Some more random shots with the new Thypoch Simera 50mm f1.4 lens. It's adorable.

It's been hot here in Austin, Texas for the last week or so. I go to swim practice, have coffee and breakfast, read the news and return emails. By the time I've finished with the daily rituals it's generally past noon and already in the mid-90s. By the time I get motivated to go out to photograph it's nudging the 100° mark and it just feels kinda stupid to go out in the heat to walk around aimlessly, taking photographs that aren't really part of a logical, unified project. But not today!

Today a Northern weathe front came through town and cooled us down into the 80s. And it rained. And the rain was most welcome. After a late lunch I fired up the VSL studio car and headed over to South Congress Ave. to play with a Leica M-E (typ240) and the 50mm Thypoch lens. It was raining but not a hard, continuous rain --- more of a drizzle punctuated by bigger drops at random intervals. Stochastic rain?

I wore a hat even though the UV threat was low. The hat is a convenient camera rain cover for those times when the rain picks up and seems more threatening. Mostly paranoia on my part but I'm unsure about the weather sealing on the lens so it seemed prudent to take proactive care of a temporarily unproductive camera. Worked pretty well and I sure didn't mind a few drops of water on my head as I walked along.   

I made one gear mistake. The camera I picked out of the drawer was wearing a +2.0 diopter on the viewfinder. I was wearing my eyeglasses so I didn't really need any correction to see the  50mm frame sharply but I didn't have a convenient place to stick the little, easy to lose, diopter. I stopped and had a quick self-debate. Was it more important to jettison the diopter and just use my glasses; as I do with most other cameras, or should I just stick my glasses in a convenient pocket and continue on with the diopter? I decided on no glasses/yes diopter which, of course, meant that the world around me, when my eye wasn't glued to the viewfinder window, wasn't tack sharp. Not even rusty nail sharp. More like Nerf Gun Bullet sharp. But I decided that I didn't really care if the world around me was a bit diffused and I went on photographing just the same. 

The only real issue, should you decide to go with a +2.0 diopter and no glasses comes when you want to review something you've shot, on the back screen, or when you need to engage the menu for something. Fortunately my eyes aren't so far off that squinting won't work. It does. It just makes me look dorky in the moment. Oh, who am I kidding? Any 69 year old man in shorts, Birkenstock sandals and a goofy hat, with a camera hanging around his neck, is going to look goofy anyway so why bother worrying about it?

I could go on and on about the lens and get lost in the weeds of detail but essentially it works as well as all the other M mount 50mm lenses I've tried. More than sharp enough, good detail, nice mechanics, etc. I like shooting this one wide open because I always feel like I'm getting away with something. You know, f1.4.

I walked through the touristy area for an hour and didn't really see much I wanted to photograph beyond the mannequins and a few details, but that's okay because it's an hour spent moving and taking in the weird consumer culture of one of high end shopping destinations. And it feels weird to write that because when I first came to Austin to go to school this area was very dicey. Lots of really slimey XXX theaters, sex workers working the intersections, drug deals going down and Texas State Legislators routinely being busted by undercover cops for soliciting sex or buying drugs. It was almost a thing to read the newspaper on Monday morning to see which devote, Bible thumping, conservative lawmaker had been caught with his hands in one of the cookie jars --- so to speak.

Now it's one of the pricier neighborhoods in central Austin and filled with high end retail shops and restaurants. One of three or four epicenters of tourism in the city. And still a lot of fun to walk through. If Austin really needs extra revenue the sheer number of parking meters in this areas should be a huge help...

The rain picked up a bit. My previous dose of coffee was wearing off. My hat was getting soaked. It was time to head home through the traffic generated by the 100,000+ people who'd come to watch a football game at UT Austin. And I needed to make sure I had some presentable clothes for later. A nice dinner out with the spouse. A dressier location. Might even spiff up the shine on those shoes...

Here's some more: 

I just missed these two young women taking selfies while holding a tray of pastries. 

I'm not too shy so I asked them if they would do the selfie thing all over again. 

They did. And I photographed them. And they were happy. And so was I. 

Glad NOT to have been wearing felt hat out in the rain. 

Wet felt hats always smell funky in the car on the way home...

Office window at the Hotel San José. 

And a  walkway between rooms below...

I always thought this was a fun car. 

In other news:

MJ at TOP is doing a fundraiser: details:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-online-photographer-would-like-to-relaunch

if you like to read his writing about photography (and other stuff) you

might consider making a donation to the cause...

Just sayin.

 

Every time the blog clocks another million pageviews I like to note it. It "seems" like an accomplishment. We just passed the 36 million mark.

 B. holds an umbrella in a sleet shower in Paris. The original was in black and white. Shot with an old, Leica M3 and a 50mm Summicron. I used Neural Filters in Photoshop to add color to the image. Same with the image just below...

These images were taken about 39 years ago.

I like that I've been taking photographs for such a long time. 

There is a feeling, for me, of comfortable continuity with the past.

Blog Note: MJ's blog, TOP. Info as delivered by MJ

https://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2025/09/news-from-michael-johnston-aka.html

Selling furniture is not that difficult. Adventures with a 4 megapixel camera and some lighting. New, old school.

 Olympus E-10 camera. Many years ago. Near the dawn of easily accessible digital cameras.

All lit with traditional, big, Profoto strobes.

Photoshop is getting better and better at colorizing black and white files. Plus, Frank showed me something from Google unofficially called "Nano-Banana" that was nothing short of miraculous.

 

From film. A Contax RTSIII and a Zeiss 85mm f1.4 lens.

"You take the baggage of doubt with you". - Kirk

 One of Yoda's most famous and impactful quotes is, "Do or do not. There is no try". This quote emphasizes the importance of full commitment and decisive action, encouraging individuals to devote their complete energy to their goals rather than approaching them with a mindset of mere effort. Or even worse, a mindset of fear or doubt.

I find that most people carry around ideas that seem to blunt their ability to make the photographs they would really, really like to make. They would doubt that the men in the image above would approve of being in this photograph. They doubt people will tolerate them if they spend the time needed to get just the right shot. They doubt that they can pull something off without some sort of confrontation so they don't try. They fear they will be told "no." They doubt they will be "safe." 

Or they doubt their ability in the first place to go on an adventure, or even point a camera at a stranger in the first place. Very few external constraints actually exist in the practice of photographing people in public. Most of the limitations are self imposed. Self moderated.

I don't have a secret formula that will convince all the people who think they will be robbed in the street for their camera that this isn't something to worry about. Not unless you've made a target of yourself --- which is also mostly self-imposed. I can't guarantee that no one will be unkind if photographed.

The role models in all sorts of photography were and are fearless. Or at least good at tamping down the fear because they feel that the cost/benefit tradeoffs of getting the shot they want skew wildly in favor of taking the chance, taking the shot, taking the time and giving the shot your best try. Much more important than the "safety" of not trying in the first place. 

Maybe it was a parent that led you to believe it's always better to be safe than sorry. Maybe it was a gym teacher who bullied you into quitting something so you wouldn't be embarrassed by a temporary failure. Maybe it was a spouse who "helped" you believe that the thing you most wished to do was impractical, unimportant and .... impossible.

But life changes all the time and you can reject the thoughts and ideas that might be holding you back from doing the very thing you wish most to do. It's a question of challenging a restricting mindset. And fixing it rarely works in baby steps. Sometimes, to get what YOU want you need to take bold action. Reject the mindset that holds you back and plunge in. You won't get what you want the most by sitting on the sidelines, growing older by the day.

Carpe Diem? or Just Cave Canem?  

I think the Leica 11-V is imminent. Beyond rumors.

What makes the Leica D-LUX 8 so good? Well, great color but even more important is the beautiful EVF. 

What makes the Leica Q cameras so popular? Yeah, it's the EVF.

Why do so many pros swear by the Leica SL2s and SL3s?

Again, it's the EVF...

I had lunch yesterday with a friend who has been doing a deep dive into Leica and Leica cameras. Much deeper than me. He was in New York for the tennis Opens and made a trek to the Leica store to see what might be new and ripe for the picking. He mentioned the rumors of an M11-V to a clerk thinking he'd get the usual Leica store disclaimer that, "Nobody knows until they announce..." but not this time. This time he got a knowing nod and every indication that the camera is coming. Why did he believe this person? Because they offered to put him on a waiting list for the new camera. That's pretty convincing. 

So, what might a Leica M11-V camera be? I'm thinking it's pretty obvious; it's probably going to be a basic M11 body but without the rangefinder or viewfinder windows to the front of the camera. They'll keep the rangefinder focusing in order to maintain 70+ years of backward compatibility with M series lenses, and because rangefinder users prefer rangefinder focusing, but the camera will be focused and composition will take place on an EVF screen, a la the Q series cameras. 

Even though it's a move that will remove some mechanical complexity I expect that it will hit the market at a higher price point than the current M11 models. And since the expected name is M11-V it's very likely that, like the P cameras and the monochrome cameras the traditional M bodies will continue to be part of the product line up. 

This new style of M, with an EVF, is what a large segment of Leica aficionados have been asking for since the highly successful launch and acceptance of the Q2 (the original Q had a sucky EVF by comparison). An M camera with an EVF for those old, tired eyes. Fully functional with the vast collection of M lenses. All presented in a historic and well loved body configuration. 

The only thing most people will not love? The $10,000 to $12,000 price tag. 

Want one? I'd be calling my Leica dealer right now to get on the secret lists I'm sure the stores are keeping. Even if they won't admit it to the general public. 

Gotta go. I've got a phone call to make.

 

Two photos from a shoot at Primary Packaging in NYC. From the film days.