Playing around with the heat. Black cameras can really soak it up!

 

Summer sale. Leica CL. Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.0 ZM.

Ah. Here we go again. An "Excessive Heat Warning" issued for the city of Austin. The air temperature was 102° while the heat index/feels like was pegged at 107°. 

I was rational in the morning hours. I got up and drove over to Deep Eddy Pool at 7:45 a.m. to secure my place in the line. You need to get your swim bag positioned right so when the gates open the committed lap swimmers can proceed to the lanes in an orderly and fair fashion. The bag secures the place in line. First there, first lane choice. Keith and I were the first two in line. He took the nice lane in the deep end and I took the lane next to him. My lane is dicier because it's up against the side of the deep end and there are three ladders that protrude into the space. You want to make sure you don't accidentally slam your hand into a metal ladder while you are swimming. Right? 

I choose that lane mostly because it's in shade for nearly all of my morning swims there. No sunscreen lotion needed. It's so nice not to have to "grease up" and to be able to do at least one swim per week in a "no chlorine" pool. A cool one at that. 

Interestingly, Dr. Keith Bell was my kinesiology coach for the swim team at UT Austin in 1975. His wife, Sandy Neilson-Bell, was a three time gold medalist, at age 16, at the 1972 Olympics. It's an elite swim family! 

I jumped into the cold water and got my mile swim in quick. I hung out in the water for ten minutes or so afterwards, feeling my core temperature drop nicely. Cool for half the day after that. 

After some busy work in the morning and a quick lunch I just couldn't stand the cabin fever any longer. I grabbed the closest Leica CL, put the Sigma 18-50mm lens on it and headed downtown. My intention was to take a short walk through the usual terrain and then head back home to the air conditioning. For all my macho bluster I just couldn't stand the heat in the mid-afternoon today. I tromped over to Mañana coffee and got a large cup and some dark chocolate. I figured I'd sit outside under the wooden awning to at least try to acclimate. I thought I'd be all alone but weirdly there were four different young women, each sitting at their own tables under the shade. All of them were exquisitely beautiful. Tall, thin, dark and athletic. All glued to their phones.... Interesting as it's usually a more typical/varied demographic seated outside (see below). The thing about young, thin, gorgeous women; at least here, is that they seem impervious to the heat. The young men I saw out today? Sweating like pigs. These women? Every indication was they loved the heat. Who knows? 

I started a walk but when I could see heat waves coming off the asphalt a block away I just "threw in the towel" and trudged back to the car. I can't kid myself in heat like this. I have to accept that I am actually 67 years old and no longer completely bulletproof. Sad. 

As I walked back to the car I snapped a few photos on the way. Nothing spectacular but I continue to be impressed by the sensor and the color science in the CL and I continued to be somewhat impressed by the performance of the Sigma Contemporary zoom. It's a nice package. 

When I got back to the office there was an email from the radiology practice. They have two new doctors who need to be photographed for marketing and website use. Another reason to use the Fuji GFX camera and to try out that wacky TTArtisan 90mm manual focus lens. And taking portraits is so much more fun than being bored, staying inside and checking out new novels from the library. 

I took this yesterday. Again with the CL+35mm ZM. It's Mañana Coffee. Midday.

Cooler than today...

All over Austin our grass is turning this stunning shade of yellow brown.

The path of the Summer Pedestrian. A tourist in my own town.

The oppressive heat seems to make me stop and point my camera at different stuff.

A building blowing smoke rings. Naw. Just a cloud.

the quasi industrial landscape of downtown shopping centers.

Tomorrow I swim at the usual pool. The six days a week pool. I'm praying the water is around 82° or lower. But any excuse to swim ---- I'll take it. 

New Gear alert: Ordered a new Godox flash trigger for the Fuji camera. I have a universal trigger but I thought I'd play around with HSS flash via the Fuji 50Sii and the Godox AD 200 Pro flash. Who knows? It could be a lot of fun. 

Now off to water trees so we'll have some left for next year...They do a great job shading the house. I think I should repay them with enough water to survive.

Hey! I think this global warming stuff is real. Maybe time for everyone to decide that for one day each week no one drives their car? it's gotta help. At least a little bit. 

Too hot to think straight. Way too hot to go out for a run.

seems hot.

98° by lunch time.

Last week wasn't too bad. Sure, it was up over 100° in the afternoons but the nights cooled down. Mostly into the high 70s. It made the pool water bearable. But I'm looking ahead to this coming week and I can see the forecast trending back toward the high discomfort range. Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not in any danger here unless I decide to do something stupid like going out for a ten mile run in the middle of the afternoon. Or undertaking a new job in the roofing industry. 

The house is well insulated. The new windows are absolutely amazing. In fact, we just got our electric bill for the last month (which was the hottest on record here...) and the bill was lower than last year's in spite of our new plan to make the house comfortably colder at night. The main refrigerator is working as it should and the smaller, back-up refrigerator stands ready to jump in should a refrigeration emergency arise. If I stay inside life goes on as happily as usual. It's just that, by nature, I really love to be outside...

The trees are struggling a bit but I try to rotate through a deep watering cycle for them, individually, in the wee dark hours of the pre-sunrise morning. So far they are hanging in there. I'm lavishing more attention on the Japanese maple by the front door, but only because the edges of the leaves exposed to sun all day start to turn brown when the afternoon temperature crests the 107° mark. I have actually considered constructing an 8x8 foot scrim to put over the tree to try and ameliorate its obvious discomfort but early attempts have shown me that it will take more sandbags than I own to anchor a scrim that big ten or twelve feet up in the air --- when the breezes pick up. 

The real issue for me, as a photographer? The endless heat is a bit paralyzing. Not just for me but for everyone. People have escaped by never going outside. Sometimes I'll head over to Barton Springs Pool, or someplace like that, to try and kickstart a photo project only to be tormented by the heat, hampered by my sweating hands on the cameras and ready to retreat to the air conditioned spaces. Oh, and the fact that most people have opted to stay home too...

So, I spend way too much time in the office playing with cameras, lenses and lights. Speaking of cameras...

I have high hopes for the Fuji GFX50Sii combined with the scary fast (max. aperture) 90mm lens, but I've had little luck finding talents to sit for me, and about as much luck finding my own motivation to move forward and recruit people. 

I do have some observations to make about the 50Sii. I wish I hadn't waited so long before buying one because even the modest increase in the sensor size makes a difference to me when it comes to the way depth and focus ramp is represented in photos. Even though the frame is only 70% bigger than a full frame sensor the ability of a lens to drop backgrounds out of focus is more obvious. I'm convinced that the bigger format has a much different look than smaller formats. Not necessarily better for many subjects but more interesting to me for portrait subjects.  

I can report that the Fuji, combined with the 35-70mm f4.5-5.6 lens, is a lighter package, overall, than a Leica SL2 with the Leica 24-90mm zoom attached. I can also report that the battery life of the Fuji, with its bigger sensor and more aggressive in body image stabilization, is at least as good as the battery life in any of my Leica cameras. That's encouraging. 

From my point of view the camera delivers best in two types of photography; maybe three types. It's a sure bet, with the right lens, for making great portraits. I've shot three different portraits so far for clients and if I use the raw files and add the Fuji Color Neg. Std. profile in post production I get long tonal ranges, well behaved highlights and great color. So, check one box --- for portrait work. 

I don't have all the lenses I would need to use the camera for a range of studio product shots but with the right lens options, combined with the high res mode, the camera should be a monster at making product shots easy. If that was my primary business I'd buy one of the bellows accessories on offer for the GFX line  that allows for tilts and swings with the right lenses, and use that all the time. 

And then, of course, there is landscape photography. In fact, the camera inspires me to give landscapes a try. BUT... all the state park landscapes that are within a pleasant drive have turned from green to brown as the sun relentlessly bakes them. I'm not in good enough shape to climb Mt. Everest or K-2 in order to make landscape images so I guess I'll wait until the Fall hurricane season hits the gulf and then pray for rain to arrive here. In anticipation of landscapes to come I have considered buying the Fuji GFX 100-200mm zoom. It should be very nice for some images with nice compression. Even some portrait images. Still pondering because, well, it's really big.

I did buy one more light recently. It's another LED fixture. This one is from Nanlite and it's the model, P-200. It's daylight balanced and the feature that differentiates it from other, similar lights I have is that it can accept a fresnel lens accessory which turns the light into a tight spotlight without the hard edges supplied by snoots. I haven't bought the fresnel lens yet but I did put the P-200 into a big soft box and made some quick tests. It's a nice, clean light with a lot of power. It's oversized because it's engineered to dissipate the additional heat created by having a glass lens in front of the emitter. 

Don't get me wrong, it's not a heat demon like a tungsten fresnel fixture would be. It's just that in the potential configuration that one usually buys this light for (using with fresnel...) there is a need to wick away more heat. But it looks incredibly industrial. Love the look. And the look of the light... Couldn't resist a bargain price at B&H.

We have largely abandoned the idea of having coffee outdoors after 10 a.m.

Looking forward to the arrival of Fall. I hope it comes before Winter this year. If winter comes at all...

Heading back to the pool. Ready for a second workout today. Actually, any excuse to float around in cool water.... Now, where's that sunscreen?

Today is starting out well. For the first time in weeks we have no heat alerts or heat warnings. It'll be hot today but not much hotter than it normally is this time of year. I celebrated by going out for a "traditional" walk. And I took along a Leica CL. Stripped of all accessories.

How glorious to have a day on which you don't start sweating before 10 a.m. How wonderful to have the air temperature match the "feels like" temperature. And how wonderful to leave all the heavy and "perfect" cameras at home and reacquaint myself with the tiny and uncluttered Leica CL and an equally tiny and uncluttered Carl Zeiss 35mm f2.0 ZM lens. 

It's fun to park the car in the shade and wonder around aimlessly but at the same time respectful of the usual loop through downtown. I set my camera to make Jpegs and at first I set it to make black and white images. But I am able to change my mind so when I encountered stuff that might look better in color I shot that instead. Or in addition to. 

The focus peaking in the CL works crazy well and from time to time, when my anxious brain would fight for supremacy, I'd punch in and magnify a frame, worried I would not have sharp focus otherwise. The focus peaking verified or unverified by magnification never failed me. Nor did the light meter.

I walked from one side of downtown to the other and shot well over a hundred frames. I knew I wouldn't keep them all but sometimes it's nice just to see what stuff will look like when it's been photographed. And how familiar things will look if one changes between cameras, or camera formats, and takes them again. 

In some ways it felt as though this morning was a bit of time off in order to save up some energy. Energy I'll need when I take the big Fuji MF camera and the even bigger TTArtisan 90mm f1.25 lens out for a spin. I hope to do some of that this weekend. 

I used to think it was a waste of time to walk without a plan and to take images without the benefit of a formal framework or project to guide me. Then I read something about one of my all time favorite photographers, Josef Koudelka. Magnum photographer, David Hurn hosted Koudelka at his house for an extended visit. During his time there Koudelka would load and shoot a minimum of three 36 shot rolls of film each day even if he was just puttering around the house. He told Hurn that he needed the daily practice and the daily routine in order to be ready. Ready to capture some fleeting image at some future time. Like katas or swim practice or barre exercises. Staying in tune. 

Add to that the much reported benefits of being outdoors and the even greater benefits of walking and you've got some compelling reasons to embrace an un-agenda'd day to the fullest. 

Proud of being able to so well rationalize the frittering away of another nice morning with another nice camera in hand I rewarded myself by stopping at Mañana Coffee for a cup and a decent croissant. It was pleasant enough to take the coffee and pastry outside under the shop's expansive awnings. A nice way to spend a morning without getting anything substantive done. Be sure to try it. Often.

some of the images below captioned. some not.

I have no idea what this object does. None at all. I've begun to think it might be an alien relic. 

Set in the middle of the city to monitor us. But it probably has something to do 

with railroads since it's right next to the train tracks. 

I  have seen this bus in the parking lot of the Amtrak Train Station here in Austin for the 

last few weeks. People are currently living in the bus. There are signs of life. 

An unusual dwelling for our city. But interesting.

This is very unusual. It's a shot of the four lanes of Lamar Blvd. A street that is usually 

full of cars. But I stood on a bridge looking down for several minutes watching no traffic.

Just looking at the strips of asphalt running north and south.

This is what a dozen coats of silver paint look like when photographing a metal

utility box in black and white.

the path from the railroad tracks back into civilization and .... coffee. 

I was happy to see the lens resolving dried grass so well. f5.6 is our friend.

four bad styles of architecture in a row. How droll. 

Blue.

Blue, red, yellow and teal.

"I look at taco shacks from both sides now...." (see below).

Only NSFW in red states.

It's really not an aquarium. It's a bar. On Sixth St. One tiny fish tank does not

an aquarium make. Fish Tank Hyperbole. 

this is a mobile Starbucks trailer. I'd never seen one before. 

I guess they drag it around to places where people line up to buy tickets to 

see live music performances. Not sure if that's a feature or a detraction. 

I'm so, so over the Pike Place blend....

My interpretation of the 1950's overlayed on 2023.

This photograph which I've taken is easily as exciting as anything Stephen Shore has 

ever shot. No. It's more exciting....

Now, by switching angles we overlay the 1960s on 2023.

From my future exhibition. "Lounging by the Colorado River." 

It has always been my desire to live in a surveillance culture. 

The federal courthouse building does it with vigor.

the unfettered happiness of good diagonals. And barbed wire.

I shot this originally as a black and white image. It was boring as hell. It's still a bit boring if you don't particularly like urban architecture but at least you can rest your eyes on stuff that's blue. That's the most popular color for paintings across all cultures. We, as humans. like to look at blue.

I'm trying to trademark blue as my own. I thought of this after Elon grabbed for the letter X. I think Blue is more valuable. It will be the name of my "everything" app. 
 

I was photographing in black and white this morning but my brain told me that it was okay to make some photographs in color. I was okay with that.

 

I have what seems these days to be a peculiar thought process. If I set out to make black and white photographs with a camera that is capable of making color photographs my brain seems to decide that some images are fine in black and white but it reserves the right to decide that other scenes would be better captured in color. 

So in spite of my best intentions my brain insinuates, manipulates and ultimately demands that I see some scenes in color and other scenes as black and white and further insists that I make reasonable decisions about which scenes will look best with or without color. Since I don't want to piss off my brain; it is one of my favorite organs, I follow along and rationalize my capitulation as "mental flexibility." An un-hardening of the gray matter.

I know I should be more stern with my brain. After all, if want to be a black and white photographer I should have the freedom to shoot everything in a mush of gray; if that's what the scene itself dictates.  But my brain keeps butting in and saying things like: "Hey, you actually like this particular scene because you are drawn to the vivid and contrasting colors. Don't be a meat head. Switch to your "standard" or "vivid" profile! It's okay."

At other times my brain and I will both look at a scene and surprisingly find ourselves in harmony and agreement. In those cases my brain will say: "Hey, I get it. It's all about the contrast and the content. Color wouldn't really add anything --- and most photographers think contrasty black and white is more.....creative. Go for it!" And I do. I go for it.

The problem is, if I hold a fully functional camera in my hands and have every intention of taking black and white images, I know that the camera can still take color images and that forces me to surrender to something scary: Logic. The logic of using the camera's potential to the fullest and admitting that some scenes are better rendered in color while others are better rendered in B&W (or "monochrome") and that my camera and I have the power to identify which are which and make the most of our engagement with the subject. Working together.

I have to grudgingly admit that though my first attempt to photograph my coffee and croissant at Mañana Coffee this morning was in B&w my brain was correct. The image does work better in color.

Lesson learned.