From a project for the Texas Hill Country Wine Association.
Naw. I'm not heading out to pick grapes in central Texas. This time I'm heading further afield and am doing so without a client attached. Or a travel companion of any sort. I'm going off with a small Domke bag that has some carefully selected cameras and lenses as well as the few accessories I know I'll need but might not be able to buy on site.
After much silly deliberation I've made my choices, charged the batteries and packed my camera bag (singular). I'm lackadaisical about packing clothes and related, normal stuff. I just put a bunch of exactly the same, green t-shirts into a rolling case along with an extra pair of pants (identical to the ones I'll wear on my travel day), a sweatshirt, a compressible down jacket and toiletries. I packed an extra pair of shoes to wear around interior spaces while I'm waiting for my all purpose hiking shoes to dry out --- if required. That's pretty much it for "luggage." One small rolling case. No checked luggage. Which is sad because in business class the extra bags are free...
But you didn't come here to see how many pairs of socks I'm packing so I'll get on with the camera bag stuff. In a dark green Domke F1 (original size) camera bag I am packing two Leica M240 cameras. Along with the cameras I am taking the 50mm Voigtlander APO and the 35mm VM APO lenses. Nothing better except for the big SL 50 APO which is overkill for this vacation expedition. I have added two other small lenses for those times when the the photo spirits move me to go wider. One is the 28mm Carl Zeiss Biogon 28mm f2.8 (ZM) and the other one is the tiny Thypoch 21mm Epoch lens; an f3.5. I'm also packing one of the little Leica EVF-2 finders for use with the 21mm; if I ever get around to using that lens. Also packed in the bag are six SCL-2 Batteries, four 256 GB SD cards, and one hundred thousand dollars in bearer bonds.
Now, I have to be precise here. I have no intention of going out of my hotel with this ponderous bag of redundant gear flung over one shoulder in order to torture myself day-by-day. I'll take one camera, one lens on the camera, and one extra lens in a coat pocket. And I checked the weather in Montreal next week and I will need a coat/jacket. And gloves. And a hat. But I don't need to carry a camera bag or a second camera or the whole collection of lenses. None of that sounds like fun to me. So, the routine is to pare the kit down to essentials. And with the M240s I don't think I even need to take a back-up battery along with me unless I actually do choose to shoot with the wide angle lens. I'd want an extra battery because using the 21mm with the EVF engaged will drain the battery more quickly. And, well... I do like to be prepared.
One camera over the shoulder. One extra lens in the coat pocket. A stylish hat. Some warm gloves. And, I am working as fast as I can to revive any French language skills I retain from two years of French classes at "University." So far? Damn little retained. Quel dommage.
I'm looking forward to NOT having a rigorous schedule, agenda or shot list with which to subjugate myself. If I walk and look and eat fun food all day long and don't see anything I want to take a photograph of then c'est la vie. I'm not looking to set a record for how many images I can take in a day...
I had an interesting lunch with a friend yesterday. He's in the tech industry and travels way too much for work. He gave me some travel pointers that I'd never considered before. Nothing to do with photography but, as Andre Kertesz said, "Everything is photograph." (I didn't screw up; that's the exact quote).
First of all there is a phone app called ArriveCan. It enables travelers to fill out the paperwork required for customs, etc. on the app, having it approved and gaining access to a quicker exit from customs and immigration in Montreal. There is now a phone apps for Global Entry but it's only really more useful than the I.D. card for traveling into the USA with a family member who you can now include on your own Global Entry account. Nice. Finally, there is MPC or MobilePassportControl which allow for submission of one's photo, travel documents and responses to CBP questions at participating U.S. ports of entry. A time saver when used in conjunction with Global Entry.
Then, of course, there are the usual apps from the various airlines. So much easier to have boarding passes in your iPhone wallet than acquiring paper boarding passes as in the past. I'm old school. I still print out boarding passes and stick them in my bag in case I have a catastrophic phone failure between house and the TSA stations coming or going.... Love the paper. Love the passes in the phone wallet even more.
Why no Leica SL2-S and the ponderous but remarkable 50mm APO? Seemed too much like work. Not enough process friction. The M240s are devilish but fun. Much more overall friction. It coincides with my desire not to make this trip too serious. I've already done the serious trips. This should be more mellow.
Out next week. Not taking a laptop or even an iPad. I will not be typing new content on my iPhone for the blog. I'm taking a nice little, paper notebook and a couple of pencils. You'll have to wait a week... But I'll pop one more blog post up before I go...
Hey! Did anyone read M.J.'s column about the complexity of the Pentax Monochrome camera this morning. A rant (by his own description) about how terribly complicated and complex the menus and options are on that camera... I think he just discovered why the Leicas can be so much fun. Simple interfaces. Simple menus, and simple controls. Just what he was pining for in his post. Could we see the wall crumble? Will MJ get over his fear and revulsion of Veblen items and embrace the camera system that delivers the simplicity he asks for? Curious minds want to know. Is that an SL3 in his future?
Taking a break from picking grapes to greet the morning sunrise...
Manor, Texas. Sausage. Not for those on time restricted diets...
OMG. Look!!! No cell phones. Rome 1986.
Not the travel outfit I have in mind...
Paris. 1994. At the fashion shows at the Louvre Carrousel.
Backstage.
Will I be able to find coffee in Montreal? A resounding "YES!"
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