Next time I'll just take a phone.
Ready for the after party.
When I left the house I had no clue that I'd stumble across an event which celebrates Indian culture, in Republic Park. I just grabbed a camera and lens that seemed to be appropriate for testing out my new VF-2 EVF. But I did find the park, and the event, and within minutes I had passed my initiation and my camera and self were covered with brightly colored powders. Once you've been "dusted" you might as well just let your hair down and photograph to your heart's delight. I did. Everyone was kind and in good humor. The powders were flying. The D.J. was blasting music. People were dancing, eating food from various authentic vendors and generally having a great time.
The camera, and my clothes, cleaned up just fine. It was really just f8 (or f11) and be there. And that's when it's the most fun. Glad I didn't have time to "prepare" and fret over what gear to take. Anything would have been just fine.
Looks fun. Did you come home with a colorful new car interior too?
ReplyDeleteWhat a great way to spend an afternoon!!
ReplyDeleteEric
Nope, not worth the possibility of the havoc that might be brought to a camera. I hope your gear shows no ill effects.
ReplyDeleteWhat’s your verdict on the Leica EVF-2 electronic viewfinder?
ReplyDeleteIt appears a splendid time was had by all. Fun colors. I’m glad the M cleaned up nicely. Although if you were carrying the M-E it would gave given me pause.
ReplyDeleteWonder if you can get $200,000 for that Oscar Barnack memorial 60's Haight Ashbury commemorative Leica?
ReplyDeleteLooks more fun than SXSW!
ReplyDeleteKen
Love the skin tones from that Leica! Maybe a little blotchy though.
ReplyDeleteThat is a large number of folks having a great time.
We need more of that
Cool.
ReplyDelete"Holi is a popular and significant Hindu festival celebrated as the Festival of Colours, Love, and Spring. It celebrates the eternal and divine love of the deities Radha and Krishna. Additionally, the day signifies the triumph of good over evil, as it commemorates the victory of Vishnu as Narasimha over Hiranyakashipu." Wikipedia
ReplyDeleteI hope your camera and lens are still OK. Seeing those pictures reminded me of an article by Roger Ciala:
ReplyDeletehttps://www.lensrentals.com/blog/2013/05/how-to-ruin-your-gear-in-5-minutes-without-water/comment-page-4/
Maybe you should add a disclaimer not to try this at home. Just in case.
After reading Roger's article I was a bit nervous about the camera and lens. I thought I did a great job cleaning it but now I realize that the lens is not autofocusing or zooming!!!
ReplyDeleteHaha to the autofocus/zoom issue.
ReplyDeleteOddly, I would love to see some of those pictures in black and white. Don't like the M word.
I think lensrentals has a warning about that stuff. You sure your camera survived?
ReplyDeleteYep. The camera not only survived, it thrived. It didn't take any direct hits from the powders. And, since it's not an AF lens or a zoom the lens doesn't suck dust into the lens and the body. And it's one of only two camera companies in the entire world that actually publish strict IP ratings for resistance to intrusion for dust and moisture. And most importantly --- I didn't try to change lenses in the middle of a powder cloud.
ReplyDeleteIf the camera had been damaged and I had to send it to Leica for an overhaul I do take comfort in the fact that I have two more just like it sitting in the equipment cabinet. It ain't life or death.
Finally, it's the camera I used all day today and absolutely nothing bad happened. In fact, all the images I post produced and showed on the blog yesterday don't have so much as one errant dust spot on the sensor and I was shooting a wide angle lens at apertures like f11. Cameras are meant to be used. I'm in a different place mentally than LensRental. They want to make rules to ensure that their gear lasts long enough to positively impact their ROI. I buy the cameras to use in every kind of weather and condition. I'm fortunate enough to not only take risks but to enjoy doing so.
From the Leica website.....
ReplyDelete"Splash-proof camera body
Thanks to the many years of experience gathered by our engineers in the construction of camera bodies, the new Leica M is built without compromise for maximum stability and perfect sealing. Its top and base plates are machined from solid brass, and its full-metal body is manufactured in one piece from high-strength magnesium alloy. Specially designed rubber seals protect the camera body against dust and water spray. The glass covering plate of its high-resolution monitor screen is manufactured from particularly tough and scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® glass. All this makes the Leica M particularly resilient and helps guarantee it a long and reliable working life"
That was a quote from the site in 2014.
ReplyDeleteI recall Roger writing a similar post along the lines of "Don't Take Our Cameras to Burning Man."
ReplyDeleteGosh, I seem to have inflamed camera damage paranoia in a number of readers. Chill out dudes. Cameras are meant to be used and sometimes used up. Leica builds cameras well. Not a lot of places to let in foreign objects like water and dust. These aren't delicate cameras like Sonys. They are actually built to survive stuff.
ReplyDeleteHey, I have Sonys and I.... well, yeah, you're right. :) I console myself with the fact that the stuff I have was cheap enough as to be nearly disposable.
ReplyDeleteOn the Leica web page for the M-P Typ 240: "A scratch-resistant sapphire glass monitor cover makes the camera even more resilient." Monitor cover, aka LCD cover. The sapphire glass is said to be even stronger than scratch-resistant Corning® Gorilla® glass.
ReplyDeleteTravis, I consider all cameras to be disposable if the right images "needs" to be taken!
ReplyDeleteVery Cool,
ReplyDelete