The Khushfest Gallery. From downtown Austin. No mannequins were harmed in the making of this gallery. A Leica came close to peril.

 

Next time I'll just take a phone.

Ready for the after party.

When I left the house I had no clue that I'd stumble across an event which celebrates Indian culture, in Republic Park. I just grabbed a camera and lens that seemed to be appropriate for testing out my new VF-2 EVF. But I did find the park, and the event, and within minutes I had passed my initiation and my camera and self were covered with brightly colored powders. Once you've been "dusted" you might as well just let your hair down and photograph to your heart's delight. I did. Everyone was kind and in good humor. The powders were flying. The D.J. was blasting music. People were dancing, eating food from various authentic vendors and generally having a great time. 

The camera, and my clothes, cleaned up just fine. It was really just f8 (or f11) and be there. And that's when it's the most fun. Glad I didn't have time to "prepare" and fret over what gear to take. Anything would have been just fine. 

ON TOPIC: What camera do you unwittingly take to Khushfest? And what the heck is Khushfest 2024? Why...it's a celebration of color.

Camera post Khushfest.

I finished my chores early so I took myself out for a Sunday afternoon walk. I got a package yesterday and it contained a VF-2 EVF for use with the M240 cameras. I figured a walk through downtown would be a really nice way to check out the new (to me) finder. I finished out the outfit with a 28mm lens. 

I did my usual route and everything was pretty routine until I got close to Republic Park, between 5th and 6th Streets. Just west of Guadalupe St. Then I heard loud music and happy voices. There was an event this afternoon in the park. It was billed as "Khushfest 2024. A Celebration of Color." I couldn't resist. A celebration of the Indian "Holi". 

I waded into the crowd of people who were happily pelting each other with packets of brightly colored powders. I had a blast photographing and the 28mm lens just happened to be the perfect choice since I could easily use it at its hyperfocal distance, f8 or f11 and blaze away with Auto-ISO. 

I did not know, but strongly suspected, that anyone in the midst of the crowd was fair game to be powdered --- and powdered well. And yes, I was. I worried about the camera and lens for about twenty seconds and then decided "the heck with it." They came through with flying colors. Ha. Ha. 

I handed off my camera to a nice person, a father whom I had watched taking photos of his own family, and asked if he would take a few shots of my finely decorated self. He did a nice job. At least I thought so. Especially considering the model he had to work with.

Notes for future Khushfest activities: Bring along a change of clothes in the car. Bring a hat. Put a filter over the front of the lens. Bring a second camera with a longer lens for some variety. Put a filter on the front of that lens as well. DO NOT CHANGE LENSES in the middle of the crowd. Or at all. Until you've dusted and cleaned your camera rig. Have fun. Be happy. Don't worry about stuff.

Today is also the first time I have dropped a Leica. It was in a half case. I tripped over something and lost my grip on the camera. It hit the ground. It still works fine. Normal breathing quickly restored to the clumsy photographer. Note for future use: The strap goes around my neck when actually shooting... duh.