Austin is springing back into action and was ramping up even before our governor's rescinding of the statewide mask mandate. We've been hit here by a mini-wave of requests for bids and I'm spending some time trying to decide exactly how I'd like to respond.
By the middle of next week I should have my second dose of vaccine and a couple of weeks after that I should be reasonably safe, or at least fairly assured that I won't drop dead if I do catch Covid-19. But business ethics go far beyond whether or not the owner of the business will be safe. We have to think of the impact on family, on our clients and on the people who support our businesses; such as make-up artists and assistants. Being out and around also means we'll need to rely on front line workers for coffee and food when on locations, and every additional exposure could potentially up the virus load for each of them.
Until everyone in our family circle is vaccinated I'm not comfortable having people in the house. and since we use the living room, kitchen and bathrooms for clients during longer shoots in the studio I'll be using rental spaces in the interim. This means that most of the photographic jobs I accept will either be on location or in rented studio spaces. Precision Camera has a nice, large rental space so I'll start investigating that.
Most of the people who have come to the studio to be photographed recently are sent over from our major medical practice clients. Nearly all of them are doctors or nurses and all have been completely vaccinated. We'll continue to serve them in the space. Most of their appointments are for half hour time slots so the impact on the family is negligible.
Moving forward I'll negotiate with clients and my support teams to keep following CDC guidelines rather than relying on the insane proclamations of our psychopathic governor. That means always wearing a face mask (even if you've been vaccinated) and practicing social distancing. We'll still have hand sanitizer everywhere. If we learned anything in the past month it's that the machinations of a far right wing government can never, ever be relied on for one's personal safety!
It's early for this but here's the lesson I learned from buying a Leica SL2: The Panasonic S1 series is remarkably good and consistent. It's fun to have the Leica to play with, and the files are really great, but unless one wants to go "all in" and buy a bunch of Leica prime lenses there's really no advantage at all to just owning the camera. It's pretty. Guys over 50 always comment on it. But when it comes right down to evaluating images taken with both the S1R and the SL2 the differences are negligible to non-existent. Sure, there are differences in the choices each company made as far as Jpeg rendering but in raw? Nothing that the S1R can't emulate, and vice versa.
The differences in video have yet to be fully uncovered. I'll keep you posted.
I'm a slow learner but I can afford to make a few missteps.
And that's my take.
8 comments:
I shuddered when I heard about Abbott's announcement yesterday. Your approach seems pretty well thought out.
I don’t work anymore, but we’re struggling with the Grandparents’s Dilemma. Yesterday, the seven year old asked when we could hug again. We’ve both been vaccinated and our two weeks waiting period is up next Wednesday. The little ones won’t be vaccinated until the summer, at least.
And if you have an opinion about your state government, just spit it out. No need to be coy.
I think your governor is just trying to placate the hordes marching on the state capital with pitch forks and tiki torches after the power grid collapsed. Diversion at it most reckless.
Hopefully your clientele is educated enough and smart enough not to throw caution to the winds. As you intimate, if they don't want to follow CDC rules then they need to look elsewhere for a photographer. Good plan!
Keep the SL2, it's cheaper than a Corvette.
Eric
Good Advice: "Keep the SL2, it's cheaper than a Corvette."
Thanks Eric.
Comment on your picture of you wife B., when she was younger.
O! how much more doth beauty beauteous seem
By that sweet ornament which truth doth give.
(i don't mean to be too familiar and certainly not disrespectful)
A great picture that shows everything that counts in young people.
The Leica SL2: "Guys over 50 always comment on it."
I don't quite know how to take that. I bought my first Leica (an M3) while I was working for a Leica dealer after my high school classes in around 1960....I'll be 78 in June.
But I enjoy your blog so I'll assume it's a compliment to good taste. Or good old age. Or something...
Thanks for your good, thought provoking prose.
--Bob
This is the kind of image that I study closely, in order to understand just what's going in the highlights and shadows. I've purchased a couple of prints from MCJ's TOP site for the same reason, to answer my unspoken question, "How did he do that?"
Those eyes again. They could stop a charging rodeo bull. I can see the beast bursting out of the gate, bucking once or twice, then suddenly falling to its knees. You must have been transfixed the first time you saw them.
Hopefully the new wave of business looking to book your services isn’t made up of the same idiots now celebrating the governor’s move to proclaim mission accomplished on the Covid front. I seem to remember another Texan bounding around in a flight suit aboard a Navy ship bearing that same banner to mark the end of combat in the Middle East.
It will be interesting to see whether any new CEOs you encounter kindle to the SL2. Leveraging your earlier Leicas to establish quick rapport with that bunch was brilliant.
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