Cold. Well, just Texas cold. But still cold. Oh, and I traded someone a zoom lens for a prime lens.

 

fun with front elements.

This is a 50mm Milvus lens from Carl Zeiss.

It's often referred to as a "mini-Otus" but

from my point of view there's little that's "mini" 

about it. A favorite among cinematographers, for sure.

Monster sized lens for a 50mm. 

We started getting news of incoming "the Arctic Blast; 2024" three or four days ago. Most homeowners here in the Austin area are still a bit in shock from "Ice Stormageddon 2023" and the deadly "Arctic Winter Blast of 2021." More than 200 people in Texas died when the power went out and 4,000,000 people were without electricity, heat, etc. For some the 2021 winter storm effects lasted over a week. And the clean up from the last two events took months. Water pipes burst all of the place and falling, frozen branches did a number on the infrastructure last year. Little wonder everyone is a bit on edge today. 

Last time a little forest of sweet olive bushes that sits outside our bedroom windows was nearly wiped out when the lows dropped under 9°. And stayed there for a long while. This time around I spent the afternoon yesterday wrapping them with "plankets" (permeable blanket coverings for plants and shrubs) and inside the wrapping I included strands of incandescent Christmas lights to keep the bushes at least tolerably comfortable. Many beds of succulents are covered with double layers of tarps as are the two flower beds just outside my studio door.  

I have covered everything with mulch. Covered the four outdoor faucet nibs with insulated covers and even added air pressure to the cars' tires. I also had a service come by last week to clean and inspect the rarely used chimney and fireplace. Then I stocked in three boxes of DuraFlame logs. If the power goes out we'll barricade ourselves in the living room and light log after log. If it looks to be worse than we expect we'll decamp to a downtown hotel. And, yes, I know where the turn off valve is for the water and have the requisite tool for turning it all off. 

If we make it to Wednesday afternoon unscathed then we'll consider ourselves lucky once again. Wait, I have to grab a fresh orange and cranberry scone and some coffee before I continue....   .... ..... .....

Okay. 

When I awoke this morning the temperature outside was 24° and when the wind chill was factored in it was a balmy 14°. Fahrenheit. Perfect weather for morning swim practice, outside. When we got to the pool the Sunday morning 8 a.m. masters group was just about to exit the lanes so we 9 a.m. masters swimmers could get in and get going. The walk from the locker rooms to the poolside in nothing but a Speedo swim suit and a swim cap was... innervating. The chill on my skin was one of those sensations I hope I never have to get used to. I did stop long enough on deck, in the wind, to admire the icicles hanging down from the edges of the starting blocks. And then we were in the water, moving and trying to keep as much of ourselves under the temperate water as possible. Just a few square inches of head and face to allow for breathing. Which, in itself, was exciting. Glad I opted for the second workout and didn't have to help peel the insulated covers off the surface of the pool. It gets tricky when the wind picks up. 

Our coach was Dale, a former UT swimmer and a great guy to have on deck on a day of rough weather. He was bundled up in a parka, hat, gloves, etc and he'd had to write the details of the day's workout on the whiteboard back in the heated locker room because the Dry Erase markers more of less give up in freezing temperatures. 

The hard part of our hour long workout wasn't the swimming. Sure, we knocked out 3,000+ yards, got our heart rates up, got our muscles singing, but the real hard part was getting out of the pool, soaking wet and making the 30 second journey from the pool edge to the door of the locker room (mis-named as we don't have lockers, we have vertical, open faced cubbies). The hot showers seemed almost luxurious.

Then we grudgingly left the locker room, headed for our cars and sped off to find the life giving elixir of the 21st century: coffee.

A couple of days ago I had coffee with a photographer friend of about my same vintage. We meet for coffee every other week, or so, to catch up, talk about the business and trade gear stories. We also have a penchant for having camera and lens stuff the other guy covets and vice versa. When we met, in shirt sleeves, sitting outdoors in the nice weather, we realized through the conversation that we each had some gear that could be traded. I had my eye on his "extra" 50mm f1.4 Zeiss Milvus ZF lens and he was looking around for a standard L mount zoom lens to use with a recently acquired Leica SL2. I just happened to have a Panasonic 24-105mm S zoom that is wholly duplicated by my (preferred) Leica 24-90mm Vario Elmarit zoom. Shazam. A deal was done over coffee. I now have his Nikon mount 50mm f1.4 Zeiss lens and he has my Panasonic zoom. 

Why another 50mm? Well, they are all different in some way or another so...why not? The lens is beautiful, big and heavy. But it has a fantastic reputation for high optical performance. And I have a drawer full of Nikon Lens to L Mount body adapters. Let the playing begin. 

We did the swap yesterday afternoon. After my bout of domestic storm prep. Today has been a whirlwind of swimming, coffee afterwards (a once a month event with some of my fellow swimmers), lunch with B., napping, and worrying about the upcoming 36 hours of freezing temperatures. I hope to get out with the lens on Tuesday or Wednesday to give it an intense audition. Til then everything is just conjecture. 

So, the list of 50mm and 55mm and 58mm lenses I collect keeps growing. I'd divest of some but so many people have told me for so long = "You date the camera bodies, You marry the lenses." Or, that their regrets, over time, are the lenses that they sold. No one I know really regrets having too much of a good thing and I think that is germane to the collecting of fun 50mm lenses. Besides, this one is supposed to be one of the best ever. We'll see about that. 

Nice thing about heavy lenses? They'll help you build bigger biceps. And, as you know, when you crest 50 years of age holding on to muscle mass is mission critical. That's my story and I'm sticking with it. 

Sorry JC, we'll get that 110mm Fuji next time around...maybe. 

God Bless the Texas Electrical Grid and Keep if from Failing. Again.