4.06.2024
Brain currently addled by the after-effects of the Covid Vaccine Booster. And so, I give you.....random stuff. All from a Fuji GFX 50Sii and the Fuji GFX 50mm f3.5. Lots of people in downtown. The big Capitol 10K race is tomorrow and, of course, the riveting moments of the total eclipse on Monday.
4.05.2024
I hear a lot about how quickly consumer electronic products become "obsolete." Can you make a list of consumer electronics products from 2003 that you are still using all the time? That still work perfectly? That have returned incredible value compared to your initial investment?
I was playing some music through my noise canceling headphone/buds yesterday. Donovan sounded just great. And I started thinking about the actual music player I was using. It was absolutely portable and the user interface was simple and elegant. The unit I was using holds thousands and thousands of songs. The 21 year old battery still holds a very good charge. The design still looks modern and timely. Luxurious almost.
This started me thinking about cameras, laptop and desktop computers and various other products. I started to wonder why this small unit in my shirt pocket had survived all the "obsolescence" that other products didn't. Part of it is the classic design sensibility of the original industrial designer and part of was just plain, good engineering. And the use of high quality components.
The product? Why it's one of the Veblen goods from Apple. The "insanely overpriced" 30 GB iPod. I'm sure one of you out there will swear to the heavens that you still use a Microsoft Zune but I'll call you out on that one.
My iPod, with a spinning hard drive, is a classic example of a single use product that does exactly what it is supposed to do --- and has done its job for over 21 years. That's a heck of a lot of music enjoyment... And outrageously good R.O.I.
I just thought to call it out because of the old saw, "It's always cheaper to buy the best quality once than to keep upgrading and buying bargain stuff over and over again."
Here's my fully functional, totally fun, reliable and wonderful sounding iPod. Played for hours yesterday and still showing a full battery charge. Admiration!
What's on your list of consumer electronics products that have stood the test of time? I'd love to know.
The Eclipse is coming! The Eclipse is coming!!! So are my new glasses. And a replacement for a stupidly lost diopter. And I think people's taxes are coming due. But Leica and Fuji still can't promise us their cool new cameras are coming.
I'll admit to being absolutely amazed that the coming eclipse is such a big deal to so many people. Eclipses have been happening pretty much forever. At least forever in human terms. They tend to be very short in duration (totality measured in single digit minutes) and there is no longer any mystery or magic involved. The moon transits between the earth and the sun. Forgive me, but isn't the moon constantly circling the earth? Day in and Day out. And, if you look at it all from the opposite point of view isn't the earth nearly constantly "causing" eclipses on the moon? Whatever. If you really think it's smart and wonderful to travel hundreds or thousands of miles, braving weather reports now suggesting clouds or even thunderstorms, to catch a brief peek of the sun being momentarily blotted out by the moon then knock yourselves out. Go for it. Be sure to buy a bunch of stuff in central Texas before you go back home. We could use the sales tax income. But I'll still sit and wonder "what the heck?"
I'm much more excited about the arrival of my new eyeglasses tomorrow. Maybe the new prescription and the "precision" lenses will improve my photography. Maybe I'm just grasping at straws. But I'll try anything at this point to add some pizzazz to my work. I do guarantee that the glasses will at least look very cool. The glasses were the lollipop at the end of my eye exam but I guess I should consider a good outcome from the exam as the real reward. Heading toward 69 years of age this year but no signs of cataracts, glaucoma, or other issues. All the veins running across the back walls of my eyes look great. I'll take that. But being shallow and silly (sometimes) I still think getting new glasses is the cool takeaway.
Why? Because everyone else in my family had glasses. My brother and sister got theirs early on. In the first part of grade school. I was so jealous. From my first memory of my parents to the very end....glasses. But I was not on the "A" list. Never got glasses. At least not for a very long time. I was forty-six when I first was smacked upside the head with the need for glasses. Bifocals in fact. But I dodged eyeglasses for a long, long time before that. Always felt left out. Deprived. Even though my eyes were 20/20 and I couldn't make use of glasses in my youth even if some adult was silly enough to buy some for me. The real agony was the fact that everyone with glasses looked smarter. They just did.
I made up for the deprivation by always having really good sunglasses. Really good!!! Blocking out all sorts of harmful rays. My ophthalmologist friends tell me that my constant wearing of good sunglasses from an early age is probably a large part of my resistance to ocular deterioration in my "old" age. As in "now." A habit I've passed on to my son --- who is also blessed with perfect, uncorrected vision.
But now I do need glasses to see exactly. I passed my last driver's license vision test without glasses. But I know things are much clearer with them than without. And when it comes to reading, well, much more so. And, when I wear them people ask me to help them with the New York Times crossword puzzles...
And this brings up the great tragedy of the week. A Friday horror story of massive proportions. Let me set the stage. I got a text from a photographer friend who had just returned from a quick trip to Paris. He went over to see the Mark Rothko show at the Foundation Louis Vuitton. He wanted to meet up for coffee and tell me about his adventure. He also wanted to show me stunning images of food and architecture he'd shot on an iPhone 15 Pro. The images were, indeed, amazing. Not just amazing for having come from a phone camera, they were just amazing in their own right. (Note to self: buy an iPhone 15 Pro!!!!!!!!!!).
We agreed to meet lakeside at a coffee shop called Mozarts. It was a very pleasant day and there was plenty of outside seating. I stood in line to get a iced green tea and as I stood there I was juggling a camera over one shoulder, a hat which I took off as I was indoors, in one hand, a cellphone and my car keys. We found table and I was blown away by my friend's work with the photos. Amazing. And Paris continues to be amazing. And always new.
When I got home I saw something in the studio that I wanted to photograph so I grabbed the camera I'd taken with me for our coffee meeting and pulled it up to my eye. The finder was fuzzy. I put my glasses on and the finder was sharp again. Took them off and....fuzzy. Hadn't I just equipped all three Ms with pricy diopter attachments that screw into the eyepieces? Yes. I had. But apparently all the handling, rubbing against my shirt, tossing into the passenger seat of the super high performance Subaru Forester and other kinetic actions had caused the diopter to.....become unscrewed. And when your Leica camera eyepiece diopter is unscrewed then you....are screwed. Tragic. Sad. Anxiety provoking.
I took the car apart looking for the lost diopter, hoping against hope that I'd lost it in the car. No such luck. I went online to my favorite Leica store. No luck. The diopter I needed was out of stock. The dark clouds over my head increase in being....oppressive. I finally sourced the right replacement at B&H and ordered it.
But now I am consumed with worry about how to keep these little suckers from falling off. And falling off unnoticed. At $150 each (with shipping and tax) I am loathe to lose any more of them. Weld them on? Super glue? Scotch tape? Prayer? I'm certain some wiser and more experienced Leica user who visits here from time to time will tell me. And will be in disagreement with the other few dozens whose advice will directly conflict with everyone else's. It's emotionally taxing...
We've already filed our taxes. We are ahead of the curve. Someone younger, much younger, asked me "How much will you be getting in your refund?" I laughed and laughed until I got the to privacy of my office and then I just weeped weakly for a spell. I kept repeating to myself: "Taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society." Coupled to another connected mantra of: "My CPA deserves his fee since he keeps me on the straight and narrow." Still not sure how it's all working out.
And, while on the subject of taxes my mind immediately goes to various ways to legally reduce the amount I pay in taxes. My favorite strategy being the purchase of too many fun toys. For the business. Of course. Most of which can be deducted. Not depreciated but deducted. (thank you Ronald Reagan for ACRS). So, with the strategy firmly in place I checked in to see how my place on various waiting lists for the Leica SL3 was progressing.
Not a chance. I'd have better luck getting a basket full of Fuji X100VI cameras. I wish camera makers would cobble together thousands and thousands of new cameras and have them on hand BEFORE they make their announcements. The eternal shortage of the really, really cool photo stuff is vexing. It's enough to make me stop buying cameras altogether and just work with what I have. But before that happens I need to stock in whatever the best camera is for that five minute eclipse. The eclipse millions of people are coming to central Texas to see next Monday. Bring umbrellas...
Oh. A quick explanation for all the stuff I wrote above. I got my Covid Booster (yay! Moderna) this morning at 10:15. I'm expecting an onset of horrifying side effects shortly. Thought I'd get some blogging done before I start bleeding from the eyes and ears and seeing visions of Lady Gaga using Sony cameras. Coupled with Tamron lenses.
In answer to MJ's question on his blog, which was: How often do you shoot with your lens wide open? I have to ask: Which notes do you play on the piano? Which ones do you avoid? I've never particularly liked f sharp...
4.04.2024
Living in fear of San Francisco, CA.? Hmmm. Maybe a plunge into a data set would help...
Most Dangerous Cities in the US 2024
Detroit boasts a staggering violent crime rate of 2,007.8 incidents per 100,000 individuals, notably recording a total of 261 homicides in 2018. Remarkably, it stands as the sole midsize or large city in the United States to surpass the 2,000 mark in violent crime incidents. Despite its current population of less than 700,000, Detroit reported approximately 13,500 violent crimes in 2018—an alarming figure surpassing cities with double its population.
The city's stark economic challenges have contributed to an annual unemployment rate of 9.0% and a striking 37.9% of residents living below the poverty line. These economic hardships exacerbate social tensions and exacerbate the conditions conducive to violent crime.
Rank | City | State |
1 | Detroit | Michigan |
2 | Memphis | Tennessee |
3 | Birmingham | Alabama |
4 | Baltimore | Maryland |
5 | St. Louis | Missouri |
6 | Kansas City | Missouri |
7 | Cleveland | Ohio |
8 | Little Rock | Arkansas |
9 | Milwaukee | Wisconsin |
10 | Stockton | California |
NOTE: In its assessment of the most dangerous cities in the United States, 24/7 Wall Street conducted a comprehensive analysis of data from the FBI's 2018 Uniform Crime Report. This analysis encompassed key indicators such as each city's rates of murder, non-negligent manslaughter, rape, robbery, and aggravated assault. Importantly, only cities with populations exceeding 100,000 individuals were considered in this evaluation.
Additionally, the study took into account the poverty rate and unemployment rate for each city. These economic factors were included in the analysis due to their well-established correlation with crime rates. By examining both crime data and socioeconomic indicators, 24/7 Wall Street aimed to provide a thorough understanding of the safety profiles of various urban areas across the nation."
Wow. SF doesn't make it into the top ten. Maybe it's not that big a risk to take a 14 year old camera model into the city. And from everything I've heard SF has turned a corner and is on the mend. Take a deep breath my fearful photographer friends. In all honesty though SF is still a bit above the average in crime stats for a city of the same size nationally.
Walking down by the UT campus. A nice morning walk. By afternoon the sun is always in just the wrong place for me. But mostly this is an observation about using the Leica M240.
The only person to pay any attention to me today was an huge, hulking Department of Public Safety trooper with a felt cowboy hat, reflective sunglasses and big-ass Glock Pistol hanging off his belt. He pegged me as trouble from a distance but by the time he got close he realized it was just one of those harmless old guys with a Leica. Probably lost and wandering around looking for his car. I smiled. He didn't. Still playing the hard ass. He wandered off to harass someone else.
I found my car...
4.03.2024
Way OT: The path of totality for the eclipse has shifted a bit. We are now a few miles deeper toward the center of the path.
Anybody need to Air BNB my back yard? I can let space go for $5,000 per tent, per night. A bargain if you just have to see the eclipse for about four minutes. I think I have space for maybe a dozen tents....
We'll have sparklers too.
Cash. We only take cash...
currently busy trying to copyright the eclipse from our unique point of view...