Turned down big work. Now getting back to recreational photography. But first --- dinner with friends.

I had a lovely dinner with friends on the 4th of July. Mary and Will are great, seasoned entertainers and both are wonderful cooks. The guest list included several authors mixed with lawyers, photographers and even a retired engineer and because of that the conversation was lively and far ranging. Mary always has beautiful flowers around the house and some of the most fanciful plates and dishes I've seen. 

It sounds old fashioned but we sat down for dinner around six and nobody even thought to leave the table and the conversation until well after nine. The subject of photography was present as one of the authors is currently doing a book of her 1970's photographic work (pre-famous author times....) for the University of Texas Press. But there was no talk of cameras or lenses even though (counting me) there were three experienced photographers filling out the guest list. 

Seems that I am the most predictable of the photographers since I had a camera over my shoulder early on and still in easy reach as the evening unfolded. From time to time I'd see something I liked, grabbed my camera and made an image. 

My friends Will and Mary have taken me under their wings since B. is gone a couple days of week, still doing her stint as a dutiful and devoted daughter and taking good care of her 94 year old mom. Will and Mary seem to have me on the short list for dinners every couple of weeks and a happy hour on an almost weekly schedule this Summer. And they always invite the kinds of people to keep us company that I'd love to know.....if I didn't already know them. 

It's good to have friends. It's good to have long conversations about literature, art movies and life. And, slowly, Will is trying to teach me why I should appreciate the work of Lee Friedlander. It's tough sledding. I drew the line at Stephen Shore though. Nothing will convince me there was raging good talent there. Unless it is the talent to sell shamelessly into the fine art market -- with gusto. 

My camera and lens of choice for our July 4th dinner was the Leica SL2 and the Voigtlander 50mm APO Lanthar. Good choices I think...

And a note, I'm not a completely clueless guest. I do try to always arrive with a very nice bottle or two of wine and something fun to eat while having preprandial drinks. Like brie cheese and fresh baked baguette. And when B. and I have a handle on our home schedule we've got a lot of reciprocation to get scheduled... 

Burrata. Con Salad. 

The brandy remnants...

I mentioned turning down work and want to clarify. There's work I want to do and work I know would be a mess. The list of "want to do" jobs includes: Local environmental portraits, studio portraits and artsy portraits. For really nice, happy and well adjusted clients I'd welcome just about any work that doesn't require a large crew or lots and lots of pre-production. 

But the kind of work we wanted in our 30s and 40s seems rather unappealing now. 

A client/friend who I worked with on collaborative event projects for nearly three decades called me a couple of days ago. He closed one company and I thought he'd retired but it wasn't so.  He'd done a job recently for a client whose London based ad agency has more projects on tap. They asked if my friend could source an advertising photographer to shoot in Houston for about two weeks. The first two weeks of August. The photographer would also need to source and provide video gear for an incoming director who would be shooting "some" video interviews. The director's needs were quite specific and his choice of video tripods led me to believe that he'd be bringing several big cameras with him. 

When I tallied up the gear request, the number of days in (nasty, hot) Houston during the start of hurricane season and the paucity of actual information about what we might be photographing it just looked like it might turn into a big, hot mess for me. 

On one hand the prospect of 14 shoot days at $3600 per was alluring. On the other hand I'd be missing at least 14 masters swims, x number of dinners, coffees and happy hours with friends, and....I've been well burned by UK production companies in the distant past --- but the memory of it is tattooed on my business brain...

The friend who would refer prefaced his invite with this: "Feel free to decline. Won't affect me. You'd be dealing with them directly....no skin off my nose." 

That was enough for me. I quickly emailed to thank him for presenting the opportunity but letting him know I couldn't make it work. I suggested that they try to source a photographer and gear house in Houston so they could save on hotels, travels, meals etc. When I clicked "send" I had the nicest feeling of happiness. Contentment.  I guess that's one step closer to the reality of retiring. Turning down stuff you would have killed for a couple decades ago.... (not literally.)