4.24.2022

Packed. Car serviced. Previous work completed. Next week is a clean slate.

 

I'm heading West to Santa Fe in the morning. Fun stuff on the agenda.

On most trips I've undertaken in the past there was nearly always the undercurrent of "jobs still in progress" "clients rushing to complete selections before the lights went out" and odds and ends of everyday life that seem like tentacles grabbing my consciousness and bifurcating my attention. But not this time. No...not this time. 

All the grunt work of small-businessing has been done. I also got in a full week of six swim practices in a row so....no guilt in grabbing a walnut scone and a coffee on the way out of town. B and B are handling the home fires and even my car seems anxious to get out of town and have some sort of adventure. Two days of business and five days of self-propelled recreation in Santa Fe, NM.

I've overpacked my suitcase but I'm ready for warm weather, cold weather, formal banquets (coat and tie?) or tromping over rough ground with my recently waxed, favorite pair of hiking boots. I've got credit cards just begging to be flogged and a case full of gear that I'm dying to point at West Texas and Northeastern New Mexico. Running shoes for the hotel gym and maps to all the swimming pools in the Santa Fe area. 

My client checked in last week and all systems are "go." 

I stuck with my previously stated inventory of "work" cameras which will be all Panasonic (S5, GH5ii and GH6). I packed a separate camera bag for personal work. It's got a Leica SL2 body and all four of the Sigma Contemporary prime lenses I own. Those would be the 24mm f3.5, the 45mm f2.8, the 60mm f2.0 and the 90mm f2.8.  I also stuck in the Sigma 56mm f1.4 APS-C lens....just in case I have a hankering for something fast and sharp. Sure, the camera will drop down to the APS-C format automatically but with a starting point of 47 megapixels I'm not too worried. 

If I find fun stuff to photograph or if I stumble into an interesting adventure and survive it I'll try to blog at least a couple of times during the week. But this will be my longest out of town since the start of the pandemic. And I can't wait.

With luck and planning I should be back in one week. Wild stuff. 

(always while remembering that what matters is "here and now.")

7 comments:

Derek said...

Have a great trip Kirk - look forward to reading about your adventure, seeing some of the things that caught your attention, and hearing how the gear worked. Safe travels.

Jeff said...

Have fun. Santa Fe is great.
If you have the time and interest Bandelier National Monument is a 90 minute drive from Santa Fe and is an beautiful, amazing place. This month you'd need to check the fire conditions before going.

Gato said...

Have a great trip! Wave as you go past Amarillo.

karmagroovy said...

Any chance you'll be getting your kicks on route 66? :D

Steve B said...

All the best to you Kirk!

jw52tx said...

If you have never eaten at Tia Sophias you should.We've been eating there since 1983. Open til 2pm only. Im exceptionally partial to the green chile stew and Posole! Killer sopapillas after 11AM. Very low key but crowded for a delicious reason! Across the street from the Lensic Theatre.

Kirk, Photographer/Writer said...

Gato, I waved and waved but no one waved back. I should have called first....

Karmagroovy, That was the route. Worked great. No surfing though.

jw52tx, Maybe tomorrow for lunch. The rest of the week is spoken for. Thanks for the suggestion!

Thanks to all for the good wishes.