Transcending the weather? More like just rolling with it. Wet, cold and delightful.

 I guess I have myself to blame. I should have bought a nice condo in Majorca years ago. I'd be there now with my yacht anchored just up the beach. Sun warming my old, tired bones. My cute house manager rubbing sunscreen on the parts of my back I just can't reach. Getting ready to eat some fresh caught fish expertly prepared by our cook, Gabriella. But no. I wasn't smart enough to escape. So here I am in Austin, Texas taking black and white photographs with a decade+ old camera, in the rain and the cold. I guess I'm Okay with that. 

When I looked into the reflective glass on the side of a too many stories tall residence tower on 3rd St. it finally dawned on me that I am such a photo nerd. Out playing with cameras in the dire elements while all my brilliant friends are sitting in front of environmentally friendly fireplaces stoking the electric elements that are throwing off heat and light thanks to the huge batteries in their Power Walls. Electing to use the solar power held in reserve for no other reason than luxuriating in the hubris of having planned their game out so well. We still use grubby little logs that smoke like burning tires.

I realized how far down the rabbit hole I've gone, as a photographer, when I looked at the reflection of my gloves. They are made by photo supplier, ProMaster and I bought them in our local camera store. These are my second pair. I gave my first pair to a homeless guy who seemed to need them more than I did in the moment. 

The gloves have the requisite little, sticky rubber nubs on the palms and the inside curl of the fingers. All the better to grip even the slimiest, slipperiest cameras. They also have a little zipper pocket on the top of the wrist that's perfect for storing that extra SD card or smaller battery. And the final thing that makes them "photographer" gloves is a construction which allows one to uncover one's index fingers and thumbs in order to better operate tiny controls on cameras and lenses. 

I consider my hat to be, if not a certified photo hat, at least an efficient choice for imaging because it has no front bill to intrude into my upper peripheral vision nor will it block the rangefinder windows. The big question now is....does anyone make really cool photo shoes? If so, what are they and where do I find them? Birkenstocks just don't make the cut in sloshy wet, cold weather...no matter how many pairs of thick, German socks I put on. 

Half way through my walk today I stopped at Torchy's Tacos on 2nd Street, just across from the older Google building. A brief respite from the howling (8 mph...) wind and cutting (38°f) temperatures. The bacon, egg and cheese taco, paired with hot coffee was just the inspiration I needed to continue. 

In the winter I grow more partial to making images in black and white. It's not a bother, really. My mind doesn't require dramatic reconfiguring to make the aesthetic change over. In fact, it's mostly just one menu item on my camera. 

After I shot enough I headed home to wait by the door like a restless golden retriever ready to wag my tail when the rushed and beleaguered UPS guy comes up the driveway with my new ancient used happy lens from one of the Leica Stores. Something to look forward to in a gray and forbidding afternoon. Not quite held captive by the elements. At least the car still starts...

I hope I spelled every word correctly because I'm almost never in the mood to make revisions.

I'd rather look at lonely fire hydrants. Mysteriously located in fields far from buildings or houses.

Random Urbanism.

A smaller part of that curved building I've shot so many times that the owners are considering naming it after me. Or suing me. I can't remember which.

I consider metallic gray mannequins to be zombie mannequins. They are a bit off-putting. 

But perhaps more interesting than the headless ones.

couldn't help it. These were just down the street from Torchy's Tacos. 

I guess it was the caffeine boost that motivated this round...

visual cacophony. 

Yes. Yes. But install what exactly?

Alternate view for the back of the album cover. 

My readers from the vast wastelands of the north will laugh when I write that I've

really, really enjoyed the heated seats, heated steering wheel and side mirror defrosters on the new studio squad car. I might only get to use them for a couple weeks out of any given year but

it's still cool to have them. Or warm. Or, well, whatever. You know.