An interesting morning in the studio. Photographing a new(-ish) lens with an ancient lens on the "new to me" Panasonic GX8.

It's Monday morning and we're still social distancing and isolating in place. Early this morning a crew of two came by to power wash the stone work and the cedar siding of our house in preparation for tomorrow's house painting adventure. No. I will not be doing physical work. We've hired a company we've used with good success in the past. I only climb ladders now for real money. We're trying to keep the economy rolling; especially for small companies...

Feeling more or less useless at the moment I retreated into the office and cleaned the sensor on the camera I bought Saturday. Then I thought I should test said camera and looked around the vicinity for a gorgeous person to photograph. No dice. Everyone is sheltering in place. I asked my spouse but she gave me one of those wry looks and went back to her current project of designing and producing the perfect face masks for herself, me and Ben. 

Since I couldn't find a human ready to risk possible death to be photographed I looked for the most glamorous object in my studio and decided to make a portrait of that. We used to call this kind of work "still life" but now, in my mind, everything is a portrait...

Today's "model" is the Panasonic Lumix 50mm S Pro f1.4 lens. 

Following along on my contrarian path I opted to use an extremely counterintuitive lens to make all of the photographs; an Olympus Pen half frame lens that was designed in the late 1960's and manufactured  through the very early 1970's. Today's taking lens was the 25mm f2.8. It's designated as a G. Zuiko. That was Olympus's branding for their lenses at the time. It's a small and solid lens and I use it on the micro four thirds cameras with an inexpensive Pen F to m4:3 adapter ring. Of course, the lens has no mechanical or electric connections with the camera to allow for frippery like exposure control or focusing. You have to adjust these things manually. But that's what the big screen on the back of the camera is for, right?

I rarely used the older Olympus G. Zuiko Pen lenses in the studio and have never done exhaustive quality testing of the samples I have but I was interested to see what I'd get with the camera on a tripod and the lens used at what I thought might be the apertures that would delivery the best performance. 

(short break for my book suggestion of the day: In these times of insanity amongst our "leaders" it would be interesting to read: Candide, or The Optimist by Voltaire. I would suggest reading it in the original French, just to be snotty and pedantic. But it's still a good read. But I'm not sure you came to my blog site to help me relive my college reading list...). 

For the top two images I carefully focused the lens at the smallest aperture that I thought would provide the depth of field I wanted with acceptable image quality --- always fearing possible diffraction! --- and that was f11. I am amazed and delighted with the results. Seems that Olympus already, in the 1960s, knew how to design good, solid lenses for small format cameras...  The image just below was shot at f5.6 and it looks pretty great as well. Maybe better in close up than the samples I've seen from the latest Fuji X100F and its redesigned lens....

The Lumix 50mm S Pro lens is an interesting entry in the "normal" lens arena. Where the 25mm f2.8 on the GX8 is small, almost dwarfish, and easy to handle, and features the same angle of view, the Lumix 50mm S Pro is the exemplar of a totally different design philosophy. The lens weighs in at over two pounds and features 13 elements in 11 groups, including 2 aspherical and 3 extra low dispersion elements. It's got an 11 bladed aperture, a double focus system that combines a linear motor and stepping motor to achieve sensor drive at a maximum speed of 480 fps for fast, high-precision autofocus, it's dust, splash and freeze resistant and built to survive a nuclear blast. (that last bit is hyperbole == just a disclaimer for the painfully literal...).

Some have referred to it's output disparagingly, as being  "clinical" or "characterless" but I prefer to call it neutral and transparent. It's sharp enough to occasionally elicit aliasing even when used wide open on an S1R camera body (47 megapixels) so I know that its optical performance is pretty exemplary, and for all those people who secretly (or not so secretly) wish they were shooting with Leica lenses this one comes  very close, and has some small print on the barrel stating that it's been "Leica Certified." 

I don't know what that means but my status interpreter tells me that it's supposed to be pretty cool. 

If you shoot video you'll find that the lens hardly "breathes" at all when focusing and you'll like the clutch mechanism that gives you easy to operate manual focusing. I wouldn't be surprised to see this lens, along with the S1H, become a popular, low cost (everything in the cinema world is relative) filmmaking combination. Pairing it with the 24-70mm Pro would add some range and be a good match for color too. The 50mm S Pro sells for around $2300 USD. A bargain, right?

It's sad to own this lens right now because it's just begging me to go out to dingy nightclubs and worn-out coffee shops to make intimate photographs for interesting people. But we are denied. For the greater good. I can't wait for the day when we are unfettered and our fast 50mm lenses are once again unleashed on the visual world. 

Yeah. So. Bored and sitting here making portraits of my favorite toys. I guess you guys are right, I should get to work on that next Henry White novel post haste....

Just a little distraction to enjoy over coffee. And pretty good "camera porn" if I don't say so myself.

Yes. It's Sunday. And there's a new (used) camera in the house. It's an ancient (but well preserved) Panasonic Lumix GX8.

GX8 camera with Olympus Pen FT 40mm f1.4 lens + metal hood.

The pandemic is making me too cautious. Usually, when I've decided I want to buy a camera I just get in my vehicle and go buy it. But yesterday I found myself trying to explain to my spouse why I was going to go buy this little, used camera. She looked at my in a perplexed, almost bewildered way and said, "You can buy anything you want. You don't have to check with me." It was an odd moment because even in the worst of economic times I've never felt the need to check in. Especially on a purchase that was under $400.

I can give you a dozen reasons why I wanted to buy the camera  but it all boils down to this: I wanted to buy the camera. 

So, why a Lumix GX8 and how do I like it so far?

You'll recall, if you've been a reader of the blog for the past few years, that I've owned a bunch of different Panasonic cameras including these: G3, GH2, GH3, GH4, GH5, G9, FZ1000, FZ2500, G85, GX85, S1 and S1R. Many I owned in duplicate sets. Over time the color from the cameras got better and better and, in the case of the G9 and the S1 series I find that I like the color better than just about any other digital camera I've tried. I got tons of great use out of the GH3 - GH5 cameras and made good money using them for video productions.

The S1 series cameras, especially with the V-Log upgrades, are the best video cameras I've ever shot with and the S1 Pro lenses are superb but they represent a pretty meaty package for those times when I want to walk around in the street and photograph random chaos and beauty. I'd always prefer the images from an S1 or S1R but when I don't have a photographic mission in mind, and where walking is the priority, I find an m4:3 camera much more comfortable. That's why I bought a little GX85 kit before the first of this year.

But much as I like the size and speed of the GX85 I've gotten use to better controls and better feature sets of my other cameras and I was looking for a bit of a step up. Something with a better EVF and a newer sensor. I considered getting another G9 to replace the ones I sold but I don't want to hop back into two systems and the G9 can be powerfully addictive. I noticed that my friend, Frank, has been using a GX8 for the last two years and he seems quite happy with his. He also takes great photos and knows his way around cameras. We talked about it for a while over coffee (B.C. = before COVID) and I logged my new knowledge away for future use. When Precision Camera offered three different GX8s for sale, used, on their website I thought a bit more about getting one.

The GX8 ticks a lot of boxes as a flexible daily user camera. It's got the 20 megapixel sensor, dual I.S.
(sensor and lens), good 4K video, a surprisingly nice and detailed LED EVF and it's splash and dust resistant. I like the way the dials are set up and I'm very used to the Panasonic menus. I can use this camera with older, manual, Olympus Pen FT half frame lenses and, icing on the cake, the batteries are interchangeable with the batteries for the Sigma fp. Pretty cool.

I charged up the battery and stuck a Hoodman Steel 64 GB USH-II SD card in the camera and formatted it, and then added an ancient lens that I haven't used in years to the package. The lens is the 20mm f3.5 for the old half frame Pen film cameras. I'd never been too impressed with it but I thought I'd give it one more chance...and it would present a worst case user scenario to challenge the new camera.

I headed back out to a different part of the trail yesterday which would deliver me to the far side of downtown. I'd walk back from there and do my first documentation of a high tech, busy town now shut almost completely down.

It was raining all day long so I took a plastic bag along with me to cover the camera between shots. The rest of the time I didn't worry about the camera I just tried my best to keep rain drops off the front element of the lens. All the images I shot yesterday (See my April 4th 2020 blog post) were shot with this combo.

The camera was light enough for me to forgo the usual strap and to just carry it around in my right hand for a couple of hours. The punch in for magnified manual focusing was quick and easy to use and I'm happy with the results. I shot at ISOs ranging from 320 to 1250 and found the files to have nice color and to be nearly noise free (I'm relatively insensitive to a bit of noise in files). I was using the electronic shutter with all sounds muted and I can't imagine a more discrete shooting package. It was absolutely lovely.

From an ergonomic point of view much of my initial thoughts about the GX8 handling are influenced by my time with the much bigger and heavier S1. I think the grip on the GX8 could be a bit deeper and I think the four way selector dial on the back is too responsive. I'd like a bit more resistance from it. I love the instant waist level EVF and I like the dial that surrounds the shutter release.

One thing that bothers me on an existential level is that there are 14 different actual and virtual function buttons, most of which can be reprogrammed to do dozens of different things. I can't think that anyone can memorize everything that they've set; especially when shooting quickly, under pressure. If I like the camera enough I guess I'll take a six week course in why and how to reprogram everything and then, once I get all the settings where I like them, I'll have a chart of all the permutations tattoo'd on my calf so I can roll up my pant leg and refresh my memory while out shooting. Thank God it doesn't "feature" GPS.

The camera is well suited for walking around and I might even put that 45-150mm lens on the front and tryout the AF. Maybe it's great.

After running the trail with a Sigma fp and a big, full frame 24-105mm lens under my jacket in a rain storm I think I'll make it a rule of thumb to reach for either the GX85 or the GX8 next time I put on the running shoes and sally forth into the elements. Much less stress on the human system over a certain distance.

Am I crazy for buying a cheap, used camera during such a frightening financial crisis? Naw. Look at it this way, the store is trying to stay afloat in a horrible time for non-essential retailers. Buying another camera or lens now and then disrupts my inclination to focus on disaster too much, gives me a sense of control over....something, and supports the store and the folks who work there. I'd love for them to survive so I can buy cameras at will A.C. (After COVID-19). If we come out of this okay then I'll worry about my future spending because it's going to be outrageous.

Final early thoughts about the GX8. It's a beautiful little camera with lots of potential. I have it set to monochrome today. Let's see if I can unlock some of its potential. Even if it's just around the house.

the 20mm f3.5 Pen lens is not bad for a 50 year old lens. Not back at all.

Just cleaned out our shed so I could move it. The house painters are coming this week to do the exterior and needed access to that wall. Laundering my face covers for the upcoming week as I type this. We walked through the neighborhood today (big, wide streets, every house, person and dog well distanced from each other) but we've been hanging around at home the rest of the day. No big plans other than staying positive and happy. Ours is a big house, bought for a time when it was filled with Ben and his friends. At least Belinda and I aren't crowding each other. We both have separate offices. There's an ample living room and even a separate reading room. If I'm too noisy or antsy Belinda can always send me out here to my studio for a while... is that "adult time out?"

Can't think of a better place to be for the next month. Wish I had a twenty five yard lap pool though...

Perhaps there is a project we can all do, wherever we are in the world. The idea came to me from the Austin History Center.

 This is rush hour on Saturday afternoon in Austin, Texas April 4th, 2020. 

Few of us have lived through anything like this pandemic in our lives. Even us ancient ones who've been around (and through) a lot of weird and scary stuff. Many of the changes to our way of life are sudden, profound and bereft of precedent. We are truly living through a transformative and perilous period and it would be good to have a record of what it was like to be in the middle of this. I shy away from concentrating on the health care (immediate life and death) aspect of the crisis because it would be selfish to intrude when every medical professional needs space and full attention to work. And, selfishly, I don't want to put myself or my family and friends in great peril just to get photographs. 

But the economic ramifications may end up being equally severe and we need a record of this time as well. The Austin History Center put out a request for images that document how Austin and its citizens are dealing with the pandemic. They have photos that go all the way back to Austin during the Spanish Flu in 1918 and good documentation of just about every major upheaval (or positive thing) that's occurred in our city. Now they want to make sure people know that they would welcome good images that tell the story of our responses and our sacrifices during this trying time. 

I can't think that Austin is alone in this desire for documentation and a memory archive. I would think that the responses and the real life changes will be different for small towns and giant cities; for once thriving economies as well as communities already dealing with painful financial adversity. And it's obvious that this is not an "American" problem but a world crisis. 

I put on my rain jacket and my face mask and went out for a walk this afternoon. I walked up one side of the lake trail which put me on the east side of downtown. I then walked through the center of town with the idea of documenting all the closed and boarded up businesses as well as the empty parking lots, empty hotels and empty streets. If I could go back in time about three months and show these images to people who live here they would never believe that downtown could be so bare. And I've not begun to document the lines outside of grocery stores and legions of normal people behind medical (and home made masks). 

It's something to think about if you are home and bored and itching for a project that has real bones and real value. It's not just another Zone VI exercise with a running brook made smooth with a long exposure... We can only bear witness if we photograph the world around us. As HCB once said, 

“The intensive use of photographs by mass media lays ever fresh responsibilities upon the photographer. We have to acknowledge the existence of a chasm between the economic needs of our consumer society and the requirements of those who bear witness to this epoch. This affects us all, particularly the younger generations of photographers. We must take greater care than ever not to allow ourselves to be separated from the real world and from humanity.” – Henri Cartier-Bresson

Photography and video will form the cultural memory of this time. It's only by having lots of points of view that we'll aggregate a history that will tell the story. 

It is obvious that there will be hard times ahead not just for people directly touched by the health effects and deadly fallout of the pandemic but by the severe and rapid closure of the economy. Young people's potential will be put on hold. Many businesses will fail and not re-emerge. There will be many sad stories to be told and the capturing and telling may help to inform future policies and decisions that will prevent the same kind of wholesale destruction in the next pandemic. 

It's an idea and I'd love to get some feedback. I'm sure I'm missing a lot and haven't figured out entirely how to proceed, but I know photographers love projects and they love to tell stories. Please let me know your thoughts. Ethical considerations, etc. Here are the images I took today. 

All the cafe tables gone. All the people scattered.

Menu monitors at Juiceland. 

An un-manned Bank of America office. 

Cafe Politique shutter behind a construction walkway. 

No businesses open for blocks at a time. But it was nice that Loft left their lights lit. 

2nd Street is usually packed  with people heading to happy hours and early dinners.

Today everything is closed. 

No cars and no guests at the W Hotel.

 There are still some food businesses trying to make it with mobile ordering and 

curbside pickup but one by one I'm watching them throw in the towel as it becomes

apparent that the cash flow out is unsustainable without a critical mass of customer. 

I have never seen this parking lot vacant. Never.

Yeah. That's the GX8. I'll write about my experience with it tomorrow.

2nd Restaurant and Medici Coffee shop are closed up tight on Congress Ave.

And this is Congress Ave. at Rush Hour. No one is downtown.

Valet parking at the JW Marriott is boarded up and closed. 

The hotel is not boarded up (yet) but it is closed down.

All the furniture and fixtures have already been removed from this corporate hotel restaurant.

The Royal Blue Grocery is now ---- particle board. 

this is the location on Second St. Several others in the chain are still open 

in downtown. The sell groceries. This one is near the convention center and further away from the residence towers....

Michaleda's tried takeout and then breakfast tacos and coffee and now they too

have boarded up the shop and gone dormant. They are right across the street from

the convention center.

Drop me a line and let me know what you think of the idea. 

I'm going to flesh out my intentions for this and figure out how I will use and share the images in a way that's beneficial. If I figure that out I'll post about it. 

Incredibly interested to hear how very small towns are dealing with this.

Saturday adventures. April 4, 2020.

From yesterday's run. Water pouring off the top of the Pfluger Pedestrian Bridge

in Austin, Texas. Combined with an amazing (and dangerous) lightning storm.

It was fun to get out and hit a nearly vacant trail right through the middle of town yesterday. When I left my vehicle it was a balmy 70+ degrees and there was soft, intermittent rain. By the time I'd gone 1/3 of the way the wind had picked up, the temperature started dropping and the raindrops got fatter and more frequent. By the time I finished the wind gusts were dramatic, the rainfall torrential and the temperature about 20 degrees colder. It was a blast! What a nice change from sitting in front of my computer trying to find fun stuff to read. 

When I got back to my vehicle I stood under the tailgate and stripped off my rain jacket, black baseball cap, and camera and tossed them in with the swim bag on the rubber mat. I grabbed an "emergency" poncho and my swim towel and blundered into the driver's seat, using the poncho to create a barrier between the seat and my soaking wet shorts. Happily, I have a WeatherTech floor mat on the driver's side so my brand new, soaked, running shoes didn't matter.

The Sigma fp and the Lumix 24-105mm f4.0 L lens were unfazed by their time in the rain and wind but that's probably because I tucked them into my jacket for the last half of our journey. The bridge above is the last couple of hundred yards to cover on my way back to the Zach Theatre complex where my car was parked. I stopped under the bridge and made a few shots (and some video) because by the time I'd gotten to that point the thunder and lightning was nearly continuous and I thought it best not to cross an exposed, elevated bridge in the middle of a lightning storm. As soon as mother nature signaled a very short break in electrical activity I lunged up the stairs and sprinted across the span. Just like a protagonist in an action/adventure movie... (Calling Walter Mitty, calling Walter Mitty....). 

Last night was weird. The temperature dropped into the 40's (which is very unusual for this time in our part of Texas) and instead of running the air conditioner we had to switch back to the heater for the first time in a month. It rained and thundered and lightning-ed (is that even a word?) all through the night and it was still chilly this morning. I made almond croissants and scrambled eggs for me and Belinda. It was a fun breakfast, complete with an extra dose of coffee. 

Then boredom really sunk in. I was in the office looking at camera store websites. I went to Precision Camera's website where I had previously seen a used Mamiya 645 Pro with an 80mm lens and an Aptus 5-II digital back offered for the princely sum of $1299. With a sensor three times the size of a 35mm sensor it seemed like it might be a fun diversion. 

I called my favorite used equipment specialist at the shop to make inquiries. They are working with a skeleton crew and can ship or do a curbside pick-up (brief explanation: By "curbside pick-up" you should not take it to mean that a human comes up to my car and hands me my purchase through the car window. Instead, you purchase the unit you want with a credit card -- either over the phone or online -- then they prepare the package for you. You arrive and stay in your car. You call them to let them know you are out front. They place your package outside the door and then retreat. Once they've fled the scene you exit your car, circle around the package warily, spray it with your spray sanitizer, and, with the tips of two fingers of one hand, drop it into the gapping trunk, in a special metal box marked with hazardous material decals. Once home you spray down the contents of the box with a toxic stew of disinfectants and disgorge the contents onto a thick spread of newspaper on top of which you swab down each piece with more disinfectant. Then you dispose of the newspaper, re-wash your hands and you are ready to re-enter the portal of normalcy. Or something like that....).

We chatted about the medium format digital camera and, to his credit, he convinced me not to buy it. The sensor in the camera is from 2008 and is now more or less obsolete, but also, the original owner was not an individual but a busy for profit trade school for which this camera was a daily loaner to students. Not a good recipe for long term reliability.

So, what did I buy instead? You may recall me asking everyone who would read or listen how well they liked their Panasonic GX8 cameras. I'd danced around picking one up for a while. My most convenient rationale for wanting one being my ample supply of Olympus Pen FT lenses to use on this kind of camera (aaah. Just the thought of being able to use my 60mm f1.5 on the 20 megapixel sensor makes me happy!).  I'd seen three used versions in EX condition on Precision Camera's site so I asked about that while I had my guy on the phone. We negotiated a bit and I decided on a nice, black one. 

With charger and battery for not a lot of money. The asking price was $450. I paid less. I'm heading up this afternoon with my improvised face mask and a new belt with holsters that hold spray bottles of sanitizer on either side (kidding about the belt and holsters) to pick up the camera from their front door. It will be nice to have a diversion to play with. I can't wait to shoot some frames and evaluate it. Maybe I'll have something interesting to write about a three year old (+) used camera by the middle of next week.   

Still eyeing the Leica SLs. I know you are tired of hearing about it and wish I would just buy one and get over it but that's not the way I do stuff. It's either total impulse purchase or the opposite. I can watch the prices go down until we hit a point where sales start to increase and then I'll make my offer. It works for me. I do the same with investments. Seems to work most of the time. Sometimes the price never comes down enough and I'm happy to walk away. 

I'm having fun shooting lots and lots of video. Trying to get my video mojo in shape for the recovery. I have a feeling video production will be in very high demand. Sorry to torture you with my impromptu video shorts but I think it's all fun. 

Stay safe and have some solo adventures in the rain. At least, in the cold, driving rain you won't be fighting for safe space!

Hope everyone is putting their own positive spin on sheltering in place. 

At the beginning of the run it was just starting to rain.....

I guess that's how it always starts. 

Wanna blame someone for my GX8 purchase? It's Frank's fault. 

He makes the camera look good....

I thought it might rain during my afternoon run but I went anyway. As you can see, no problems with social distancing....

I thought it would be a good afternoon for a run so I grabbed a small and lightweight camera, my rain jacket and my running shoes and headed down to Lady Bird Lake to hit the hike and bike trails. Dr. Fauci would be so proud of me because I wore my homemade face mask for the entire run. It hung in there well.

I stopped a couple of times near the beginning of the run to take some still photos which I intend to turn into masterpieces later but the few threatening rain drops decided to up the ante and, with a little help from a vicious north wind, the rain became a full bore downpour. Torrents and torrents of rain deftly guided by vicious wind gusts. The temperature dropped about 25 degrees over the course of a 45 minute run.

Even though the Sigma fp camera and the Panasonic 24-105mm lens are supposed to be "weather resistant" at a certain point I chickened out of this "trial by fire" (or should it be trial by immersion?) and tucked the camera and lens inside my rain jacket. The last half of the run was uncomfortably fun.

My shoes and socks were soaked, the bottom half of my shorts were soaked and I was starting to get concerned about lightning. So I stopped for a few minutes under the famous and well documented pedestrian bridge and then I remembered that the Sigma fp does video. Lots and lots of video, so I took a few minutes to catch my breath and shoot some footage of the Biblical style rain.

It wasn't my best time for a four mile run but I don't usually have a camera under my jacket either.

The camera and lens are both fine and ready for the next adventure. Me? I'll have to let everything dry out first.

As you can probably see from the footage there is little chance anyone played fast and loose with social distancing out there this afternoon. There were only three other people on the entire four mile loop. Everyone else seems to believe that you can't go outside in a cold rain. They just don't know what they are missing....

Feeling alive.

I was sitting at home reading novels. Now I'm getting back in touch with clients and planning for a time when we all re-open and re-engage. We should understand the power of pre-planning and intention.

Blue skies will return. Keep the sunscreen handy.

We all tend to operate under our own unproven set of assumptions. My assumption lately was that all business is shut down and people were hunkered down for the long haul. Like one of the apocalyptic movies about nuclear war I thought we'd start to emerge from our bunkers months from now, blinking at the sun and defeated by a vision of a landscape laid to waste. 

Imagine my surprise when I started getting texts and e-mails this week from clients who are already planning ahead for the recovery. One group of attorneys is ready to (tele) conference immediately about tasking me to write and produce a series of videos for their firm. Another company queried me about making exterior photographs of big infrastructure projects around Texas. Places I could get to and back from in one day of driving, and photographing without having to interface with people. Just landscapes and construction infrastructure. Another client is a post graduate institution that wants to get a head start on a projected, August video program. 

This input inspired me to get off my ass and try to stay focused on the parts of the business I could be working on right now. Building a better and more complex presence on LinkedIn and Instagram, planning my own marketing strategies and building advertising collateral I can put into place when the timing seems appropriate. Re-envisioning my portfolio. Rebuilding my website. 

When we emerge from our cocoons and once again become shimmering Chrysalis it will be a new business environment and much will need to be done. It's becoming obvious to me how much more important all types of video production will be: from fun, quick piece on social media to full on television commercials and much in between. The period of stasis right now is an opportunity for us to find our own niches, to figure out stories to tell and how to tell them. 

As a photographer the one thing I keep thinking about is all the cancelled gallery shows. I regret now that I didn't do more personal project work and show it to the public in the days B.C. (Before Covid). I'm enthusiastic right now about getting a new show of prints together and shopping it around (online) to Austin and Texas galleries. I have a vision in my head of standing around with a bunch of other photographers. We'd all have those flimsy, plastic glasses of box wine in our hands and we'd be talking about nonsense like printers and our favorite lenses. 

I don't know which clients will be left when this whole thing subsides but I know I'd like to work for the ones who had deep enough pockets to survive. My intention is to use some of their $$ to finance a bunch of pro bono work for great non-profits that are really, really taking it on the chin right now. 

I'll volunteer, certainly, but it might also be nice to write a few checks. Sometimes keeping the lights on takes precedence over having nice photographs. 

It all starts with intention. If your intention is to retire or move into another career then that's great. But if your intention is to remain as a viable part of the commercial photography community then you need to firm up that intention and start making plans now for how your business will look when we all reconnect with the clients who will need us. It's never too early to plan and it's never too late to turn off Netflix for a while and get some work done. There are few among us whose businesses couldn't be made better with a sharp focus on what's next. 

Yes, all of this came out of a conversation with my spouse who reminded me that even though we are social distancing I still have to clean my bathroom. And she mentioned that it might also be a good time to clean the leaves out of the gutters. What I interpreted from hearing this growing list is that this would be a good time to rush into the office and at least try to look busy.... or at least write a blog that makes me sound like I've already got plenty of stuff to tackle. 

Now, how to handle the idea that the living room needs painted? 

I'm on a bit of a video roll so I thought I'd roll some video just for the heck of it...

Mr. Andreas Schultz. Introduction Video. from Kirk Tuck on Vimeo.

The above is a video I did as a solo operator as an introduction for the north American CEO of Ottobock at a leadership conference. I shot most of it with a Panasonic GH5 and a selection of image stabilized lenses but I also used a Nikon D810 for a few segments. We did the V.O. in a little glass meeting room but I'm particularly happy with the way the audio came through in spite of the ad hoc "sound studio". I edited everything together in Final Cut Pro X. It was fun to have nearly complete control over every aspect of the video. The script was provided by the client's in-house writers.


Marty Robinson, Clinician. Discusses the Ottobock C-Leg. from Kirk Tuck on Vimeo.

And here's is a quiet video that I don't think I've shown before but I really like. I shot it just outside of Toronto with the assistance of a great guy named, Abraham Latchin. This video was shot with a Sony A7Rii and a Sony RX10iii. We used an Aputure Diety shotgun microphone just out of frame and I personally like the audio from a mic used like that much better than the less dynamic sound of a lavaliere microphone.

Just wanted to show some of the projects I've worked on recently and show you how photography can help one move into video production.

Kindest regards to everyone, Kirk