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.

 

One of my favorite short poems by Shel Silverstein. Seems like a moment for it.

 

My God, people love to complain. I'm beginning to feel that some would complain about free money. Or the Fountain of Youth (not cool enough, wish it were carbonated....). I guess it's a function of wishing everything in one's life was perfectly created with them and only them in mind. Not wanting to learn anything new. Resistant to change. A perennial victim. 

When I came across this poem again it made me smile and then made me laugh. There is a limit to how much complaining we're willing to listen to. Especially from those who are most privileged...

I remember in years past when someone in the family complained too long we'd all look at each other and someone would say, "I finally had to close the lid." 

Always trying to find the fun side to things. 

There are exceptions where complaining might (might) be called for. Mostly around things you have no control over, at all. Like the weather. A meteor hitting your house. Volcanic eruptions. Maybe extra long flight delays. 

A camera button in a place that you don't like? On a camera you'll likely never buy? Some poor choices you've made that came back to bite you on the butt? Not bloody likely. 

It's that time in the replacement cycle when we look at our current laptop computers with open distain.

Ben with his first Apple Computer. 

Not nearly as fast as his new one. 

I have nothing but praise for the Apple MacBook Pro 13 inch laptop computer I bought back in 2018. It's been in about 25 different airports, spent many days in various cars and trucks, been hauled around to a couple hundred photo assignments and has never so much as shown me a "twirling beachball." Zero downtime.  But 2018 to 2024 is a long, long time in computer world. 

My kid recently replaced his even earlier MacBook Pro with one of the current 14 inch MacBook Pro machines with an M3 processor, 16 GB of Ram and a 2 Terabyte SSD. We talked about the performance differences and he was a bit more animated than he usually is. And he is a paragon of calm. An opposite personality from his father... In a word, he said the speed increases all over the new system are life changing. And he rarely traffics in hyperbole.

That planted the thought in my mind. And it was fertilized a few days later when one of my nice clients got in touch to talk logistics for an upcoming multi-day event project. Would I be able to sit down late in the evening, after the social function at the conference and edit, post process and delivery maybe 100 files for the staging company to use at the show open the next morning? This is something that comes up on a lot of shows and something I've done a lot of in the past. In fact, I bought the current laptop to do fast turn images during a conference for several WP Engine showcases. Shoot and turn. On those projects I'd photograph each speaker on the stage, head out to the press room half way through their individual presentation and have fresh images of the presentation to the AV team before the speaker wrapped. Tight deadlines indeed. 

I thought back and remembered every bottleneck and slowdown in the process from each earlier show. From the slow, USB-2 ingestion of large camera files to the slow export of hundreds of files on the back end. I also reminded myself that the battery in the older machine is also starting to show its age. As is the screen and the keyboard.

I checked the pertinent reviews and one source indicated that my older i5 Intel processor in the 2018 laptop runs my favorite photo applications about 15X slower than a new M3 processor machine. Not 15% but 15X. They had me at Space Gray. 

My biggest  project of the quarter is just a bit less than a month away which should give me ample time to get used to the new machine and to test it out with my various favorite Adobe software apps. The machine will see most of its use alternating between simple tasks at the dining room table (paying bills, reading the news, watching interviews on YouTube) and fast turn photo editing and file delivery logistics in Hotel ballrooms hither and yon. With a few instances of tethering on slow moving advertising shoots.

I know a fair number of you would rather cobble your own machines together from scratch in your workshops but maybe that's not such a good idea for a portable computer. Also, I couldn't find any Windows laptops with M3 processors in them. I'm sure the Windows world will catch up in a couple of years. Maybe even quicker. But most of the charm of staying in your lane, OS-wise, is the profound lack of learning curve. And I'm all about taking advantage of that. 

I ordered the machine from one of my photo retailers. They had a better price than I would have gotten ordering direct from Apple. And they've always done a great job with delivering exactly what I've ordered. 

I can't wait to get the new laptop. My fear is that it will be so much faster than my iMac Pro that I'll get sucked into ordering a replacement for that machine as well. 

Sadly, JC, that Rolls Royce might have to wait for next quarter. 

Oh the Zany things some photographers do when they have money in their pockets and spare time...

I used to go through life thinking I was the only one afflicted with the tendency to go shopping for stupid stuff when work slowed down and I had enough cash in my pockets. The wiser ones amongst you would probably take the opposite tack. You know, you'd look ahead and think "where's that next job going to come from? Batten the hatches! Circle the wagons! Break out the ramen! Lock down those resources!"  My first thoughts?  "Oh goodie! downtime. What's missing from my collection of gear that might be fun to shop for? And maybe useful on some project?" Followed by, "Ready-Set-Go!"

It turns out the I am hardly an anomaly amongst the professional photographers I know. Well, to be fair, the lines are pretty well drawn between the two types we've described in previous posts: Those who try to get through an entire career with the first system they invested in oh so many years ago, and those who live for today and rarely have met a lens, camera body or accessory that they didn't think they absolutely needed. At least in the moment. 

While I am not a hopeless case; I do have my lurking retirement taken care of, I found myself yesterday filling in the odds and ends that I MIGHT need to/want to use on a couple of upcoming projects. Projects of the type I have done many times before with any number of combinations of gear I already have in hand. In stock. Already nicely depreciated. Already broken in. But in the back of my mind is always the thought that there might be some new way to do the work better. Or at least in a more interesting way. And that would be interesting to me. Maybe this habit of mine is why one of my best friends drives an exciting sports car while I'm puttering around in a small, highly affordable SUV... albeit a reliable one!

But, I've had coffee with two different photographers this week who do the kind of work I do. And guess what? They have soft spot for almost reckless gear acquisition that mirrors mine pretty closely. Not always big and expensive German cameras but they little hesitation at picking up a new and curiously compelling flash trigger or a special filter. Sometimes a shift lens they coveted in the part of their career when money was tight and there were lots of more practical and immediate things to spend it on. Food and mortgages, for example.

They seemed to have no more hesitation about roaring forward with new purchases even though each of them is in the process of slowly disentangling themselves from day to day client work and casually strolling toward closing their businesses. Businesses which are almost impossible to sell to anyone else. 

One friend is in the midst of tricking out a complete Fuji medium format system, part of which he's owned since the day the new 100 megapixel camera became available but which he still hasn't quite gotten around to using yet. He's currently in Paris with his....iPhone 15 Pro. The other friend just took possession of his new, Leica M11P and a couple of choice lenses. Why? Because he was bored with his current equipment. Will he use the M11P for work? Probably not. He's an architectural photographer and mostly works with big MF cameras and shift lenses...

My case in point would be the tool I used to make these photographs. A 90mm Voigtlander APO lens on a Leica M body. Purchased just after the purchase of the 75mm lens for the same system. A system which I find less optimal for longer lenses than other camera systems I own. But...why not?

I talked about some of these new toys to another photographer friend who is on the opposite end of our buying spectrum. He's the guy nursing a 1998 Ford Explorer toward retirement. I'm not sure but I think he's still doing most of his commercial work with a Nikon D3X and a couple of the Nikon zoom lenses. He rolls his eyes whenever I say the word, "Leica" and sometimes breaks into a little speech about being "a responsible adult." I'm not sure either end of the spectrum makes more sense but I thought I'd mention this here because I seem to mention everything else here. 

I was inspired to write this because of a flurry of small purchases I made yesterday. I'm not sure I'd use it for my event projects (upcoming) but I thought it would be cool to have a Leica dedicated flash trigger so I ordered a Godox model made expressly for the current and recent Leica cameras. It's the first dedicated flash trigger that works directly with the many, many different models of Godox flashes which I already own and like. And while I was on the retailer's website it dawned on me that I might also want a Nikon off camera cord which, I am told, matches the pin configuration of the Leica flash stuff. All done, I thought. 

But I made the mistake of navigating to one of my favorite Leica dealers' websites and was so happy to find the Leica branded EVF accessory that works for the Leica M cameras I've recently picked up. It was used and in good shape so, of course it triggered the, "Might need in the future!" response and it too is coming across the country via one of the big delivery services. I hope it arrives quicker than last week's impulse purchase that came via the same transporter. 

Today's good news (non-photographic) was a fun and happy visit to my dermatologist. We did the full body inspection --- looking for lurking cancers of all kinds. Well, as they relate to my epidermis. He proclaimed that I won't be dying of skin cancer in the near future and made a future appointment for me six months from now. I was so delighted to not be on the edge of death that I rushed to my computer to try to better understand what I might desperately need in the near future from one of the alluring adult candy stores out there specializing in photography gear. 

While I like the look of these images (one above and more below)  I could have substituted the 90mm Sigma Contemporary lens and the SL2 camera and gotten images at least as good. But where would the fun be in that? Maybe that knowledge lays hidden in something penned by Roland Barthes... but I doubt it. He was not known as much of a camera aficionado. Not at all.

Note to anyone who might need advice navigating life and products: If it breaks twice just replace it.

 

Voigtlander 75mm f1.9 lens makes a visit to SXSW one afternoon. Loved the signage. And the lens.

All images: Leica M240 + 75mm f1.9 Raw > Processed to Jpegs. 

OT: Cars and car maintenance.

 I know all of you love to change the oil in your own cars, in the driveway, but I sure don't want to know what you do with the used oil. I know if I mention that Subaru gives me free maintenance for two years or 24,000 miles someone will snarkily claim that the service was priced into the original price of the car. I'm pretty sure that whatever brand or model of car I purchased several commenters will quickly "educate" me about why I've made a horrible and life-crushing mistake with my own choice which will haunt me for years. With all that in mind I thought I'd just write a jaunty and upbeat synopsis of my adventure today. 

I worked hard at swim practice yesterday so I decided to sleep in this morning and just chill. Eventually I dragged myself out of my toasty warm bed and padded down the long hallway to the kitchen to make a cup of (perfect) coffee (hand ground, Columbian Supremo) and take a bit of sustenance. I read the news, checked MJ's site for updated diet, car and medical advice, and then answered a few emails. 

I looked across the dining room table and noticed that B. left me a mailer that came in the mail. It was from my Subaru dealer reminding me that I'd be smarter to do my every six month or every six thousand mile oil change, filter change, tire rotation, and 24 point inspection  timely than I would be if I put it off for too long. Now, I don't drive nearly as many miles as I did when I was working too many hours in too many days. And, if we drive on vacation we generally do it in the family car as opposed to the business vehicle. I noticed that I only had 20K miles on the car but I do understand that Texas's hot weather tends to break down oil over time, not just driven miles. 

So I grabbed the old laptop, my phone and an M series Leica and jumped into the Subaru at 10:45 a.m. I was at the dealership at 11 a.m. and checked in by 11:10. The service advisor went over the scheduled maintenance with me and suggested that it might take a bit longer than usual. Maybe two hours instead of one. Would I need a loaner? Naw, I've got stuff to work on. 

The baristas were holding court in the very clean, very well appointed waiting area and I got a very nicely composed and presented latté to sip on. Popped the lid on the laptop, plugged in my noise reduction ear buds and settled in. This is the second new Forester I've owned and I've had nothing but great experiences with the vehicles. I think the secret is... to do the scheduled maintenance and use the recommended oils, fluids and authentic parts. 

The dealer's wifi was quick and perky. The staff young and personable. The cost? Zero. The upsell? Non-existent. When I hear horror stories about predatory car dealerships and larcenous repair shops I think back to my days as a BMW driver. That was a horrible experience. Subaru? So far nothing but smiles and saved money. 

I don't buy fancy cars anymore. The turbo-charged Volvo 960 wagon was a gut wrenching disaster the minute it eluded its warranty. How many turbo chargers can one car destroy? And really, before you tell me it was driver error, I have to say that I used to let the damn thing idle for at least two minutes at the end of every ride. The BMW 540 was the worst product I ever bought. It was well mannered for exactly 48 thousand miles (and very fun to drive) and then, the day after the warranty clicked off it transformed into an on again, off again, car invalid. Front suspension issues, a blown radiator, the "marvelous" theft proof ignition system died and had to be special-ordered from Germany, along with a set of very, very pricey ignition keys that were an integral part of the anti-theft system. 

Since my car trauma of owning and delivering intensive care to the BMW ( would be cheaper to take it to a hospital ICU and have a surgeon look at it...) I permanently swore off any German car and any "luxury" car. At 5 mph on Mopac expressway in rush hour the ability to accelerate wildly, or cruise at speeds over 100, becomes absolutely meaningless. Now I am an avowed Honda, Subaru and Toyota fan. In fact, the day I decide that I'll never put a couple hundred pounds of photo gear in the hatchback ever again is probably the day that I'll buy a base model Toyota Corolla and never look back. Ben's hand me down Corolla is a 2003. He does the basic maintenance (or, rather, his mechanic does it), changes the oil, rotates the tires, replaces stuff when it's needed and continues to drive for, basically, pocket change. 

Since I now think driving anywhere more than 200 miles from home is a waste of time things like "Oh, my Suburban is such a great highway car!" are meaningless to me. 

And here's one more thing to enrage all the car fanatics out there... everyone in my family replaces their car batteries every three years. No exceptions. So much cheaper and more efficient than getting stuck somewhere and tossing away a half a day of your own precious time. Further inflammation and outrage? The Subaru dealer will charge me $225 to replace my "perfectly good" battery. And I'll smile and gladly pay it as I remember the BMW battery that left me helpless and furious one late night at the parking garage at the Austin airport. I vowed: Never Again.

Ooops. Gotta go. The car is ready...early. 

Just one more thing. The car, brand new and ordered just the way I wanted it was $26,000 plus tax, title and license. Just slightly more than half the average price that American consumers pay for the average car. Cheap enough to buy without the need for financing. But... everyone's mileage will vary. A lot.

ON TOPIC: Finding a weak spot in the Leica system as it exists right now. It's flash. Or the lack of it.

 Over the overly long arc of my career I've used studio electronic flashes more than any other kind of lighting instruments. And my entire use of studio flash was done with the cameras and flashes set to manual modes. All manual, all the time. Early on I proceeded with a variety of flash meters to light the way to correct exposures but since the time of digital I more and more depended on the LCD image and the in-camera histogram. I still use my flash meter on nearly every studio flash engagement but now it's a balancing act when it comes to the fine-tuning. I get to know how the differences between what I'm seeing on a camera screen and what the meter tells me will look like once I get the images into a computer and look at stuff on a monitor. 

With a manually set camera and a manually set electronic flash, supervised by an accurate flash meter, you have a situation in which every camera does equally well. Equally well for exposures, at least. Sure, one camera might be better able to focus with your weak modeling lights while another might have more fine control over color settings but when it comes right down to getting a correct exposure all the cameras, from the cheapest to the finest, to the most Veblen, do pretty much the same job. 

I've used my Leica cameras (various models) with studio flash for nearly four years now. From the SL to the SL2 they do a great job. Because...why not? Everything is set for complete manual control. 

In the past, in addition to highly controlled advertising shoots I also found myself (somewhat happily) photographing a lot of corporate events. Most of the needed photographs at most conventions, seminars, trade shows and conferences were done while being as invisible and as fly-on-the-wall as possible. I used fast lenses to shoot mostly with available light. Especially when documenting speakers behind a podium on a well lit stage. No additional lighting required by me. Just get the color balance and the exposure correct, work on your handholding techniques and you are golden. Believe me, people will praise you for not intruding on their event with flashes blazing, creating a huge, show stopping distraction and making a high dollar event seem just a little --- tawdry and amateurish. 

BUT. But in nearly every event I've covered over the decades there is always a social component in which the existing lighting is universally sucky, people are impatient with being posed and don't ever want to wait for that third chance to get everything "just right." What the client usually wants are well lit images of two people together, three people together or small groups of people together who are, or seem to be, enjoying the event and the chance to meet and mingle. Or to just hit the open bar with gusto. 

You, the photographer, while scrupulously avoiding the open bar, will be tasked with getting as many happy couples and small groups photographed as you can in a limited amount of time and you will almost always have to provide the main lighting, on the fly, or at least augment the lighting you find at the venue. Since you will be  weaving in and around a crowded space you'll need to find a flash that fits on your camera, that provides accurate exposures and which is, hopefully automatic enough to give you a 90% or better "hit rate." 

The flash is perhaps even more important than your lens choice. As far as lenses go you can use a standard 24-70mm zoom, provided you try to stay away from the widest focal lengths so the people on the edges of the frame aren't ballooned up to giant sizes. You could also use a 35mm or 50mm lens but you'll need to compose and crop with your feet. Meaning you'll have to back up or wade in to get the proper compositions. Once you've got your lens figured out and you've got the room figured out all that's left is getting the right flash. And getting its operation figured out.

I prefer flashes that can sit on top of the camera. I know, it's heresy. But it's the classic, front lit celebrity photo. The red carpet motif. The "Make sure you get the shot. Any shot" scenario. I loved finding a great flash (SB-28, SB-800) when I did events with a Nikon DSLR. Some of the better Nikon flashes, when used with their pro cameras were foolproof. Rock solid. Amazing. One in the hot shoe equipped with a bounce card on top and a pocket full of double AY batteries and you were prepped and ready for an evening of grip and grin photo work. 

I'm booked for an event job in the second half of April. Most of the three days will be spent in conference situations in big ball rooms. No problem for a full frame camera and fast, longer lenses. But there will be a long evening of socializing, dinner, live music and dancing. There will also be a cocktail party reception on the first evening. And the client wants great images of couples and groups both facing the camera in static poses and also a good selection of candid shots in the same low light situations. 

This calls for flash. Fast to use flash. Easy to calculate flash and since this is the first time I've explored on camera flash with Leica SL and Q cameras I have to say that the universe of TTL and automatic flashes made for these cameras is tiny. Quantum physics tiny. Shot glass tiny. There are currently two Leica flashes on offer. A big one and a small one. And, surprisingly, or unsurprisingly, there seem to be no dedicated, automatic third party flashes at all. Nothing from Godox. Nothing from the other big names. Just the two Leica flashes. The SF40 at about $550 and the SF60 at about $675. Neither model gets rave reviews from users. Most users who squawk have issues with reliability. As in "oh shit! My flash is D.O.A." Those whose flashes are still with us complain about automatic/TTL exposures being all over the map. About long recycle times. About overheating. And, since it is Leica, there is the usual complaining about pricing. 

Sure, Leica cameras are made to last with solid metal bodies, etc. but it seems obvious that flashes are just a nuisance for them. A distraction. Something they relegated to a third party with a wish and a prayer. Perhaps they understand that the majority of users don't want to sully their vision and image integrity with something as pedestrian as on-camera flash. But it just so happens that I do need that. 

At least a couple times a year. 

I am currently considering two workarounds. One is to just pull one of my non-dedicated but highly reliable, fully manual Godox flashes out of their hiding place and spend a few weeks practicing total reliance on guide numbers. Not a deep exercise but more of a reminder and warm-up. After all, with digital cameras it's pretty straightforward to figure out a good subject to camera distance and make a small guide on white gaffer's tape to put on the back of the flash. And the flash never gets tricked by white or black outfits. No exposure metering to trick. It's a low cost, low key fix and I have enough non-dedicated (meaning just a single pin for flash triggering on the bottom of the flash and no other control contacts to confuse my camera) flashes that I can destroy a handful of them with misuse and still finish the job. It will just require me to pay attention better. And it means I get no auto focus assist light should the ambient light get really, really dicey. No life jacket.

The second option and maybe a better one is to pull a couple Panasonic S5s off the copy stand and out of the desk drawer and put one of several dedicated flashes I have for that system on top. Then I can fire away with full automation and even take advantage of the AF-assist light if needed. I already have the gear for that so it makes the most sense. And I really like the Godox V1 I have which uses big lithium batteries and for which I have many fun attachments. My nod to Leica would be to use the Leica 24-90mm zoom on the Panasonic camera. Why not?

Still, why can't Leica make some better flashes for those few who have extra space in the trunk of their Buggatis for more gear? Or, maybe I should presume that one of the Leica flashes would be fine and that most people are silent about their Leica flash experiences because everything is just fine and it's only the small handful who have issues who are vocal. 

In the grand scheme of things it's a very small bump in my road toward event happiness. As you probably expect, I'll try everything well before the shoot date and probably settle on either the most eccentric solution or the most expensive. You know my new motto, right? The More Friction The Better.