Back to Normal. Let's continue where we left off... What a great swim!

It was a textbook perfect morning. When I crawled out of bed at 7 a.m. it was 73° outside with relatively low humidity. Clear skies in every direction. I checked the blog stats and was happy to see a return to our long term normal numbers and visitors. Interested to see that in a one hour segment we get visitors to the blog from 18 or 19 different countries... But this morning there were no unusual anomalies. 

I succeeded in making perfect coffee today. I drank my coffee while working on my laptop to restore archived posts back to the blog. The Blogger program only allows publishing or re-publishing 50 posts at a time so 6110 takes a bit more time than I realized. I was happy to see, as I whipped through the content, that there are some posts that have stood up while over time. But then again there really some that really fall short in retrospect. 

I made it to the pool on time and found the parking lot absolutely full. But being a very entitled individual I went ahead and just made my own parking space... Coach Will was on deck today. I like his workouts. He was just back from the World Championships in Singapore. He saw some really great swims there. Check out NBC Sports on YouTube and look for the Katie Ladecky races, the Summer McIntosh races and the Leon Marchand races. I absolutely guarantee you that they will be way more exciting than anything you'll see watching tennis or some other TV sport.

I jumped into the pool and was thrilled that the water temperature was an absolutely perfect 78°. First week of August in Texas and we're able to keep the pool at competition temperatures. Now that's a wonderful scientific achievement. Will started us out with a typical warm up, and then switched gears and tossed out a set of 12 X100's on tight intervals. Sets of three with the third 100 of each set being I.M. (All four strokes). We moved on to another set with a mix of 150 yard swims interspersed with three 50 yard swims of strokes other than freestyle. 

On a non-swimming note the new Hoka running shoes are great. I laced up after swim practice and knocked out the three mile loop at the lake, trying to get a decent run in before the temperatures cross over into the high 90s°. No complaints whatsoever about the shoes. I could be faster but it's not the shoes' fault. 

I thought about doing some work today but quickly dismissed the idea as counter productive. Instead I have a lunch scheduled with my former ad agency CFO. Just a catch up lunch at our favorite Chinese food restaurant, Lotus Hunan. After that I think I'll take a nice, slow walk with one of the SL2 cameras and that 7Artisan 50mm f1.8 lens I wrote about a couple of weeks ago. I'd also like to see how well the combo works with the new, ivory colored, small, canvas camera bag I bought over the weekend. Nice stuff. 

There are several 50mm lenses coming from Chinese makers like TTArtisan, 7Artisan and Meke which seem to copy the Leica 50mm SL APO lens design, all using eleven elements in nine groups. All of which have specialized glass types in the formulae. These are not your old style "nifty-fifties." And, judging from my limited experience, they are really decent performers. Maybe not on par with the Leica lens of the same focal length and relative speed but available to mortal photographers at prices that are a tiny fraction of the cost of the Leica lenses....  I'm buying up this new crop as though they were candy. Delicious candy...

But one lens I've had my eyes on isn't as inexpensive and isn't made in China. It's the Voigtlander 35mm f2.0 APO lens for the M mount. I have the 50mm version and it's beyond superb. It's the best 50mm I've ever owned. And I've owned (and still own) a lot. I've gone back and forth about the 35mm since I already have that company's 35mm f1.4 Nokton MC and the Carl Zeiss ZM 35mm f2.0 M mount as well as a couple of 35mm lenses for the L mount cameras. I probably don't need the endless duplication but one of my friends has a duplicate of the Voigtlander 35 APO and he's indicated that he will sell it to me at a very low price. 

I was on the fence but yesterday I decided I should probably go for it. That lens, coupled with its sibling 50mm, and two M bodies to mount them on would make a perfect, medium small travel kit. At least that's my rationale. 

It looks to be a mellow but hot week. Kind of glad I dropped a fortune on a completely new air conditioning system for the house. There goes the cash I was saving up for a Hasselblad system. Oh well. It's better to be cool than over equipped.

The blog soldiers on. As complete with off topic ramblings as ever. 

Two of the stars of the International Swim Championships last week are coming here to UT to train under coach, Bob Bowman. They are Summer McIntosh and Leon Marchand. Can't wait for them to drop by the WHAC pool for a swim. I'll try to act nonchalant...

Ben. At an age group swim meet many years ago. 

Yes, he still swims at least two days a week but his 

default is running... Where did I go wrong?

Head gear for hot times. One of many options. 

this is where I swam all during high school. 

Alamo Heights High School students were fortunate to

have an indoor, state of the art, 25 yard pool right on 

campus. It was pretty fabulous. I hear a lot of people

hated their time in high school. Not me. I got to swim

with cool, smart people at 5:30 every morning and then

again at 3:30 every afternoon. All good memories.

We're back. But we really never left. I'm learning to ignore blog stats.

I think it's better that way. 

 

"Bags of indecision." "Choice paralysis." Minimize to liberate.

 

cool weather pictures chosen on purpose. 

Visualizing cooler weather....

In the recent past I've made a point of only taking one camera and one lens with me when shooting for fun in order to not be weighed down, literally, or figuratively. If I have only one camera and one lens with me I never have to hesitate and make choices. And, if I'm working on hot days, I don't have extra gear to carry around with sweaty hands and lower energy. 

In fact, except when I'm photographing for clients I rarely think about taking along a camera bag. I generally have the camera and lens hanging over one shoulder. I keep an extra battery, along with my car's key fob,  in my front left pants pocket, my wallet in my front right pocket, someone dollar bills in my left rear pocket and, if I want to further encumber myself then my cellphone goes in the right rear pocket. Done. No other stuff necessary. 

But I seem to be changing my mind and I blame it on the rising heat levels in the Summer. Yeah, climate change. Yeah, global warming. And, grudgingly, I find I want to take other stuff --- like lens cleaning clothes, a different lens, etc. But I recently realized that the one advantage I've been looking for is some discreet transport "mechanism" that keeps my mostly black cameras and my mostly black lenses out of the direct sun when they are not in use. Infrared warming on black metal camera bodies is a real thing. In Texas, in the Summer, the heat soaked up by an all black camera pushes the camera's electronics beyond their stated engineered-in limitations. Most cameras are heat-rated to about 104 or 105 degrees, max. If that's the same as the ambient temperature then a camera exposed to direct sun for even ten minutes can quickly climb in temperature to over 125°. At that point the internal electronics are prone to accelerated wear, early failure, and in the best case, just a bunch of noise added to the files. 

Many cameras I've used in previous Summers, like the Fuji GFX 50S and the Sony A7Rii, started giving me heat warnings after only five minutes of walking in sunlight on days when the ambient temperatures were just over 103°. And that sure puts a crimp in your day of photography. 

While I haven't had problems with most of my Leicas in Summer heat I did start to get some performance slowdowns with a Q2 recently. In its defense the symptoms started about an hour into a walk on an afternoon when the temps had crept about 100° and the humidity was plainly uncomfortable. 

The camera recovered quickly in the shade but it really started me thinking...

I wrote yesterday about my preparations for an outdoor shoot I'll be doing next Saturday. Here's a screen shot of the weather as predicted almost a week out::

The shoot is mostly exterior. I know pretty well how to work in this kind of weather. Lots of sunscreen. Hats with big brims. Neck wraps with evaporation gels. Frequent breaks in the shade. Access to air conditioning when things get dicey. But cameras can heat up quickly and they don't sweat or self cool. 

I'll mostly be working with a Leica SL2 and the big 24-90mm f2.8 Leica lens. All black. Both of them. I'll have a bunch of white cloths cut to 14 by 14 inches (Terrycloth) that I can keep damp to put on top of the cameras as needed but I decided that I wanted a light-to-white colored camera bag to dump the gear into while we're scouting or lining up talent or otherwise out in the sun but not quite ready to shoot. Most of the camera bags and backpacks we have in house are black or dark brown, etc. They were never engineered to reflect IR or to basically, breathe. They are made for folks working milder climates. That will change...

I wrote yesterday about an Ivory White photo backpack I bought from a company called, BagSmart. It's great bag and I can't wait to put it through its paces on the shoot. Whatever gear isn't in use will be in the confines of the white backpack. Once I sorted that out I felt really prepared to work with the black cameras in the heat. But I started thinking beyond the upcoming paid shoot to my day-to-day stuff. What would I like to change about the way I walk around with gear in the Summer when shooting just for fun? Just for myself?

Here's a typical scenario where the camera is exposed to excess heat: I park somewhere and decide to walk a route from North to South on a Summer day in mid-morning. Already in the mid-90s here. I have a camera over my left shoulder because....well, it always feels comfortable on my left shoulder. Strong habit. When I want to shoot with the camera I grab it with my right hand. But my left shoulder is facing nearly directly east. Directly into the sun. And I may walk for a mile or so before I see something that I want to photograph so the camera just dangles there getting toasty as I walk along. I try to shade it with my left arm but it doesn't usually work. The camera gets warm to the touch. A bit later it's uncomfortably hot to the touch and that's a warning sign for how high the temperature must be inside the camera body...

Ideally I'll break with my tradition of not bringing along a camera bag. I'll carry the camera, my phone, my house and studio keys, an extra battery, lens caps, lens wipes and some cash in a small, easy to carry bag that does its part to mitigate the heat issue. And the way a bag does that best is to be very light in color. Mostly like...white. 

Being a jaded, gear happy photographer I went to B&H and looked for white camera bags. I found stuff for the little Fuji and Leica Instax cameras but they were too small and looked like crap. I looked for Peak products or Think Tank or Tenba. Oh hell, I even looked for Billingham but it seems like the bag makers have uniformly decided that all photographers want dark gray or black bags. The closest to my color preference were the "sand" colored bags from Domke. But they were bigger than I wanted and too pricy for what the use case entailed. And "sand" isn't really that close to white. It's better than black but.... why settle for half way?

Since I'd had good luck with the ivory colored backpack from BagSmart I circled back to Amazon and searched for a small, but not too small, camera bag from the same company. And I found exactly what I wanted. It was $31 USD; less than a nice lunch out.  

It's called this: 

BAGSMART Camera Bag, SLR DSLR Canvas Crossbody Camera Case, Compact Camera Shoulder Bag with Rain Cover for Women and Men, Ivory White

 and here's a link if you are interested: Link-o-matic  No benefit to me.

I bought one and it came to the studio today. It is exactly, exactly what I was looking for. A bag big enough to drop the SL2 and the big lens into. A respite from the direct rays of the sun. Almost like the "ever ready" cases of old but more workable and less expensive now. The bag is well padded, comes with a very serviceable shoulder strap, compartment dividers, zippered pockets and a quick-to-access top flap. It even came with a rain cover. I love it. And it does not scream, "Camera Bag." 

I'll stuff it with a Leica M240 and a lens tomorrow, and all the stuff described above, and take it out for a spin to prove my concept to myself. If it works then I will have made a new "friend" to help me survive the ravages of the Summer. 

Why don't I like to carry cameras bags with more choices of lenses and stuff? Because, as the title to the blog says, the access to choices, and having to decide between two or more options, can  be paralytic to the process of engaging with photography. And really, no matter which lens you have on your camera you'll find yourself thinking, "Should I be using that cool 20mm I  brought along instead? Or is this the perfect shot for the 85mm?" And it's even worse if you are one of those "holy trinity of zooms" photographers and you have crammed the three cliché zooms into one overstuffed camera bag. "Do I need to zoom to 183mm or will 19.5mm work better for this subject?" No. None of them will work better....

Work is one thing but too much choice sucks the pleasure out of photography quickly when you are doing it just for fun. Two lenses at the maximum, each riding on an identical body if you must. But never anything more. You can always bring a different set the next time...

We can't really leave stuff in the cars in Texas unless we know we'll be parking in a secure parking garage. The heat in an exposed, parked car can quickly ruin just about everything you leave in it. I know. I've experienced it. Nothing like heat to mobilize the lubricants used in your lenses. Just thinking about the lubricant slowly spreading across an inner element in a prize lens is enough to dissuade most photographers from the practice. 

Stay safe and keep yourself and your gear cool.  Have a great Summer.

The studio is the place for lots of different lenses. Just leave em on a cart and grab what you need.

That day I went to the Pecan Street Festival with just a 28mmm on an M.

My Current Favorite Camera and Lens for just walking around soaking up life's images.

 

This is a Leica typ 240 M-E.

The lens is a Voigtlander 50mm APO. 

I imagine that everyone has a favorite camera that cycles back into play no matter how many other, newer cameras have joined the pack. For me, at least for the last year or so, it's been this particular combination. 

While the original M 240 camera was introduced in 2013 the M-E showed up much later; in 2019. One could conjecture that in the intervening years Leica had a lot of time to fine tune and perfect the operation of the camera and the firmware that runs everything. Of my three Ms it seems the most solid but that could just be a placebo effect given that I know it has a bigger buffer and a few other speed improvements. I'm sure it's the same 24 megapixels CMOS sensor found in all the other models but it shares some DNA with the P series. And given the pristine condition and later year of manufacturing I think it is almost unused compared to older Leicas.

Since I live in Texas I've come to prefer it for Summer use because of the industrial metal finish which should be less of a heat magnet than the usual (beautiful) black paint finish of the regular M 240 cameras. 

I've use this camera a lot but have yet to inflict a scrape, ding or insult to the finish. I tend to pay attention when I handle it. When I purchased my copy the price for these cameras, of which only about 600 were made, was $3200. Since that time the used price has skyrocketed to well over $4,000. Which basically means (for all the Leica deniers) that, should I sell mine today for around $4,000 I will have been paid a positive $800 for the privilege of using the camera for 18 months. That's a better rate of return by far than the S&P 500 Index Funds. Sadly though I doubt I'll ever exercise the gain since I find the camera irresistible and don't need the extra cash anymore. 

For a regular M shooter, not a collector, I think of the M or typ 240 cameras as the most practical and probably the most enjoyable of all the digital Ms. The batteries have incredible stamina. The full frame sensor has very nice, very individualist color rendering. The camera is built like a German tank and I rarely hear of them failing mechanically. I like that I can add an EVF if I need one. I imagine my only real need for the EVF would be when using wide and ultra wide lenses like the 24, 21 or 18mm varieties. For longer lenses I think other cameras are more convenient and effective. 

There are drawbacks, of course. Compared to later M cameras the sensor is noisier in low light. That might have been a bigger issue before Adobe came out with a great artificial intelligence noise reduction feature in Lightroom. I use it when I absolutely want to shoot at higher ISOs in low light. Works well. At least a two stop improvement for underserved files. 

The camera is also thicker front to back than the previous models or the models that follow it. Some have conjectured that it was to accommodate video capability by I think it was just good, basic engineering which was aimed at allowing for more space inside to deal with heat build up in rough climatic conditions. If one switches between this unit and older or newer models there is probably some friction that derives from the operational and hold-ability difference. And the M 240 was the heaviest of all the digital Ms. But that's never been an issue for me since I tend to use them one at a time and don't need to carry spare batteries. 

Whenever I am out and about with this camera I am asked by most people who are interested in cameras if this one (the M-E) is a film camera or a digital camera. It does have a unique, retro vibe. While the menus aren't the state of the art menus I've become accustomed to in the SL2 variants, or the Q2, or the new DLUX8 they are short, not overly detailed and easy to master in a day or so of use. 

When I see another M-E for sale I'll probably buy it if the prices stay reasonable. When it switches from being a "user" camera to a collectible camera I'll most probably consider myself priced out of the market. People scoff at special models and special editions from Leica but this M-E was first marketed as an economical way to enter into the system and priced that way. A final production run of the M 240 series to use up all the various parts on hand in manufacturing. I like that its interface matches my two other Ms and would love to have a travel system comprised of just two M-E bodies and a small selection lenses. With the black models at home as a redundancy. 

One could do a lot worse. 

I've been buying batteries as they become available. I have two on order at B&H and they have been on backorder for months. That's okay, I ordered two new batts last year and I also have five older batteries that came as part of deals on used camera bodies over the last few years. If you take good care of your batteries they can last a really long time. 

Blog note: I'm sorry I veered back into writing about cameras. I know you were desperate to hear more about my new running shoes. They seem very exotic to me. One of my friends who is a daily runner is a big believer in cycling through shoes. One day of running followed by several days "resting the foam and rubber".  Given that he runs every day he keeps a rotating stock of shoes to facilitate the process of cycling through the shoes and letting them rest between runs. He has seven or eight pairs of recent Hoka running shoes. He calls himself "the Imelda Marcos of Running Shoes." And he's proud of it. 

final note. When I said I didn't give a hoot about EV cars I was misunderstood. A reader (anonymous) had to leave a pithy comment. He wrote: "I feel sorry for you and for the climate." Now, I care about the environment, I really do. But EV cars don't fit every situation. Not by a long shot.

If I were a "high mileage commuter" I would probably have bought a hybrid or a fully electric car of some sort by now. But my average driving mileage is about half of the USA average and I don't commute at all. No real savings here since I'd need to change cars from some that's already paid for to accomplish EV theater and then drive the new car for years and years to hit some sort of practical inflection point.

Did I mention that we've still got  a ways to go on the Hoka Stinton 7 shoe reviews? We're just now past the unboxing episode..... Now I know that got your attention!!!!!

It's been month since I wrote this: THE HOMEOSTASIS OF JOY. It's still true...

 https://visualsciencelab.blogspot.com/2025/07/homeostasis-of-joy.html

"YOUR FOCUS DETERMINES YOUR REALITY." 

BE HAPPY

All the photo bloggers have gone "OT" or Off Topic!!!! I don't give a hoot about Electric Vehicles so I decided to write about my new shoes...

 

These are my new, Hoka Stinson 7, trail running shoes.

In 1976 I bought my first pair of Nike Waffle Trainers. There were a revolutionary new running shoe. My girlfriend and I were seriously into running at the time. It was easier, we were 21 years old; almost bullet proof. Most days, after class at UT, we'd run several miles down to the hike and bike trail that ran around Town Lake, do the five mile loop and then run back to campus. Rain, heat, even snowy days didn't feel like an impediment. The shoes helped. And in the next few years we'd wear out a pair about every six months and go back for more. It was delightful. And shoes seemed cheap then...

Now I am 69 and I've spent the intervening years mixing up swimming and running. I'm a better swimmer now and at the same time a much worse runner. It's probably because I swim six days a week, have much swimming social support and the guidance of world class coaches. When I run I mostly go out by myself and am most motivated when the pool is closed or my schedule mercilessly precluded making it to swim practice. The horror!

Over the years I've tried a lot of different running shoes. I don't run on soft tracks, I don't run long marathons anymore. Most of my running is a really a slow slog around the 4 mile loop at the lake. I mostly run around the lake because the trails are well maintained, there's a lot of shade from big trees, and if I misjudge the heat or my ability to handle the heat I can hop into the water at the first sign of weakness/distress. Plus, the trail is always well attended so if I do get into trouble, say on a 100° run, there's always someone running by with a phone who could call 911. But it hasn't happened yet so I think I must be a good judge of my own limitations. 

My last pair of running shoes were Asics. The one's before that were Nikes. But recently it seems that every single fit person in Austin is sporting a pair of Hokas. And in so many colors. I swim a couple times a week with a guy who is just turning 62. He just came back from climbing yet another 14,000 footer in Colorado. A couple years ago he did the Alcatraz swim. Last year he and his sons climbed Mount Kilimanjaro. He's something I am not. He's a hard core triathlete. So, when I decided this morning that I needed a new pair of running shoes if I'm going to continue the twice weekly schedule of running, I asked his recommendation. For competition he recommended Hoka Bondi 9s. For trail running (my speed) he suggested Hoka Stinson 7s. 

My friend runs the five mile trail at least three times a week and his mile per times are something like eight minutes a mile. My times are on the other side of ten minutes a mile. Memory is a harsh bitch as I can still remember clearly, in 1976-77, being able to hold a six minute pace per mile. Not anymore. Not by a long shot...

After our Saturday morning swim workout I went to our local REI with a pair of old running socks shoved into the pocket of my short pants. Gotta have familiar socks if you are testing new shoes. I tried both of my friend's recommendations and settled on the Stinson 7s. They have a wider toes box and a larger heel spread along with ample shock absorption. I put on a pair and walked around the store. They are definitely a different concept than I am used to with a higher arch and heel cup but they were comfortable from the get go. 

I think running shoes are like swim goggles in that everyone has a different favorite. Everyone is configured differently so trying stuff on as opposed to mail ordering stuff blindly is usually the best way to go. Ditto for the feel of cameras or the welcoming or dis-welcoming nature of a camera interface. 

The price at REI for the Hoka Stinson 7s is $175. I'm sure I could have spent precious time "researching" (which in this context means "price shopping") the best offer on the web but I think REI should get the sale since they had the shoes in stock to try out and to wear around the store. I think it would be despicable to try on the shoes at REI and then to duck out and order them online to save a bit of cash. But that's just me. 

Saving money buying cheap running shoes is a false economy. Your feet will punish you for your parsimonious behavior!!! Tighten the belt and choose the good stuff.

The Hoka shoes have a lot of shock absorbing padding in the heel area. It's nice and comfy. It's too hot for me to go out and run this afternoon after lunch. It's predicted to be 98° with a heat index of well over 100° Fahrenheit. I'd need to be running from fountain to fountain with a stop at the showers at each far point of the loop. I'm not up for that today. I've already done my yardage in the pool and I'll be out for a walk a bit later. But tomorrow morning, after swim practice, I intend to give the new shoes a test run. Just three or four miles and nothing fancy. But enough to see how I like the new shoes. 

When you stop moving you start accelerating the aging process. Not something I want. 

Rather read about EVs? MJ has you covered. And he'll explain to you how you can get your own "gas station" at home. And, theoretically, how much money you can save.  I think I'll stick to the shoes...   Tomorrow maybe the spirit will move me to discuss various hiking boots I've bought recently. It's surely a universal topic amongst photographers. After all we're always going somewhere. 

Why would I care one way or another about footwear? Because I spend a lot more time using shoes than I do using cameras. I might as well get the gear side of shoes down just right. Your mileage WILL vary. 

The blog is back and I'm back at work. "They keep pulling me back in...."

 

The best, and cheapest photo backpack I have ever acquired...

From Bagsmart. Via Amazon. 

Info here!

By the first of July I'd pretty much decided that I was finished working and that I'd settle into retirement with a heavy dose of swimming, walking and traveling. I knew I'd be out of the pool and sporting a dramatic bandage across my face for the first week of the month or maybe two. Not the look you want to be sporting if you are still interested in attracting and maintaining clients in the advertising field...

By the end of the two weeks, after the stitches came out and the bandage was gone, I got back in the pool with a pervasive sense of euphoria washing over me. But I realized that I could only get in a couple hours of swimming each day and needed to do something additional to fill the time. I was getting....bored. 

So, when one of my clients called and asked me to come over and make a portrait for a new hire I reflexively said "yes." The client is the big law firm I've been making environmental portraits for over the last ten years. Dozens and dozens of them. Why do I like making portraits for them? Because unlike the "cattle call" mentality that many clients seem to have this client calls me when the firm adds each new associate (about one or two per quarter) and has me come over and do a session just for that one new arrival. It's become a welcome and leisurely paced project. Added bonus? No one is art directing me besides me.

I schedule each one to happen about an hour after swim practice, in the mornings. That gives me time to grab coffee, check emails and make an unhurried trip into downtown. The is firm has two floors in a high rise building in downtown and there is a connected parking garage, the elevators of which empty into the lobby of the actual building. It's an easy ramble with gear and the client always validates my parking. 

I spend anywhere from twenty minutes to half an hour deciding on an interior location and then lighting it for the kind of portraits I like to take. The new hire generally shows up right on time and we spend about fifteen or twenty minutes conversing, getting to know each other and then making the actual photographs. I generally fix poorly knotted ties, pull wrinkles out of dress shirts and otherwise fine tune the subject's appearance. 

The photo of a new hire named Patrick was my first job back after my insanely truncated attempt at retiring. And I was happy to do it. It provided a nice anchoring for the day. And I enjoy my visits to this particular client because they handle my own legal stuff so the client/artist relationship is bi-lateral. 

After the process of getting the latest portrait the office manager let me know that they are planning to redo all the attorneys' photos for the website and P.R. applications. Sometime in the near future. As I was leaving my portrait session she asked me to put together an estimate and some style ideas for handling the photography of the 34 people the project would entail. I had to think about whether or not I would "pass" on the project and cling to the idea of being retired or to go ahead and stick around for at least one more project... I went ahead and presented a proposal...

But later that same day one of my favorite ad agencies sent along an email. Could I work with them next weekend on a real estate development project? It's the same agency I did the fun Hill Country wine stuff for two or three years ago. An agency I've worked with since their inception decades ago. I'd be working with a videographer as part of one team while two folks from the agency would make up a second shooting team. The next day I had lunch with the creative director for the agency. I was waffling about taking on a project that was mostly exterior, in the first two weeks of August, in the middle of central Texas. He suggested passing but again, I was already feeling bored and restless so I sent along an estimate. Which the agency team gleefully accepted. 

Today we had my first "Teams" call (like Zoom, but from Microsoft) with the producer for the project and the three other members of the creative teams. It went well. We'll be out in the middle of a big development making photographs and interviewing some early residents. And that brings us to the rationale for the camera backpack I stuck at the top of this post. 

When I pack for this (mostly) exterior photoshoot I'm taking along two Leica SL2 cameras (both black), several Leica zoom lenses (both black), Some flash gear (all black) and some batteries for the cameras (all black). As you know black stuff tends to do a stellar job at soaking up heat. And the weather people are expecting lots of heat on the shooting days. It dawned on me that I'd be carrying around heat magnets for hours at a time. And even the best of cameras, lenses, and flashes aren't really at their optimal performance parameters once thoroughly heat soaked. So I started looking around for camera bags or camera backpacks that are anything but dark gray, darker gray or jet black. And I had damn little success in my initial research. 

Most of the options were small bags that might hold a pixie camera or something from Sony. But a bag that would hold two Leica bodies, two lenses and some flash gear seemed kind of unicorn-ish. I found an Oberwerth bag that might work....for $1200. But I'd didn't want to part with half my fee for a one time bag experience... 

I finally lucked onto this backpack from a company called, Bagsmart. It was $45. And it is, as far as I can tell, absolutely perfect. So, why? First of all, it's a good size. I can fit all of the camera kit and one of the flashes inside. Second, it's made of thick, very light colored canvas so it breathes and reflects IR energy. Third, it has a well padded pocket for a 15 inch laptop. Fourth, the part that resides next to my back is very well padded. Fifth, the shoulder straps are wide, comfy and highly function, with additional anchoring points for stuff. Sixth, the top compartment, where I would put a camera, is very accessible! Seventh, bottle holder pockets on either side for hydration during hot days. And Eighth, it was so incredibly cheap for the quality and usability it provides.

I am smitten with the backpack. 

Now back to my truncated and premature retirement: After the call from the ad agency and the confirmation on the job, I got an email from the V.P. of the big infrastructure/engineering company I worked with, extensively, in 2018. Back then we did 18 days of work and 12 additional days of travel over a bit more than one month. It was a fun project which had me making environmental portraits of engineers and construction supervisors at locations from the depths the Everglades (super hot and humid) to the top of some small, snowy mountains in very rural Virginia. And to the wildfires in California. Would I be available to do another project for them in September ? --- details to follow... Sure, why not?

A couple days later I got a call from a small college I've worked with a bunch in the recent past. Could I come over in the second week of August and make portraits of their new faculty members? They are such nice folks, how could I have turned them down? ... Those portraits will be done against a neutral background in the (well air conditioned) studio over on campus and I'll drop in appropriate backgrounds that we shot around campus last year in post.... 

I guess what I am trying to say is that I'm not quite ready to retire from the field of photography. But at least when I go out to shoot in the next few weeks I'll have a really nifty backpack to cart my black/heat sink equipment around in. That's gonna be good. 

Hello again. If you are reading this we must have survived the page view nightmare of 2025. Welcome back.

Observed while walking past the JW Marriott Hotel in Downtown Austin. 

It's been a while. I've been chilling here in Austin waiting to see what's going on with the blog over in Vietnam. I guess whoever was responsible has scraped as much information as they needed in order to feed their large learning modules for A.I. for the moment. The "visits" have slowed down. But in truth it was nice for me to take the time off from the blog and think about what I should be posting here. 

If you've visited my Instagram feed you'll no doubt see that I've been on a tear with the little Leica D-LUX 8. It's a swell camera and I've been getting really groovy photos with it over on S. Congress Ave. I don't think anyone else should buy one right now. Why? Because I'm trying to source a second copy from one of the trusted dealers and they seem to be in short supply. No, I won't buy one on EBAY for twice the retail price. No, I won't buy one from someone on Fred Miranda's site who might want to sell me one without a USA warranty, etc. etc. 

Why do I want a second one? Hmmm. I guess because the files coming out of the one I have are really wonderful, the form factor makes it almost transparent to carry around and I've always believed that if you are traveling with cameras you should bring them along in exact pairs. Duplicated batteries and accessories and if one goes down there's no readjustment or renewed learning curve. Besides, it's barely more than the cost of a lens cap for one of the more esoteric Leica lenses, or a Billingham camera bag. So, why not?

It's finally gotten really hot again in Austin. And the heat didn't come alone. It brought its friend, humidity along for the fun of it. Today I really wanted to go out for a long walk and when I looked at the "feels like" temperature I decided to pair down the camera load to something rational. I grabbed the Leica Q2, plugged in an SCL-6 battery and found a hat I liked from the ever growing pile of hats that's been accumulating in the studio. Twenty or thirty at last glance. A lot of duplicates that are only differentiated by slight differences in color. A hat emporium in the making.

Since I've attracted the attention of a dermatological surgeon I took the precaution of slathering every square centimeter of exposed skin with sunscreen, including my lips. Which most people forget about. 

Just saw Dave Herring's YouTube video about his Leica M11 P Safari getting stolen at a UPS Store and the implications for insurance, etc. Here's the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Syjw0oZ078c He's smart. He had a professional insurance policy through his membership in the PPA. Some try to push their homeowner's policies to cover business losses. Not the best plan. Biggest takeaway from Herring? "UPS Stores" are not actually affiliated with UPS the company. The stores are privately owned and operated by third parties. UPS's (the company) liability starts once the packages are loaded onto the trucks, not before, when using a third party vendor. 

As a professional photographer I don't try to leverage my homeowner carrier into insuring my business cameras off site, or providing the liability protections for my business via my homeowner's policy. I carry a separate policy for those business needs. That's the way I understand that it's supposed to work. How would it be logical for my homeowner's insurance to cover damage to a borrowed camera at the hands of a third party in a non-specified location? Not very. 

Satisfied that my house and business are well covered I got into my car and headed into the big heat sink we call downtown. The walk was interesting. I hadn't been all over downtown in about a month. I documented some of the demolition of our convention center. We won't have an operating convention center here in Austin for at least the next three years. A really goofy decision on the part of our city council... With big income producing properties as with wing walking on a biplane, one should not let go of one strut until one has a firm grasp on the next strut. SXSW should be interesting next year. And the next year. Something unpleasant about an event dispersed over multiple, small locations. 

When I got to the seedy part of East Sixth Street I happened upon a nice thirty-something couple desperately looking at menus for the few dive establishments in the near empty neighborhood. They were obviously from out of town. They seemed so lost I had to stop and help. They were in town on a short vacation and had heard about Sixth St. but sadly, the buzz about Sixth St. was more relevant back about two decades ago before other parts of town stole the thunder, and the clients, and the decorum. And the pizzazz. Now East Sixth Street is mostly seedy bars, empty rental spaces under construction, and lots of unhoused people. 

I walked them over to Congress Ave. and Sixth St. put them in the shade and suggested that they go to the center of S. Congress Ave. which, on a Sunday afternoon, no matter what the weather, is crawling with tourists and locals, packed with much, much better (nicer, more upscale) restaurants and bars, and completed by the presence of almost endless high-end shopping opportunities. And much safer. They thought they might walk it until I showed them on a map how far they would have to go. We collectively decided that they should go over in an Uber. Having done my good deed for the day I trudged on, heading back to my car. With a pit stop at Whole Foods for a muffin and a cup of coffee. 

With the convention center deducted from downtown attractions there is NO foot traffic on the surrounding streets and no customer traffic in that neighborhood to speak of. But it's still interesting to get out and walk it, if you know what to expect... And a three mile walk in blistering heat is the perfect adjunct to this morning's swim workout. Pretty much a perfect Sunday. July 27th. 

Next up? I need to borrow my friend's Fuji Half camera and play with it. It's interesting and I have a long history of owning and using half frame cameras. Almost totally with cameras from the film days. The Fuji Half is small, light, cute and inexpensive enough digital camera to buy as a diversion or as a go anywhere pocket camera. As long as you have a jacket or very loose pants pockets. It's on my list to try. 

Hopefully nothing else will go amiss with the VSL blog for a while. It's a new age. Everyone I speak to who blogs is getting content scraped. Sad but true. 

I've been back in the pool for a week and change and I'm so happy. I missed the routine, the comrades and the exercise so much. Is there a twelve step program for swimming addiction? If so I don't want to know about it...

The camera I'll be working with in the coming week? An old Leica SL with a Canon 50mm f1.4 FD lens on it. Thinking about covering all the parts and spray painting the body bright white. It might be fun. On the other hand it might destroy the camera. But I've always wanted a bright, white Leica SL. This may be the Summer of experimentation.