It's Tuesday. I'm thinking about attending the LSI (Leica Society International) meeting in Montreal October 23,24, & 25th. Who is going?

 

photographer with Leica TL2 camera. At the W Hotel

The LSI grew out of the original organization called, The Leica Historical Society of America. Going international pretty much made the original name a bit... obsolete. I attended the LHSA meeting as a guest of LHSA back in 2000, when it was held in San Antonio, Texas. That was resolutely and firmly in the film days for Leica. 

A year earlier I had written a long piece about the Leica M6 system for Photo.net. The article got millions a millions of page views and hundreds of sometimes heated and confrontational comments. It got Leica's attention. One of the main speakers at that year's meeting was the famous rock-n-roll/music photographer, Jim Marshall. He and I spent some fun hours at the bar at the Gunter Hotel one afternoon. He was beyond interesting, and hilarious once we got going. 

I'm thinking about attending the meeting in Montreal for three reasons. Maybe four reasons. First of all I wanted to go to Montreal in October anyway and had been lazily planning a trip there long before I got news about the LSI meeting. Second, my friend and fellow Leica enthusiast, ATMTX is already on board with the meeting and made his arrangements a while back --- before I was even aware of the event. Third, a photographer whose YouTube channel I follow, Gajan Balal, will be one of the speakers and I'd love to listen to his commentary. And finally, four: There is always a tech component to these shows with new product announcements and showcases. And if history repeats, there is a marketplace appended to the show filled with used Leica products and knowledgable vendors. 

If a bunch of VSL readers are headed there for the LSI show it might be a fun idea to schedule a casual coffee meeting on one of the mornings, pre-show opening. Or not.

On the other hand I'm not much of a joiner and might just head to Montreal for no other good reason than to walk around aimlessly with a Leica "X" in hand and make pretty pictures while taking advantage of great hotel rates. I'm most likely going one way or another.

Swim news. In previous years, when I have gotten a flu shot or Covid vaccine, the following days have usually been...uncomfortable. Sore arm. Headaches. General bleariness. And some low energy swims. But not this time. While my right shoulder is a bit sore I'm generally pretty good shape. I woke early, ate an early breakfast (a couple hours before my 8 a.m. swim) headed to the pool early. The outside temp, according to my car's electronics, was a wondrous 63°. Even better, the water temp was a perfect 78°. 

I swam with Dan this morning. He's a former college swimmer who is younger than me by a decade. He's fast! But he's fun to swim with. And accommodating about intervals. They have to be just long enough for me to make them! Coach Jenn put up a complicated and challenging set of distances with ever shortening intervals. I was mostly out of breath for the better part of an hour... The things we do to maintain those glistening, Adonis-like bodies...

Travel. Now tossing an M Leica in the Subaru Legacy Sport and heading West towards Fredericksburg, Texas. Just for the heck of it. A nice, sunny day on which to walk around and photograph somewhere different. But still thinking about the LSI thing. I'm at a cautious maybe right now.

Hope everyone is happy and having fun today.