But....isn't coffee supposed to be hot?

 

I saw something in the Wall St. Journal this morning that gives me pause. Probably not a good subject to discuss on a photo-oriented blog but I was surprised to see statistics showing that 16 million families in the USA have a net worth of over one million dollars. Which, of course, makes them millionaires. Eight million people over the age of 50 are multimillionaires...  Far more than the 1%.

We are routinely deluged with stories about poverty and deprivation and so it's interesting to see these kinds of statistics. Especially so for people who've spent their careers in the commercial arts industries where there is a prevailing mythology of people mostly working for peanuts. The article goes on further to say that this increase in the number of families achieving this net worth rose rapidly from around 8 million only a few years ago to the current 16 million (12% of American families). The statistics also pointed to a relative (tiny) narrowing of the "wealth gap"; meaning that middle class made more advancements than the vilified one percent in that window of time. 

Of course a lot of the increase in wealth is less liquid with most of the gains occurring through the course of home ownership and rising real estate prices. But college graduates; especially those between 50-70 years of age, also saw increases in net worth because 80+% are invested in equities which also rose from 2019-2022. There was an average increase in net worth of 37% in the USA between 2019 and 2023, adjusted for inflation!

It's interesting to me to write a blog for an audience that is almost completely opaque to me. In advertising we targeted our messages and chose our media based on accurate analysis of demographics. We had a good (now great?) idea of how well educated our target markets were, how wealthy they were and what their overall spending patterns were. With current analytics (via web experiences,  data rich transactions, etc.) marketers have a much clearer picture of their customers. But as a single person blogging operation I have none of those numbers or trends at my disposal. I can only make wide ranging guesses.

Based on comments ( which are a small fraction of total visitors ) I can guess that most of my readers are between 50 and 80 years old. Predominantly men. And most worked in professional jobs ( medicine, tech, law and as executives in various other industries ), are currently retired or nearing retirement and have enough disposable income to at least "consider" non-essential camera purchases. 

I make bad assumptions from time to time. My current potentially flawed assumption is that the majority of us were not wealthy during most of our working years and lived, well enough, in the middle strata of income. Able to afford a decent house, a working car and all the necessities but not "big spenders." I further conjecture that compound interest, inheritances from parents who were part of "The Greatest Generation" combined with the appreciation of house values and 401K holdings, have made many of you relatively wealthy but you have not fully embraced the reality of those rather recent increases in your net worth. After a life time of budgeting, saving, sometimes scrimping, that it's hard to think about spending any of the new wealth you've been lucky enough to accrue. We seem unable to process that times and our fortunes have changed. And, if you are like me, you are probably worried that this is a temporary bit of financial euphoria that could vanish overnight.....

My interests in photography are wide ranging. I love the history of the photo industry and also the art of it but I also like the technical side and, especially, the art of cameras and lenses. I like using different cameras and I like writing about them. But even though I seem to plow through cameras like crazy the reality is that I purchase only a handful per year, mostly used, and constantly sell off the ones that I've tired of. 

When I write about new camera purchases there is always, ALWAYS someone in the audience who takes me to task for being a compulsive consumer, a spendthrift, a capitalist tool, and they seem to take pride in the fact that they are still using a camera from a decade ago and that the idea of prying open their change purse to actually buy a new camera is so abhorrent to them as to make us enemies. Hardly a week goes by without someone jokingly blaming me for their own camera purchase. As though I had grabbed their last dollars from their shaking hands and forced them to buy a new Sony or Leica camera instead of bread for their family. Always posited as a joke. But always with the underlying message that spending their own money is somehow bad. Or wrong. And that my example is consumerism at its worst. 

It's a precarious position. To now have the means to buy whatever you want but being emotionally unable to pull the trigger and enjoy it. But I think this is a condition that's widespread. 

I understand that people with close family ties are hellbent on leaving everything they can to the next generation but.....wouldn't it be fun to loosen up just a little bit and have some fun? Just askin'. 

I'm sure there are many readers who are not in the demographic described above and who are dealing with real challenges. I don't mean to minimize their situations. But it amazes me to live in the middle of the most affluent society/nation in the history of the world and yet, at the same time, to feel like you're barely getting by when, in fact, many of you are actually.....wealthy. (statistics, statistics).

So, (smiley emoticon implied) next time I buy a used Leica just let it go.....

Here's the WSJ headline: 

"Never Mind the 1%. Mini-Millionaires Are Where Wealth Is Growing Fastest."

Alaina V. Sitting for a portrait. Now on stage in NYC.

 

It's been an interesting Sunday. I went to swim practice and swam well. We knocked out good yardage and left tired and happy. I was standing in the parking lot afterwards, talking to my swimmer friend, Patty, when the wind picked up and the temperature dropped about ten degrees in ten seconds. A small splash of rain and ever since then the day has gotten progressively cooler. We may make it all the way down into the 30s by Halloween. 

I figured we'd be turning the heating on soon and, being ever cautious, I went to the hardware store and bought two carbon monoxide monitors. They both plug in the wall and also have battery back-ups. We were late thinking about winter so I haven't had the HVAC company we use come by and check out the central heating. But that's on the list for sometime after the 6th of next month. We get the heater and air conditioning inspected and serviced once a year. And I have some extra routine maintenance I do for the A/C. Mostly just making sure the condensate lines are unblocked. 

We had new windows installed all over the house last year and even though the temps have already dropped into the low 50s the house is hanging in there at about 76° for most of the day. Windows, good windows, cost a small fortune. But when it comes to energy conservation they sure do rock. We also had the house/doors entirely re-weather sealed this Spring. These are two things that got us through the hottest Texas Summer on record without, proverbially, breaking a sweat when paying electric bills. Wish we'd done it ten years sooner. 

Ben usually comes for dinner on Sunday evenings. We really look forward to it. But he landed in Tokyo earlier today and will be there, and all over Japan, for the next two weeks. He's taking a well deserved vacation. Did he take any of the many cameras I offered him? He did not. He pointed to his recent model iPhone and that was the end of the discussion.

I can't wait to hear all about his adventures. He's one of those lucky ones who gets paid vacations. 

I spent a couple hours cleaning the studio today. The place was a mess. The impetus was a booking for tomorrow. I've got the new president of some legal association coming in to be photographed against a white background. Once his ad people select a photo we'll separate him from the white background and drop him into a nice, industrial background. Which will be slightly out of focus. Not the guy....just the background. Adobe is making this so easy these days...

So, the studio is now nice and clean. The electric heater works. Just in case. I'd conjecture about which camera and lens I'm thinking of using but I'm pretty sure you know I'll just change my mind between now and then. 

Still booking jobs here and there. Hope I don't put myself in a higher tax bracket... 

Finally, this was the first year in decades that I didn't impulsively rush out and buy something decadent and unnecessary for my birthday. I was saved by someone else's need for a used Leica M 240. I had the mint condition body in and out of my shopping cart a couple of times before someone else stepped up with less wishy-washy-ness and clicked the "buy" button. B. suggested that perhaps I was becoming more mature. I didn't want to tell her I had just equivocated for too long and lost my chance. 

So, nothing new to report - gear wise. I'll work on that.

ready for one more portrait? Here's one from Paris: https://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2015/06/backstage-at-karl-lagerfeld-show.html

Total Change of Plans. All Previous Camera Strategies Trashed. Fun at the "Day of the Dead Celebration" with a Weirdo Camera. Saw five different young people photographing with Leica M cameras. It's now a thing!

 

Some people are shy about approaching strangers. Me? Not so much. With kids these days I always ask a parent first. Always. Even if the kid is doing something so cute and unrepeatable that I'd love to click the shutter right now. No permission from mom or dad? No pix. Just my approach... All the kids here have had their "participation" approved by one of their parents. 

I wrote a post this morning meandering around about which camera or cameras to take with me downtown to casually photograph at the "Die de Los Muertos" event. I thought about Leica CLs with big lenses and CLs with little lenses and then, about fifteen minutes before B. and I were about to walk out the door I switched gears entirely, dumped all the choices on the dining room table, went out to the office and grabbed the Fuji GFX 50Sii camera with the 35-70mm zoom lens and also snapped up an extra battery. I used that one camera and one lens for the hour and a half I spent downtown making these photographs. It was actually fun. 

The camera is not the quickest focusing camera in the world but it makes really, really nice files. B. and I walked over about a half mile from my usual parking spot and watched the parade of bands, dance teams and weird floats make their way down Congress Ave. After the parade B. went off to find her sister who was in town for the event and they caught up while I walked through the crowds very gently asking people if I could photograph them. No one turned me down. No one hesitated. But it only makes sense. If you are going to go to all the trouble to paint your face and make a costume I'm thinking it's a pretty sure bet that you'd love to be photographed. But I still asked before I shot.

We were starving by 2 o'clock so we walked back over to Lamar Blvd. and had lunch at the Whole Foods flagship store. Lots of veggies and some mashed potatoes and a piece of fish for me. And some fizzy water. After lunch we headed over to the West Chelsea Contemporary Art Gallery where we had been invited to a Q and A with the artist, Cey Adams. His work is a blend of Pop and Graffiti with a liberal amount of repurposed imagery from 1950s and 1960s print advertising. He's definitely a hot property in the art markets right now. Call me a cheapskate but as much as I liked some of his work I was not feeling particularly motivated to drop $30,000 to $60,000 on a painting this weekend. Gotta keeps something in reserve in case Leica M11-P cameras actually start to ship. Right? 

The files I shot today didn't need much work in post. The camera meter is pretty accurate and if the camera had time to lock focus I never had to worry about sharpness. Be sure to look at the images on the big screen. Otherwise why bother? I thought that 500 images  was a good "take" for a less than two hour shoot and I have about 60 selected that I like the looks of. It's not so hard to do the work and finish the work. You just have to want it.

Experimental frame with dropped out/replaced background. 

Sure. Bacon wrapped hot dogs fried in bacon fat. What could go wrong?

Not exactly a WFPB diet option. But who am I to judge?

I ate more different birthday cakes this week than I could count. 

And none of them were particularly healthy. I know that for sure.

Is Champagne on the WFPB diet? Should be....

The barricades lining the parade route were mostly ignored by all manner of photographers. 

I'm a stickler. No press pass? I'll stay on the other side and shoot across. 

But that's just me. 

Sorry. Just one draft. No re-writes. Life's too short to fuss.

Survived the transition to 68. Now headed out to photograph at the "Day of the Dead" event in downtown. Which camera? Which camera?

I was at loose ends in the early afternoon yesterday and trying to decide what the perfect camera would be to take along today for the Day of the Dead celebration. I'd gotten good images back in 2022 with an SL body and one, lone 40mm f1.4 Voigtlander lens but I got really good images in 2019 with a Panasonic S1 and the kit zoom. I like the idea of the longer reach but I've been indecisive. 

At some point, perhaps because I've had two of them sitting on my desk for the last week, I thought it might be a fun solution to use a Leica CL along with the Panasonic 24-105mm lens. I'd get a wide range along with image stabilization and the small camera body would help to offset the bulk and weight of the lens. The lure of getting the equivalent of nearly 160mm lens on the long end was strong. And, in my world, losing a bit of the frame on the wide end makes no difference at all. In fact, a 36mm equivalent is just about as wide as I like to go and still be happy.

Ever the cautious plodder I felt compelled to test the rig out in advance just to see what I might be overlooking. I grabbed an extra battery and headed over to S. Congress Ave. to see what was shaking on a Friday afternoon. 

Here's my report: The focal length range on the APS-C camera is wonderful. Just right for me. At the long end I can isolate subjects and toss the backgrounds out of focus. At the short end everything works to create a neutral experience. The lens is more than sharp enough even wide open and the I.S. works even on a camera from circa 2017.

But there are a few downsides. First off, if I use the image stabilization feature and also chimp from time to time the camera sucks out power from its diminutive battery at a frightening clip. If I choose to take this combo with me for the parade and festival today I'll probably cram at least two, and maybe three batteries into a pocket. It's that perilous. 

Second, the camera and lens combination is slower to focus than I am used to with the SL and SL2 cameras ---- which gives me pause. It's workable but only adequately workable. The smaller lenses made for the format are much quicker and more assured. 

Finally, the size of the lens in comparison with the camera body is almost comical. The ergonomics are all wrong --- not that this consideration has ever stopped me from enjoying a thoroughly counter-intuitive combination in the past... (hello Sigma fp...).

If I want to take advantage of the reach of the zoom lens when combined with the APS-C frame I think a much better alternative is to take the Leica SL2 and use it in the "crop" mode when I want more reach. The combination feels more natural. The battery life is about 50% greater and with the high resolution sensor I'm still getting 22 megapixels in the crop mode.

There is always another choice and maybe today I'll choose portability and limited focal range instead since, in an unusual twist, B. is coming along with me to experience the event. And it's very rare for me to head to a photo event with anyone else in tow.  We'll park and walk the usual route and bring phones to stay in contact in the crowds. Since I am, by nature, hyper-vigilant and protective the Q2 might provide the best chances at giving me potentially great images while at the same time not impeding my emotional need for good situational awareness. 

The above was written half an hour ago.  Now I have a final photography gear plan for today.  It consists of two Leica CLs. One fitted with the Sigma 56mm f1.4. And one fitted with the Sigma 18-50mm f2.8. I'll wear my tiniest backpack to hold extra batteries, a rain jacket, the phone, a small first aid kit, and whichever camera body and lens I am not using in the moment. 

But, since the process is more important than the final imaging outcome I think I'll check my need for great results at the door and just plan on having fun.

Gear note: for the first time in years and years I bought myself absolutely nothing on my birthday. No new Leicas (or old ones), no lenses, no cool Benchmade pocket knives, no super cool hiking shoes and, of course, nothing automotive. It's either a sign of late arriving maturity or I just wasn't able to find the object of desire that clicked this year. I'm sure it will change...

Oh, point of this post? To circuitously explain why a big, fat, chunky zoom lens isn't the right fit for a tiny APS-C format body when shooting outdoor events in a crowded urban setting....

Lunch with Greg. An update on advertising over burgers and fries at Hopdoddy.

 Greg. Ad Agency Creative Director. Fine Art Painter. Lunch companion. 

Leica CL with Sigma 24mm f3.5 I-Contemporary lens.

68. Shit. That went fast. Smooth sailing ahead....

Now 68. 

Since it's my birthday and I get to do whatever I want I deactivated my Instagram 

account. I got tired of generating free content for the folks at Meta to use to 

help generate huge bundles of cash. Seems like the model for most free use

sites is to get the participants to make stuff other people want to read or watch

and then to make money when people show up to do just that.

I also worry about identity security on  the various sites that everyone uses.

I mean, there is little to no risk for an anonymous commenter to come on 

and bitch about my opinions but I feel like having too much 

social media presence (like a blog) is an efficient way of putting a target on

one's own back for all those folks who like to hack and make

the rest of us a bit miserable. 

With ever diminishing interest in traditional blogs and an even quicker 

progression of disinterest in traditional photography it feels that the 

risk/reward equation of posting keeps tilting toward unprofitable. 

Not "unprofitable" financially but in a more general sense encompassing

personal security and general loss prevention.

I have been guilty of crying "wolf" too often in the past when it comes

to quitting the blog but then here we are again. 

The options for entertainment based solely on photography continue

to contract. And who in their right mind could blog about swimming

everyday? Not even me. 

I'm heading out the door for one of those long walks on which I make

either profound or knee-jerk decisions. Stay or go? Write, or 

accept a good friend's advice to embrace irrelevance?

In the end continuing the blog or shelving it isn't going to make even 

a small ripple in the fabric of social media or photography when 

viewed against the sheer numbers of people out there doing 

their own stuff. Living lives in blissful ignorance that there

was a guy in Austin hammering away on his keyboard for the last

15 years or so, trying to make a life as a photographer sound interesting.

I am now also Facebook free. Twitter free. And probably soon to be Flickr 

free. And with each peeling of the onion -- less encumbered.

 

The Sun Came Out. A Walk Was Undertaken. News About Crazy People in Congress Was Turned Off. Cellphones Were Left at Home. Camera? Just a Q2

 

Empty barstools. 

Count on Sixth Street for classy entertainment. Not.