Here we are on yet another Wednesday! Yesterday I had lunch at Maudie's Mexican Food restaurant over on Lake Austin Blvd. The occasion? My near monthly lunch with my favorite advertising creative director and old friend, Greg. His paintings got accepted into a juried show in Marfa, Texas and he gave me a synopsis of the whole experience. We like lunching at Maudie's because it might be the least pretentious lunch spot in Austin. Or maybe it's just the lowest common denominator that we'll both readily accept...
Mid-afternoon I caught up with a fellow photographer to compare notes on contemporary markets here in central Texas. Our consensus? Things are slow, but they are nearly always slow at this time of the year. Schools just let out and most of the folks who support our profession (the clients) generally grab their kids and head out on vacations first thing. Work generally picks back up again when the families have been back from vacation for a few weeks and then send their kids off to Summer camps. We've both been at this game for long enough to not sweat the short breaks. Go a year without a nice project and the panic used to seep in along the edges of one's conscious thoughts. I'm not concerned any more and Samuel seemed to be taking the break with no rise in blood pressure.
At 6 p.m. I arrived at Will and Mary's house for a nice break; a happy hour with me, Will, and our friend, Mark. Will steamed up a big pot of mussels and the additions to the pot made for a great broth which we greedily mopped up with hunks of freshly baked baguette. And sometimes we ate the baguette with butter instead. Will served up a delicious Rosé with our mussels. Later, he presented a homemade flan (one of the best I've ever had!) and paired it with small glasses of a light and slightly floral flavored rum. A "secco" rum, so not too sweet...
I come across a lot of articles about older men becoming isolated and lonely but I think I'm at least making a valiant effort to hang out and socialize with friends, clients and those who fall into both camps at once. In all seriousness I think my circle of friends gets at least as much credit as the daily swims for preserving my general health and a good attitude.
Will teased me about buying yet another lens while Mark, an E.R. doc, brought me up to speed on various skin cancer treatment advances (I guess he noticed that divot on my cheek...). We soon tired of that and got back to the good stuff: Who is going where on vacation and when? And how are the kids? Followed by the usual Austin bitching about ever rising prices on....everything.
Since I couldn't go to swim practice this morning I stayed up late last night finishing up the reading of the novel, "The Oligarch's Daughter" by Joseph Finder. I finally finished the book around 1 in the morning and then slept in until 9 this morning. So out of character for me but a pleasant change from the usual carved in stone swim schedule.
After breakfast I suited up in sun repellent/protective apparel, grabbed a camera, and did a long walk through the heat and humidity around Lady Bird Lake in the center of town. I meant to walk fast all the way around the 5 mile loop but I ran into an old friend named, George. He's an independent film maker who got his start working on the old Jerry Seinfeld show. He's also worked on several projects with Rick Linklater as well as a few other semi-famous Austin directors. George worked for my ad agency in a freelance capacity back in the early 1980s. We had a lot to catch up on. He's an amazing creative person and living proof that you can make a living doing film work while raising two great kids and paying for a house in central Austin.
I spent the rest of the walk trying to amp up the exercise quotient but since I had the camera with me I stopped once in a while to snap photos and tease out what I can expect from the latest lens I keep chattering away about. It's the TTArtisan 75mm f2.0 AF lens for L mount. I think it's quite good. I made some images to share for after lunch. They are just below. I captioned the ones I had the energy to caption so take a peek. For $199 the lens is a bargain. And it's also available in Nikon Z and Sony E mounts.
Still aiming to hit the pool tomorrow. I'm off to investigate waterproof BandAids at Walgreens. Have a lovely afternoon!
I ran the numbers. checked the calendars, etc. I have navigated my way around the Lady Bird Lake hike and bike trails for over 50 years. Sometimes at a dead run and sometimes at a slow amble with a friend. B. and I walked it last week. It's wonderful to have a tree covered trail that's always accessible when you want it...or need it
Abandoned pants. But I can see why.....
A calm morning on Lady Bird Lake. Rowing for pleasure.
I tried rowing a couple of times. I usually got bored and hopped in to swim.
I find this to be a most unusual name for a food company. Just unusual.
I'm sure someone smarter than me at a cocktail party will explain the
concept to me. But....
Roses at Mary and Will's house. They always have wonderful arrangements of flowers.
They are both incredible cooks. And they throw wonderful small and large dinner parties.
How did I get so lucky? They nearly always invite me over for a happy hour, when B. is out of town, which is a thinly veiled excuse for making me dinner. I try to bring a great bottle of wine and my full attention. Will and I have known each other since "Uni" and he's one of those successful photographers whose work is collected by museums... Jealous, but so happy for him.
Amazing rum. Weirdly it was the perfect complement to a great flan.
I focused on the "J" of June when I was sitting at the desk.
The 75mm lens was set to f2.0. The camera gave me ISO 20,000
I think the overall performance is pretty amazing.
Feet up on the desk; waiting for some sort of Epiphany.
That's it for today.
thanks to everyone who sent a "get well" comment.
They are really appreciated.
5 comments:
I'm Perfect Foods?
If Only. But when you look at the web address on the door of the van there's no apostrophe or break in the word, "Imperfect." Good try.
Nice lens! Great to know. Thanks for writing this.
The results from that lens are quite lovely. At $199, I may have to pick up one of these. I could go L-mount or Z-mount (for my Nikon Zf). Hope you make into the pool this week, Kirk!
Maybe 'imperfect foods' sell things like the kind of misshapen yet perfectly edible fruit and vegetables that the big shops don't want? The carrot forming the 'I' on the van artwork would suggest that to me.
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