Love 50mm lenses. From lowly to lofty. All good.
Well heck. I was planning on taking an out of town trip in November. I thought it might be a good time to re-visit Montreal. But real life has a way of intervening in human plans. Seems my dermatologist found a suspicious spot on my left shoulder blade and decided to biopsy. Wouldn't you know it, it was a squamous cell tumor that needs to be removed, and I'd hate to wait on it and have it spread. Ounce of prevention vs. kiloton of cure...
This little "treatment" will probably involve stitches and, if so, I'll be out of sorts and out of the pool for at least ten days. Then there is the irritation of having a spot positioned just exactly where I can't reach it. As with any surgery I'll need to change the bandaging and clean the site daily, at first. Since I can't see it or reach it I'll be depending on B. to act as chief nurse for four days a week and my doctor's nurse to change it each of the other three days in that first week. Not something I'd really like to ask a hotel concierge in a foreign city to do for me... if you get my drift. My dermatologist assures me I'll survive nicely but won't go as far as to say I'll be "comfortable" for those first few days. I hope any scar looks wicked and cool...
My bigger issue is the idea of no hard physical exercise, and especially no competitive swimming or water sports of any kind, for those first ten days. Grrrrr.
My primary physician and I chatted and he's reserved a time certain for me to come by each day that I have to for the post procedure care I'll need (clean and re-bandage). He's been my doctor for well over 30 years and I find it's great to have a relationship with a concierge medical practice even if it's not something that's covered by Medicare. The personal service has always been outstanding!
Of course this will hamper my regular activities right up till nearly Thanksgiving. And with the latest airline flight delays and cancellations I have no intention of flying in these holidays. I couldn't think of anything less fun in this moment of history. I'll be celebrating with family and friends and hopefully getting back to swim workouts instead.
It all works out to mean that the best time for me to head out on a photo adventure, cross borders, is the first two weeks of February. I'll schedule to make sure I get to see the Richard Avedon "Immortals" show in Montreal around the 12th of that month. You'll just have to make do with Austin and central Texas photos until then, interwoven with scanned "greatest hits" from the film days.
And more silly blog posts about my love for 50mm lenses; and their currently popular sibling focal length, the 40mm. All good to my way of thinking.
Below is a shot of the kid taken with a 50mm lens mounted on a Leica R8 camera. The good old days. Shot on slide film to make it all more challenging.
Ben. Leica R8 + 50mm Summilux R.
The skinny little 40mm isn't so nice and skinny with an adapter attached.
the Voigtlander 40mm Ultron for Nikon. Adapted.
A really nice, shorter "50"...
A perenial favorite! The Canon 50mm f1.4 FD. Practice your MF chops...
And, of course, the cheapest lens I own...
And it's still pretty darn good --- if you are willing to stop it down a bit.
Currently walking around with a Carl Zeiss 50mm ZF.2 lens with a Nikon mount and the required adapter. It's a very pleasant and sneaky lens. Stop it down to f5.6 and it's sharper than a scorpion sting. I really like it...
