Sometimes I think I'm being punished by the universe. I buy a new lens, put it on the front of a really neat camera and get all fired up to go out and explore the potential. The the universe throws a curve ball and all of a sudden we're on a week long hold. It's almost impossible to get out after 10 a.m. or so to do any sort of exterior photography without suffering here. It's the heat. The current "feels like" (heat index) temperature in central Austin right now is 113°. It's just brutal.
I got to swim practice this morning at 8 a.m. It was already 82° and getting hotter by the minute. We depend on aerators overnight to provide some water cooling to make the pool temperatures bearable but if the humidity is high and the overnight temps don't drop below 80° evaporative cooling becomes less and less efficient.
I ran all my errands early today just to make sure I didn't need to be out in the heat of the day but the schedule revamp and the paralyzing effects of the heat and humidity are disconcerting and frustrating.
We've started to get heat alerts from the Texas Grid Agency, ERCOT telling us that we're heading for record high electrical use. The result of every home and business in the state cranking up their air conditioners and fighting against an abnormal heat wave. We're asked to raise up our thermostats by a couple of degrees. I already have mine at 80°. ERCOT is asking that we don't run big appliances, machines, etc from four in the afternoon until after eight in the evening in order to keep the grid from crashing.
I've been checking the weather forecasts and it looks like the worst part of the heat breaks after Thursday afternoon. But that won't look pleasant to my friends in less hostile climes. When we say the "heat will break" what we're really saying, in this situation, is that the highs on most days following Thursday will be just below 100° instead of solidly over that mark. And it's possible that the humidity will drop as well...
In order to do my part I've turned off the A/C and computer in the studio and basically shut everything that requires power off. I know that there's phantom drain so I've unplugged chargers, external hard drive and anything with a glowing "pilot" light on it. I've retreated into the house where we seem to have done a good job prepping for the heat apocalypse. We had new, triple paned, UV and IR coated windows installed late last year --- at every window in the house. We had every door, vent and plug weather stripped or weather sealed and we did maintenance on all the ceiling fans. My delivery of air conditioning filters (box of six) arrived yesterday and today (early) I cleaned out the condensation line.
Fans in conjunction with air conditioning are always helpful and in addition to the ceiling fans I also have some smaller, portable fans I drag around with me for local area comfort engineering.
Finally, I don't venture out without a good hat and a great pair of sunglasses.
If you live somewhere chilly go out right now and hug your weather!
As I sit at my desk, trapped by the heat, I find that casual shopping on the web becomes an addictive pastime. Since I'm not particularly disciplined "researching" through all the cameras on line is borderline dangerous. After all, those A/C filters aren't cheap these days...
I'm doing a good job of resisting right now but I can feel the lure of the M series Leica cameras and it's becoming stronger by the day. I won't spend the nearly ten thousand dollars required to acquire a new M11 and I'm not even sold on the M10 variants but I do have my eyes on a Leica M-P (type 204) which was the first series to offer live view, a 24 megapixel CMOS sensor and a nice, demure appearance. Nice used ones are tipping the scales at around $3400-$3600 (USD) but before I make any ill-advised purchases I'm also looking around to make sure I can source a couple of new batteries for that unit. Since the Leica M-P (240) was introduced in 2014 I'm not really sure that a nine year old battery is something I should be thrilled to trust... Knowing I can get my hands on a couple new back-up batteries might push me over the hump.
Why the sudden fascination with the M series? It's those darn Zeiss and Voigtlander lenses I've been buying. I like using them on my SL cameras (with adapters) but I'd love to reduce the package size by using the lenses in their native configuration on a nice rangefinder. But I already know how this will play out...
I'll buy the first camera for a bargain price only to be reminded that at one point in my career I really enjoyed making photographs with Leica rangefinders and I'll get sucked back into the system. I'll of course add a second body because....you gotta have a back up. Then I'll start considering 75mm and 90mm lenses and I'll be wedged down the rabbit hole, selling stocks to cover my addiction. Maybe I should just talk myself out of all this while I have the chance. The chance that would have been easier to imagine if I had been able to take the new 50 APO out for a spin a couple times this week...
(Oh boy! We just hit 104° with a heat index of 114° --- so nasty out there....).
If there is anyone amongst the VSL readership who is working with a current or recent digital M series rangefinders I'd love to hear your own experiences with said cameras. Why you like them. Or important reminders to me about why you don't like them and why I should not revisit that earlier addiction.
My last experience with the M Leicas was with three of the M6 film cameras. I know all about them.... But recent knowledge is lacking. I have used an M8 and an M9, both sent by Leica back when I was writing all manner of cameras reviews for Studio Photography Magazine. But that was over a decade ago.
Write something fun and send it as a comment. I'm sure it will divide and rile up the readership. Just what we need during a spate of hot days.
