I seem to be rotating through my cameras almost like rotating crops. Yesterday I pulled a Leica CL out and photographed my visit to the Blanton Museum in Austin.

 

New sculpture on the walk way from the State Capitol to the University. 

The hallowed Horny Toad. 

Yesterday was another gray and lackluster day. I slept in and missed morning swim practice. Sometimes just getting those eight hours seems like the healthier play. Especially since there's always a noon workout on the schedule. I made breakfast, drank coffee, read all the depressing news online and decided that I needed to do something fun and uplifting --- so I took a trip over to the Blanton Museum. And I decided to take a small and light photographic toolset with me instead of depending once again on my larger, heavier cameras and lenses. 

I snooped around in the camera cabinet and saw the CL cameras. I realized I'd been ignoring them lately in deference to the full frame choices. I also elected to take one small, fast prime lens and my choice for the morning was the TTArtisan 23mm f1.4. Is it sharp enough? I guess you'll have to judge for yourself. I found it to be very good, all around. Yes, there is a little barrel distortion but I've given up worrying about that. The only distortion I dread is the terrifying "mustache" distortion that a number of wide-to-standard zooms seem to exhibit. And the terror is mostly because the distortion is hard to correct manually when there is no profile available. 

With the small, light, but potent image making package sorted out I stuck an extra battery in a pocket and headed out. I parked on Lavaca St. but, just between you, me and 10,000 other readers, I've given up paying the parking meters. In fact, I've taken my chances by not ever paying the city parking meters since the onset of Covid; and I've only been ticketed once or twice. I figure that's about 1% of the times I've parked in the downtown area. I happily paid those fines and then did the math on the total outlay. I figure I've now paid about three cents for each parking experience committed over the last three years. Not bad. A classic risk versus reward exercise. 

I parked the high performance studio staff car in front of this 

shuttered sandwich shop. It used to be a Thundercloud Sub shop.

An Austin original. But not to worry, there are plenty of other 

Thundercloud locations around Austin.... 

I was interested in heading to the Blanton Museum to take a second peek at the "Day Jobs" show. And also because, after what seems like years of construction, the grounds in front of the museum have re-opened and I wanted to see how they changed the plaza between the two buildings. More on that below.

The first floor exhibit is very interesting because it showcases fun, insightful art but it also "discusses" what artists have to do to make a living/survive while working on their own art. Some worked in the service industry, some in graphic design and even a few in banking and law. The caregiver industry was well represented by a small collection of Vivian Dorothy Maier's black and white, square prints while Barbara Krueger was representative of artists who worked in publishing. Sol Lewitt had an interesting work path before his success as a painter and, of course there were four prints from Andy Warhol who was the poster boy for commercial artists who made  the leap into highly collectible fine artists. 

It's a well rounded show and nicely hung. Well worth an hour or so, or a first and second viewing. Yesterday I had a much more positive reaction to the show than my first contact as there were far fewer people in attendance and that always helps. 

I had almost forgotten, but was reminded as I walked around snapping photos, how small and convenient the Leica CL camera is when used with an equally small prime lens. Emboldened by recent experiments with the "Denoise" function in Lightroom Classic, I set the auto ISO to give me a minimum shutter speed of 1/125th of a second and a maximum ISO of 12,500. I thought it would be a fun, real world test of both the camera's sensor and the Lightroom application's prowess in cleaning up files. (Just be sure you are shooting in raw because the "Denoise" doesn't work with Jpegs...). 

The camera's viewfinder (EVF) is good and the 24 megapixel, APS-C size sensor is nicely detailed and, at most ISOs, pretty much noise neutral. 

This is a detail of the exterior of the newly revamped museum exterior. 

The camera's dynamic range is wide enough to open up the deep shade across the 

greenly decorated wall while holding on to highlights outside. 

I did apply an auto transform to correct for the converging verticals. 

I have not gotten a tilt shift lens for this camera system...

Again, I was quite happy with the camera's ability to "see" in the shaded, covered 

areas but to also grab detail outside, through an arch.

I don't know about anyone else but I love reading the curator's 

notes next to individual pieces of art as well as the written introductions

to unique galleries. The writing generally goes a long way toward

explaining the art and the rationale for its inclusion. 

And I just like the way type sometimes photographs. 

Yes. I see the vignetting. Not all vignetting MUST be corrected.

Works by Andy Warhol. 

A fun observation by a fine artist who started out working on TV shows

and movies. 

I was going to wear my fabulous Birkenstocks again. Even though the idea of 

open toed shoes seems disturbing to Canadians. But since we had heightened 

chances of rain yesterday I opted to wear a pair of Keens. They are fine

if you are into imprisoning your feet... Feet want to be free. Or is it 

the internet that wants to be free. 

Send me money so I can buy more and more shoes! 

I think this painting has been my long time favorite of all the paintings in the 

permanent galleries of the museum. It's just..... I can't put it into words....but

I don't know; wonderful?

This image and the one below,  of one of the upstairs gallery of "modern" and "contemporary" 

art, were my test images for high ISO combined with noise reduction.

Each image was shot at 6400 ISO and then the raw files were modified 

by Lightroom's "Denoise" tool. I find the results pretty amazing and it makes

high density sensors cameras even more likable. Great for dense sensors on APS-C, 

but equally good on a high res camera like the Leica SL2.

On the left, a painting by one of my new favorite Painters, Deborah Roberts.

Click in to try to find the noise.... Magenta cast thanks to some ill-considered

neon art, out of frame....

I don't know why it took well over a year to assemble and implant these 

giant shade structures that are the focal point of the plaza in front of the 

museum buildings. They are interesting but.... eh.

this used to be a trashy street with tons of intersections and stop signs.

After years and years of construction it's recently reopened as an expansive 

walkway and pedestrian paradise in the middle of town. Connecting the 

UT campus with brand new, shiny state office buildings and, at the 

far end, the State Capitol building. Which is also architecturally interesting.

When I got back to my car I noticed the new rack in front of the 

shutter sandwich shop. I liked everything about it so, of course, it got "documented." 

It never rained while I was going to or from the museum but I got a bit paranoid about having a camera with me that's not particularly weather sealed. Same for the lens. Usually, on sunny days I have a hat and can cover my gear with the hat should a rain shower pop up unexpectedly. Yesterday I found myself under equipped. I dropped by the museum's gift shop and found a small sling bag that was just right. And, for the first time I also bought a Blanton Museum T-shirt as well. The sling bag joins a veritable mountain of camera bags and backpacks here in the office, but for a short amount of time I felt better about the health of my gear. It never did rain. Just looked like it all day long. 

I made it to my car in time to cut through Austin's lunch hour traffic and make it to the noon swim practice; by the skin of my teeth. (I should brush more). During the entire hour of practice the sky was dark and ominous. Gray and glowering. But it never got around to raining and we didn't experience any of the lightning or thunder the meteorologists were try to sell. 

Later in the afternoon I met a photographer friend, let's call him "Paul", for a mid-afternoon coffee. He brought along an extra lens hood and companion hood cap for a Voigtlander 58mm lens. He bought it for his version of the lens but his has a 58mm filter size while my version is a 52mm. He tried to send it back to the seller but the seller told him he'd just credit the selling price and not to send it back. Paul gifted it to me. I was doubly glad because bit of post coffee research was enlightening. The hood will also work on the 40mm f2.0 V lens without any vignetting!!! Very exciting. And a savings (to me) of about $60.

I suspect that my photographer friend had an ulterior motive for our visit. At the end of our coffee meeting we walked outside so he could show me his latest automative acquisition. Seems the hot car to have these days (and proof that photography doesn't impoverish every practitioner...) is the Porsche Macan Turbo. A lovely car. In white with black leather interior. Not sure I would call it an "investment" but I can sure call it a fun indulgence. I thought for a moment or two that I should splash out for one of those cute and outrageously powerful SUVs but I'm too financially conservative to take the plunge. 

It looks good on him. I just can't pull it off the same way. So glad I love my Subi Forester. In some odd measure of compensation I took time to wash my car and vacuum the interior yesterday. Not 400 horsepower but a lot easier to buy gas for. 

That's about it. I'd write a much longer and much more interesting blog today but B is coming home this afternoon and if I don't clean up the house a bit....maybe get rid of some of those pizza boxes.... well. You know.

Great Response to Tuesday's invitation to share information about each other. I wish there was a way on Blogger to "pin" a post up at the top of the main page. But there isn't. I'll keep posting comments to that post as long as the comments keep coming. Thanks to everyone!!!

 

Birkenstock Atacamas in action. 

I like Birkenstocks and now that I've attained full adulthood I have 

no fear of even wearing them in cooler weather with wool socks. but...

I love the way Birkenstock's original sandals feel on my feet. The arch support, the footbed, in fact, just about everything is perfect. But the originals have one big issue that bugged me. My two pairs of Arizonas have very thin and wimpy soles on them. The bottom tread. It's definitely a sandal that's made for indoor use. On tile, on carpet and on hardwood floors they are very much in their element. But if you take them outside and walk on roadways, sidewalks, and over any rough ground you'll wear out the bottom tread within a month. At least I will. I had almost given up on considering wearing my comfy originals past the threshold of the front door of my house --- which is sad. But do you really want to blast through a pair of $160 sandals on a monthly basis? Seems a bit wasteful to me.

Austin is a weird place for shoes. It's rare we need or want to wear big, insulated hiking boots and there are so few places left anymore to wear those bespoke, formal suits and fine oxfords and still fit in Austin Fashion Wise. We've got a couple months of comfortable, temperate weather and then most of the Summer, at least till November, we're dealing with hot, sweaty, sticky weather. The kinds that begs for short pants, thin, moisture wicking shirts and almost bare feet. Or at least feet exposed to air flow...

Of course you can't really go barefoot as the pavement everywhere is hot enough to quickly cook pancakes on. You wouldn't make it two blocks without third degree burns on the bottoms of your feet. So the solution for the heat, humidity and just plain awfulness of feet confined to shoes is sandals. I have all manner of other brands but the Birks are the most luxurious. The "Leica" of ventilated footwear. 

In anticipation of the upcoming Summer I started doing research and found that Birkenstock has introduced a bunch of new product with ---  much more rugged and durable soles. Big tread. As thick as the grippy tread on the bottoms of my Keen hiking shoes. Oh joy! I bought the first version they introduced. They are called Atacamas. They don't have the famous suede leather over cork footbed. They are made of some sort of composite materials. But they work, and were comfortable enough for me to have done a handful of three to four miles walks through the city. I'd put a link to them but I don't want to rob you of the joy of doing your own research. 

Yesterday I circled back to the Birkenstock website to find yet another product that melds the best of the Atacamas with the best of the traditional sandals. It's called the "Arizona Rugged." Oiled leather uppers, tranditional suede leather footbed but with a much more rugged bottom. Advertised as an outdoor, adventure shoe. I'll be ordering a pair of these as well since the suede footbed insole will most likely be more comfortable than the non-porou, poly material of the Atacama. Sadly though, they are about $25 more. 

The Atacamas are perfect for wet environments (going to the pool) and getting caught in the rain since they won't be bothered by water. That's the biggest trade off. The Arizona Ruggeds will eventually experience deteriorated cork inner soles if you don't take pains to wax the surfaces regularly.

So, what the heck does this have to do with photography? Well... happy feet make for happier photographers and un-sore feet mean more potential ground covered during photo walks. The rationale works for me. And...they are made in Germany. I can hardly wait for the Leica Editions. Where to put the red dot???

So, yesterday, after all my office chores were done, I slipped into my Atacamas and headed downtown to make some more Carl Zeiss empowered photographs. I was out to see how well the colors and the general contrast of the Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm f1.4 ZF.2 matched up with the 28mm and 35mm CZ Biogons. But what makes visual lens testing a bit of a challenge is the changing quality of light from day to day. 

With the two Biogons I was making photographs on bright, sunny days. Whereas yesterday it was pre-stormy, grey and sodden. And cloud cover, etc. sucks the saturation and contrast right out of most images. I decided to give it a go anyway. After all, I was there with a camera and lens in hand. 

There is a family resemblance between all three of the lenses. They render subjects a bit differently than the Voigtlander lenses. A bit more contrast and slightly harder tonalities. And the Zeiss lenses are just a bit cooler in color than the Vs. I like the idea of tromping around with fixed sets of lenses. One day might call for the 40mm and 58mm Voigtlanders as a nice duo for uncrowded urban shooting while the Zeiss trio might shine in a more crowded space. 

Oh. And I heard or read something from a street photographer that interested me a lot this past week. He was talking about what lenses he uses for street photography (what I might call 'urban landscapes') and he suggested that a 28mm is a good lens for crowded and tightly configured spaces like the ones he finds in Asia. Think Hong Kong. Think Tokyo. Places where there is a lot of sidewalk traffic and less space to back up. 

His choice for the spread out cities of North America (think Austin, Vancouver, Seattle) is a 50mm because that focal length tends to compress space better. And in Austin there is nearly always room to back up...

Now I'm thinking of my lens groupings by their real potential. The 40 and 58mm Voigtlanders for general use in spread out cities. The 28mm and 35mm for crowded cities and smaller spreads. Adding the 50mm CZ for those times when a classic portrait is called for. I know it's a bit short for a real classic portrait but that's why the photo gods inventing judicious cropping. I haven't been to London since the 1990s. Is it a crowded space or a wide space? I don't remember.  Let me know if you can...

At any rate here are some images I shot yesterday. I was underwhelmed with everything so it's fine with me if you are too. I'll toss some captions in for fun. 

50mm f1.4. All lenses are good-to-great at f8.0. This one is no exception.

The 50mm has some barrel distortion but very little vignetting, even wide open.

And the sharpness is deceiving. The depth of field is so thin that you have to 

hunt for what's in focus to make any sort of accurate assessment. 

Hot. Humid. And with the sun peaking out just enough to make

sunscreen desirable but annoying. Nice colors though. 

50mm focused as close as I could. Stopped down to f2

Fascinated by fast food buildings. Not that they make fast food there but 

it seems the construction is aimed more at getting the stuff up quick but ignoring 

any imperative to make the buildings at all attractive. Or interesting. Or both.

50mm. This is one of those images with a lot of sharp detail that would 

probably look its best enlarged quite a bit. There's a lot in the frame; especially the right hand side building, and the sky is interesting to me as well. But I'm pretty sure it doesn't translate well 

to a small screen. Now I'm starting to sound like MJ...

downtown Austin is now commissioning artists to paint original work (not graffiti) on

all the downtown utility boxes and traffic light control boxes. It's a nice touch. 

I'm not always a fan of all styles but there is something for just about 

everyone. 

I saw this just after reading JC's comment about how many hundreds and hundreds of 

real photographs he found while looking though a copy of Architectural Digest Magazine. 

I get that there are still a lot of print magazines. And most of them still have photographs. 

But as a percentage of overall creative content I judge most of them to be outliers aimed at 

a certain limited range of generations and certainly at higher income demographics. 

I think the young man wearing this t-shirt might agree. 

I disagree a bit with JC on this. I think the robots have us in their sights.