to unclench and go back to their usual buying habits. The perceived need for each person to have hundreds and hundreds of rolls of toilet paper had passed.

Belinda and I went grocery shopping (not grocery hoarding) this morning at one of Texas's best grocery chains: HEB. The headquarters is in San Antonio and they generally do everything well; especially in times of general crisis such as tornadoes, floods and hurricanes. It is no different so far in this crisis.

The entire store was restocked and ready to provide whatever we needed. Plenty of fresh fruits and vegetables; in fact, a mountain of fresh avocados! I had to go with my second choice of Ezekiel sprouted bread (sesame) but that kind of inventory variation happens all the time.

The store put limits per customer on some essentials. We were looking for brown rice and coming up empty until an employee came over with dozens of packages. They were being returned to the shelves from the check out area where someone had tried to corner the market in brown rice....

There was lots of inventory and the inventory was deep. My favorite preserves were back on the shelf. My preferred brand of cheese. Even my favorite over the counter allergy medicine.

People were shopping nicely. Not with white knuckles clinging desperately to the handles of their shopping carts but with the same casual Austin neighborliness we usually see. People smiled at each other and folks rolled their eyes at each other when the outlier shopper blazed by with mountains of Charmin toilet paper heaped in his cart.

There were antiseptic wipes everywhere. You could wipe down your cart, wipe down you hands, wipe your produce; hell, you could even wipe down the carton of milk you were about to put in your cart. No one coughed, sneezed or wore a face mask. We are all being cautious but I think most of us are also trying to balance a certain quality of life with the imperative for safety.

I will be leaving the house with a camera in a few minutes. This is allowed by our local government. And in no way discouraged. I'll park in a mostly empty parking lot and walk my usual route through downtown Austin with a Sigma fp camera and a 45mm lens. I promise not to get any closer than 6 feet (2 European meters) to any other pedestrian, as per the recommendations from the CDC. If I touch a door handle anywhere on my walk I'll pull out my little, personal bottle of hand sanitizer and use it. When I finish my walk and head back to the car I'll sanitize my hands before using the door handle. No one will be endangered by my walk. Not in the wildest of imaginations.

And that brings up my next thought: Where do we find balance? This will be the first time in modern history that we allow an epidemic or even a pandemic to shut down our entire global economy in an attempt to prevent a large number of deaths. Our health officials have admitted that we can no longer stop the virus from spreading but that they are working to flatten out the infection curve in order to reduce critical time-loaded impacts on health care resources. To repeat, the same number will get the virus but we are attempting to spread the contagion over perhaps a year or two instead of having the disease spread quicker; more immediately. The idea is to smooth out demand for hospital resources. Less peak demand.

But there is a flip side to this and also a "slippery slope" argument to be made. If we shut down the world economy for as short a time as a month what will we have done to damage the global population? Many will be financially ruined. Many will never be able to catch up and be made whole for their lost time and wages. During the 9/11 crisis the incidence of cardiac arrests doubled. During the 2008-2009 crisis suicides skyrocketed and drug addictions that stem from those times have yet to abate. Hunger will rise among those most in need. The focus on caring for virus victims will cause a redistribution of healthcare services again, depriving the most needy in favor of the richest and fittest.

How many lives will be put on hold? How many futures will vanish or become diminished? And, as we try to compensate by pushing down interest rates, granting tax cuts to big businesses while "hoping" for a trickle down effect, will we be robbing future generations to pay for today's potentially useless fixes? How many retirements will dissolve into irreparable despair?

I don't have an answer. But they are questions worth asking.

Public health professionals are focused like a laser on one thing: preventing the current spread of the disease.

But there is more to the picture than this one narrow focus. I'd like to hear more about how we're going to handle all the collateral damage of an event like this and less about how we should all sit at home like zombies in front of our televisions, streaming mostly crap.

Unintended effects are everywhere. See the enormous crowds wait closely packed together at our international airports for hours and hours with strangers from all over the world --- waiting to have their temperatures taken. Could you even invent a better way to spread a virus?

But that's just my point of view and you'd be silly to take world health advice from a photographer.

All this to say --- we seem to have achieved a good balance for now in Austin. Hope everyone else stops panicking. Sure, do what you can do but let's drop the hysteria (written by a 64 year old who is in the target zone).