Spring Time in Austin. Time to get outside more and see the sites. Prices on cameras set to rise by at least 10%. Best close on that once in a lifetime camera deal today!!!

 

It was a beautiful day in Austin. The sun was coming in and out of the clouds. There was a soft breeze for most of the afternoon and the temperatures stayed in the lower 80s. We had some good, soaking rains last week and some on again, off again showers this week. In central Texas that means just about everything is bright green or blooming like crazy. The trees surrounding the house and studio have thick canopies and the live oaks are dropping oak pollen like confetti. 

I could have stayed in the office and listened to the news about tariffs and then watched my favorite stocks falling like lead balloons but I decided to ignore everything and go for a walk instead. It was the right choice. 

The camera I chose today was the Leica top 240 M-E. A gorgeous grey metal finish with nary a defect on it anywhere. I paired it with my current favorite 50mm lens, the Voigtlander APO Lanthar. I set up the camera to shoot in .dng and headed off to my favorite parking place, just north of Lady Bird Lake. 

As I crossed over the railroad tracks and headed for the pedestrian bridge that would lead me into South Austin I wondered just how many times I've walked across the tracks, behind a huge parking garage, past Mañana Coffee and over the Pfluger Bridge. At least a couple hundred times. Maybe more. That triggered my memories of just how long I've been running the four mile loop around the lake in downtown. I started running the trail with a college girlfriend who was the first person I knew who not only had Nike Waffle Trainers but also had a passion for finding just the right running shoes. That would have been back in 1975. 

When we were undergraduates on just about every nice weather day we'd lace up our running shoes and run down from the UT campus (about a mile and a half) and hit the four mile trail. We're both pretty competitive but she was always the better runner. After a fast spin around the lake we'd walk or jog back to our dorms on campus. We broke up, eventually, but I never stopped running the trails. 

I competed in the very first Capitol 10K way back in 1978 and ran my first marathon in 1979. I'm going to guess I've been around the lake in running shoes about 5,000 times over the last 50 years. Sounds like a  lot but that's really only 100 days a year. The last time I ran a race was in 2013 when my kid was running cross country in high school and we decided to run the Thundercloud Turkey Trot. Geez! I can hardly believe that was twelve years ago.... (sigh). Yes, my 17 year old kicked my butt by several minutes. But at least I could still knock out a 10K with a minimum of active training. I guess the cardio of swimming transfers --- a bit. Not sure how I'd do today but I'm in no hurry to find out.

Anyway, I got across the pedestrian bridge and headed east on Barton Springs Road. I walked past the lunch rush at Black's BBQ. Lots of big, big people with trays loaded high jockeying for picnic table space. Funny that the restaurant is juxtaposed right next to Austin TriCyclist which is a store than serves swimmers, runners, cyclists and triathletes (I swim most days with one of the owners. She is faster than me...). I buy my swim goggles from her. It's kind of fun to be part of an exercise clique... Makes it all feel more like a family of athletes. I actually used the owner of the sport shop as a primary model in a photo shoot for Austin Sports Medicine. She was perfect for the role. Because she lives the role.

I was traveling light this afternoon. One camera, one lens. I had my car key in one pocket and my wallet in the other. That's it. No cell phone, no extra batteries, no encumbrances. Nothing weighting me down. 

Just comfortable shoes and a cool pair of shorts. I walked up one side of South Congress Ave., crossed over after I ran out of stores, shops and restaurants to look at on the east side of the street and came back down on the west side of the street. I walked into one gallery and found two really fun litho prints I liked very much. 

I stopped at Torchy's Tacos to grab a big, stuffed, bacon, egg and cheese taco on a flour tortilla for lunch. Cruised by the Maufrais hat shop to see what might be new. 

I cut through the Hotel San José just to watch the people sitting in the courtyard in the mid-afternoon sipping cocktails and wine, and came to rest, temporarily, at Jo's Coffee right next door. I'd just read an article on Medscape about how having enough dairy in your daily diet can reduce your chances of colon cancer by up to 20% over people who don't have enough dairy in their diets. Seems big studies now show that all that hoopla over the evils of dairy and saturated fat was wrong. The big cut back of dairy may be one of the reasons why CRC is increasing among younger and younger generations. Too much oat milk, not enough whole cow milk. Who am I to argue with big studies from legit sources? 

So, of course I had a latté made with whole milk. But really, is there any other way to make a good latté??? Secondary studies also indicate that twice weekly yogurt ingestion has a similar positive effect. And, just to mollify yogurt naysayers, my preferred yogurt, from FAGE has two ingredients. One is milk and the second is yogurt cultures. No sugars, no sweeteners, no candy soup. Just protein and CRC reducing properties. Who knew that so many previously vilified foods would turn out to be so good for you? Be careful where you source your nutrition info. You may be playing footsie with a proponent of RFK, Jr. The patron saint of Measles. 

After the coffee, which I enjoyed while sitting almost motionless at a table, I walked back toward the other side of downtown and headed off to find my car. Which was right where I left it four miles ago. Vroooom. 

When I got home there was a box waiting for me just outside the front door of the house. It's a Pelican case I ordered from B&H. It's just right for the back-up gear. 

The images from today validate my understanding of just how good this camera and lens combination can be. I stayed close to f5.6 but I have no fears about using f16 if I need to/want to and, by the same token, no fears about using f2.0. They must have put those settings on the lens for a reason!!!

An interesting fact to share: A great uncle of my father was Edward Tuck. He was a banker, a diplomat (mostly stationed in France) and a philanthropist. His father was Amos Tuck, the founder of the Republican party. When I took my parents on a trip to Paris back in 1994 we made a visit to the Petit Palais where Edward Tuck had donated a large collection of his art. He was also a frequent benefactor for social programs there. There is a street named after him in Paris. It's Avenue Edouard Tuck which runs between La Place de la Concord to the Petit Palais. My father and mother were greeted warmly by the museum staff after they learned of his relationship to Edward Tuck. While he lived most of his later life in Monte Carlo he did dabble in philanthropy in the U.S.; his most noted gift was the establishment of the Amos Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He was an alumni of Dartmouth, and earlier,  Exeter Academy. 

I always find it interesting to learn more about the family's past. My father was the first to break a long line of precedence of being in banking... But that's a story for another time.

But look! Spring has sprung in Austin....

When I got back home I heard the financial news about the tariffs. Seems like they cover not just cars and steel and such but also electronics and consumer goods from just about every country on the face of the earth. I'm sure we'll see camera and lens prices heading north in short order. While I was joking earlier, with inflation not coming down and tariffs driving prices higher, this might be the best moment to finally push the "buy now" button for the camera you've been saving up for. They may never be this "cheap" again.

I was going to buy a D-Lux 8 today. I put one in my shopping cart at Leica Store Miami. They had at least one in stock. I thought I'd come back after my walk and finish up the order. But by the time I got back they'd sold through their supply. I guess that's all for the best. I never attended the Edward Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. Only the Kirk Tuck School of Hard Knocks, so maybe it was a sign from the universe to keep some powder dry (save the money). 

At least the current milieu means never a boring day on Wall Street.