I've recently had a renewed interest in the Leica SL2. So much so that I bought a second one as a back-up to the first. Why not? The prices have dropped so low....

I walked down to North Congress Ave., just in front of the state capitol building, to see some of the finishers from today's Austin Marathon race. It was a perfect day to run a marathon. The course was straightforward and remarkably secure. And the temperature range, 40s to low 50s, was just right for running long distances. Back in my 20s I ran several marathons. The events were much smaller then; in terms of participants. Several hundred people would enter the full distance race. A larger number would sign up for the half marathon. Now the attendance is in the tens of thousands and corporate sponsors are eager to participate. 

I was never a fast runner but in your twenties you can do just about anything physical that you put your mind to. I find swimming more enjoyable but seeing the runners at the finish made me think, just for a few moments, of training at age 69 to see if I could run just one more.... A few minutes later I came back to my senses and decided I'd just run out the clock in the pool.

But there was an observation I wanted to make that's all about photography. Up until about ten years ago any big foot race in Austin came equipped with a large number of photographers. There were teams of professionals snapping images of every runner who came across the finish line. Editorial shooters who were after great images of the top runners from around the world. And an army of amateurs out to get great "sports" photographs or to catch images of friends and loved ones as they ran by picturesque parts of the race course. 

I walked through the finish area near the end of the race and saw two or three people with actual cameras. Not phones, just cameras. And that was it. No legion of hobbyists out for fun images. No young professionals anxious to get great shots for their portfolios. Nada. Videographers? Sure, there were a few roving teams and a bunch of stationary camera set-ups. That's to be expected since video is far more popular on sharing sites than stills these days. Especially when it comes to sharing events. 

But the paucity of cameras in the downtown area today was stunning. Just stunning for me. 

I fear that our traditional approaches to photography are winding down and becoming..."quaint."

We of a certain age cling to the hobby or profession but the rest of the world seems to be moving on. Now, I have to say that if I lived in Manhattan, London or Paris I expect I would see tons more people with cameras out on the streets. After all, those cities are famous for their pedestrian street traffic and there are still ample opportunities to give the cameras and lenses a good workout. But you would think that a large event, on a gloriously beautiful day, in Texas' favorite city, would be a draw for more people with cameras. But maybe that's just an endless loop of a thought that's only shared by people who've been into photography for a long time. We constitute a small circle of people who just won't give up.

In some ways this experience plays into one of the ideas that always sticks with me when I see people participating in races, contests, and adventures. The idea is that it's a lot more fun to participate than it is to stand on the sidelines and document other people having fun... And maybe the vast majority of adults have figured that out for themselves. 

I didn't take photos of the race or the finishers. It's not a genre I'm much interested in. Instead I noted the lack of cameras and photographers as an interesting shift and moved on to walking and taking photos that interested me. And probably only me. 

I was photographing with the Leica SL2 that came in just last week, coupled with the Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 that's been lurking around the studio here for years and years. It's a fun combination. I love the blue skies when a storm has finished sweeping through our area, taking the clouds with it. I like the juxtaposition of old and new architecture and I find empty train stops something of a critique of Texas city culture. 

Today's walk reminded me that I love the feel of the SL2 in my hands and I like the way it makes photographing with older, manual focus lenses easy as pie. Which also reminds me of how much I like pie ---- and that would be... a lot. 

I sat in the shade near the end of my walk and drank really good coffee from a paper cup. I paired the coffee with a croissant. I marveled at the idea that people in the northern reaches; on the east coast, have such a prejudice toward coffee delivered not in a ceramic cup. At least the plastic lid on the disposable cups helps keep the coffee warmer if you are slow to finish it. The croissant helps with the pacing....

It's always fun to get back to the office and import images from a walk into Lightroom so I can look at them large and clean on a 27 inch monitor. That process itself makes them look more grand. More fun for me. I drop a preset I got from Leica Store Miami onto the files when they import and most of the resulting files can be exported with no other changes --- and still look great. 

Life is good. Even if I decide not to run another marathon. Walking with a camera is its own satisfaction.

Loving hearing stories about camera packing. I wish my readers who travel with cameras would toss in some of their own stories about traveling with gear. Great ideas? Travel traumas with gear? Grand success stories? Logistics? And so much more. 

Fun to read about Greg planning out his journey and the science of loading everything he needs for a long period of time into a tiny car with no back seat...... More like that.