We've made it to another Sunday. It's rained here in Austin for at least ten of the last ten days. I got out of the house yesterday when the sun was lifting moisture from the ground up into the air for a while. At least we had real sunlight to work with. I took the Q2 and did my old walk through downtown. I took that camera in case it rained while I was walking. Nothing much had changed.
Some big bank buildings are in the middle of renovating their large, ground floor spaces to make way for new tenants. There are more homeless people out on the streets than I remembered. People still drive like shit and ignore traffic rules. And even the idea of crosswalks. Nearly everyone is either kind of too fat, way too fat or Methamphetamine thin. The number of tattoos per capita has risen since I was last out and about with a camera. But mostly it was the humidity that made the walk seem uncomfortable. Imagine standing in a hot shower for a while... A really hot shower. For a really long time. So humid you resist going into air conditioned spaces because you know your front lens element will instantly fog over when you walk back out.
The test lab at VSL seems to be closing in on the best choice of hats for the Summer in Austin. We've tested many and come to the conclusion that there is no "one hat" which will fit every Summer circumstance. But having three choices seems okay. After all, the two not in use can ride around in the back seat of the VSL staff car until needed.
The right hat (or hats) has become mission critical now that I've waded through a bout of skin cancer surgery again. My wonderful surgeon made me promise not to let sunshine touch the scar until it is 100% good as new. So now that everything is on the mend I start out every adventure outside the house or the VSL bunker by slathering on sunscreen and then auditioning hats. I actually wore the white (dorky) Tilley hat the first day back outside, mostly because the brim is nice and floppy and flops down just right over my left cheek to keep sun off the X. I bought a new Stetson hat but I'm not fond of it yet. The straw weave is too loose so the sun protection is mostly surrendered. But an even more recent acquisition; the Outdoor Research Oasis Sunhat has a really nice, wide brim which holds its shape well and is lightweight on the head. Anything to keep future visits to the surgeon at bay...
The new air conditioner in the house works so well you could chill a six pack of beer in a short amount of time by propping it in front of one of the vents in the dining room. Now sleeping soundly with two down quilts on the bed and a fire in the fireplace. Nixon-style. Aiming for maximum condensation on all the outside windows...
I'm counting down the hours to my first, post-op swim practice. Tuesday morning. The pool looks good, the weather looks good and the scar is looking good. I'm not sure I will remember how to swim. I might have to start all over again in the slow lane and work my way up. But maybe not. I guess I've only really been out for two weeks come Tuesday. We'll see if my lane mates missed me or gave me up for dead and have already moved on and replaced me with someone new. They can be quite practical...
I'm never going to shoot another video so I'm grappling with pulling out bags and backpacks and rolling cases full of mixers, microphones of all types, endless cabling and too many HDMI connectors with the idea of giving some away to struggling, young videographers or just dropping the whole package to the used equipment expert at Precision Camera here in Austin and accepting like twenty five cents on the dollar for the good stuff. A move that will free up floor space and shelf space. Next up goes the lighting gear. Tired of looking at C-Stands, light stands, a forest of tripods, and way too many softboxes and electronic flashes. Oh, and also a surplus of LED light fixtures of all kinds.
I'd be so happy to end up with one tripod and a drawer full of cameras and lenses. But even there I am thinking of continuing the process of winnowing down. I've got too much camera stuff. Too many choices. Sometimes I think it would be a fun challenge to dump everything but the Leica M cameras and M lenses and see if it's true that the equipment really doesn't matter. Three cameras, eight lenses and a sack of batteries... Sounds like a plot for a movie. Too bad I'm getting rid of the video stuff....
Found a handwritten, double entry ledger for the business that mercilessly covers the period from the end of my time running a regional advertising agency, the start of my photography business, and right up to around 2004 when we went fully in on QuickBooks Pro and did the accounting on our office computer. OMG!!! I worked a lot over the years reflected in the ledgers. For a while we were averaging well over 250 jobs a year. Keeping one or two assistants on the payroll for years at a time and traveling at least a week out of most months. Photography could be quite lucrative pre-digital. Now I know why I feel like I'm being lazy these days. It's all down to the contrast between then and now.
Just glad I didn't piss away all the money on crazy stuff. Nice to finally understand what B. was talking about for all those years --- about the power of compound interest. And why, "No!" I could not have a shiny new Porsche. Or a louche Bentley. Or the analogous example in some other part of the consumer spectrum. Just cameras and lenses. And only ones that could be deducted or depreciated.
So this is what it feels like to start processing the idea of retirement. Novel. Fun in a way but also scary if one has defined at least part of their identity as a working photographer. Or as an artist. Seems the photograph part and the working part was more important to me, almost always, than the money part.
It's always something.
Silver lining of the endless rain? The primary lake that provides water for Austin and beyond is Lake Travis. It's been steadily dropping lower as drought after severe drought hits the area. The lake level was down to under half its full volume recently. All the rains have been incredibly beneficial and the lake is within striking distance of hitting its FULL capacity. Which gives us all some breathing room. I haven't watered the grass for over a month and every blade is emerald green. The mosquitoes are having the time of their short, annoying lives, the frogs are insanely happy, and maybe those water restrictions we've had in place will get relaxed for a bit.
The weather people have been predicting that we'd have a hotter and drier Summer than average. So far they could not have been more wrong. The highs for July have barely hit the 90° mark. We've had far more wet than dry days. We're still digging out in the surrounding towns from catastrophic flooding and much loss of life. But we're not suffering through the near endless plus 105° days we had in 2023 and 2024. We're halfway through Summer and still expecting more rain. When I drove home from the hardware store today my car's display showed the outside temperature at 79°. A humid and sticky 79 but still not even up to 80°. It would be even nicer if the humidity dropped. 90 to 100% is pretty obnoxious.
Today is rushing by. It's always that way when I'm sorting gear to get rid of. Nice problem though. Looking forward to a home cooked meal with B&B. Always affirming and fun.
A small show at the upstairs gallery at the Blanton Museum.
Celebrating the mere idea that I'll be back in the pool in less than 48 hours.
And, as always, celebrating the mannequins.
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Digging around in the old film archives. B and Dad in San Francisco. On the wharf.
Most of the lighting inventory is heading to new owners. Just not yet identified...
Anne with the studio's old Rollei 6008i. Ah....the film days.
At Jo's Coffee Shop. Mid-1990s. Jo's has been there for quite a while. ..
Umbrellas at the ready