A moment at the Children's Museum. Just for the fun of it.

 

What's it like when an artist retires?

CFO. Calculates the return on vacationing...

I'm working on the last two jobs in the docket. For the year. Both of which follow one version of my interpretation of Murphy's Law. That clients who invite you in to make portraits of their key people, and who want to book right away, will then take a month or so to get back to you with their final selections. Yeah. About an hour apart two different clients for whom I did dozens and dozens of portrait sessions for over the course of a couple of days have now, nearly a month later, finally sent me the selections to retouch and composite. That's fine. These are the last two jobs I have to mess with for the rest of the year... Or longer.

I've gone to my website and removed all the contact information that lived there. Sure, it was there so that potential clients who wanted to find me and get in touch could. But what the website contact page has mostly done since it was uploaded in 2017 was provide a rich target for spammers to daily deliver dozens or even hundreds of unwanted emails and texts. And in those past eight years the vast majority of clients who did get in touch were already clients and already knew my phone number and email address. 

By jettisoning contact information I've been able to leave up a convenient website that works as a ready portfolio, keep my email addresses functioning and hopefully, with some other behind the scenes machinations, will also declutter a few mailboxes and text reservoirs. If someone doesn't know how to get in touch with me already I'm pretty sure I'm not the photographer for them. 

I've winnowed down the work load by not doing any marketing or advertising to speak of for about two years now. It's a nice glide path away from commerce but it comes with the burden of now having to both self-assign fun work and also self-finance that fun work. And I'm fine with that. 

This basically means that the times which I will have to skip swim workouts or fun lunches to accommodate client schedules is quickly approaching zero. There's still a lot to get done. Archiving of sorts. Filling last minute I.P. requests from nervous clients. And the mental exercise of changing direction after 40+ years locked into a strange commercial/capitalist paradigm. Also, flipping the switch that converts priorities from saving for the future to dipping into those savings. Thank goodness my spouse/CFO is brilliant. 

today's schedule: I hit the pool at 7:45 this morning, did a long distance warm-up and then swam with my masters group under the watchful and critical eye of coach Jenn. She's just back from a trip with her husband where they participated in a competitive swim race across the Bosphorus at Istanbul. Today we worked on all four strokes nearly equally. Going from butterfly to backstroke to breaststroke to freestyle with individually medley swims (all four strokes continuously) between each set.  If you haven't tried swimming a 400 IM and think you are in exquisite shape you might want to revisit your fitness plan. That first one hundred butterfly in the IM, at the end of a long workout, is killer. (But not literally...). 

. ...they make it look so easy at the Olympics...

After a quick shower, I ate an apple I'd brought along with me and drove over to my favorite car wash. There's a reason I drove halfway across town to the car wash. It's because my physician has his office a couple blocks away. 

I wanted to wash the car to get all the road dust and tar smoke off the paint; the result of my failed photo foray to Pedernales Falls State Park on Tuesday... I also needed to vacuum up the leaves off the floor mats. The mats are black and show up everything. I must confess that I did have fun driving out and around the wide open parts of the Hill Country on Tuesday. It's been a while since I channeled my teenaged alter-ego and drove my car too fast. I figure it's okay to redline every once in a while if there are no other vehicles for as far as the eye can see. Besides, I've been so well behaved for so long.... it's nice sometimes to cut loose. Four lanes. No cars in sight. Vroom.

After I washed the car I presented myself at my doctor's office to get a flu shot. I'd emailed earlier in the week to confirm that they'd gotten the more vicious and powerful version for seniors. Almost guaranteed to elicit some sort of side effects (not presently felt). My doctor runs a concierge practice. I pay him quarterly for an "all you can bear" access to top flight health care. But other than being able to set my own time for shots and vaccines my general health has thus far made my ten year relationship with the concierge practice less profitable for me than him.  He is, however, a great source of referrals. Loved my Mohs surgeon. 

I had to wait two minutes in the empty waiting room before being collected by the practice RN. I was going to be miffed about the delay but decided to let it go (just kidding). Maybe my watch was running fast... I walked down the hall with the RN to an exam room where she took my blood pressure and other vitals. Then she gently and deftly injected the vaccine and placed a Pokemon bandage on the injection site. She knows my taste in bandaids.

Since it's a concierge practice there is no paperwork for me to fill out and no insurance nonsense to deal with. I keep my doctor current with an email or two after I've seen a specialist --- he's already got the baseline. The front desk person made me a cappuccino to go and offered me snacks. I took the coffee but resisted the urge to eat a granola bar.

I was hungry though so I headed back to my neck of the woods, drove past my street and headed to TacoDeli for a couple of bacon, egg and cheese breakfast tacos. Yum. Then, with a happy stomach, I turned the car around and drove back home. 

When I walked into the office I saw the two emails from the two clients who had been delinquent with the image selections. I sent a brief "thank you" note to each and let them know when I could effect delivery. Then I got to work editing my current website to take off all my contact information. I also checked on travel plans both domestic and international. Two trips upcoming. All good. 

I handed off all the microphones and mixers I'd accumulated over the last ten years to a videographer whose work I admire. The office felt lighter.  I hope never to work on a video project or film project again unless it is as the still  photographer. 

I'm feeling a bit unleashed. For the first time in a long time I have no real, fixed schedule (other than six days a week of 8 a.m. swim practice), I have no debt. I have no obligations other than the classic domestic ones. I have no worries about how to make the ends meet. The kid is launched. The parents gone. Now I just have to make sense of how I got myself into this "predicament."

Ah well. It could be worse. 

PSA: don't smoke! It will kill your 100 fly times at the pool...

That's all I've got for today. Now out looking for a perfect dessert for after dinner...

 

LATEST NEWS FROM MICHAEL JOHNSTON AT THEONLINEPHOTOGRAPHER.COM. IT'S GOOD NEWS. GO READ IT !!!

 https://theonlinephotographer.typepad.com/the_online_photographer/blog_index.html

Kirk goes all "Thomas Heaton" and makes landscape photographs. Daft? Like a bloody fox. Brilliant!!! Blimey.

 

I was ready to get out of the center of the city so I decided to get rid of my really nice, fast, comfy, sporty sedan and dump a year's worth of fee income into a bloody good van. Which I then spent months and untold riches into finishing it out as a traveling, three star hotel on wheels. But without a shower, a toilet, room service, or housekeeping services. Or much space. That's okay because I'm thrilled to be able to travel on my own steam to far off places and then sleep in my new van because desolate parts of Texas are so incredibly safe. A quick jaunt to the Sonora Desert? This way I can wake up in the morning, pee on the big patch of poison ivy I accidentally parked in, chew on some nearby tree bark and then use up some of the van's battery juice boiling water on my mini-burner for a spot of tea. I perform gymnastics getting dressed in the tiny space. I should have just gone to bed in my clothes but it was just a teensy bit warm last night and sweating through one's nice clothes on a 95° night, in a metal box is less than comfortable. 

Although the van works most of the time it can be temperamental and make atrocious noises, and sometimes rattle,  but a few thousand quid in repairs later and then "Bob's your Uncle!" (Whatever the hell that means...). 

So, on the road. Getting away from the stress of the city and putting some good kilometers between me and the ol' ball and chain, and the bill collectors, and the people who want to give me free broken cameras that they found in the Goodwill resale shop. Offering them up like they are gold. And the hordes of street photographers who don't get the magic and majesty of Landscape photography. the thing I love more than anything else in the world. 

I loaded up the van with the basic essentials. Some beans, some haggis, some treacle, bangers of course, and a good supply of Guiness Stout. I don't really like Guiness but since the van's refrigerator has done a runner I buy it and drink it because it doesn't want to be served cold. Right? Oh, and some biscuits to have with tea. 

Then it's on to the basics of camera inventory. Of course we'll bring the 8x10 view camera and some film holders to match. And the medium format camera of the week. And, of course, something very Sony. Or a lot Sony. Mostly Sony. And a tripod that works for everything. And lots of stuff from Peak Design.

I've packed layers and layers of down filled clothing and fleece stuff. And technical under garments. And funny hats. Like the hats Justin Mott wears --- only warmer. 

Now it's September 9th and I'm geared up and ready for my big landscape adventure. Ready to drive through slush and snow, heavy winds and those thunderstorms that come racing through the....heather? I might freeze to death in the van over night but it might be worth it if I can get the composition right just as the last good light of the day fades to night. Right? And then? Biscuits and tea. Maybe with a touch of jam stirred in to cut the vile taste of Earl Grey tea... I can already imagine the melody of the sleet slamming it's peppy cadence on the roof of the van once I get it parked at low tide somewhere...close to the shore...

But then it dawned on me that the exhaustive trip I had in mind was just a short ramble over to Pedernales Falls State Park. A short 40 minute drive from my house in West Austin. And I'd mostly want to leave after a hearty breakfast at home. And I'd arrive there around noon, hike to the spot that I was thinking of, walk around for an hour or so, take some photos and then, when the heat gets to be too much, maybe just head back home, ring up my favorite restaurant to make some evening reservations and be done with the whole undertaking. Yeah. That sounds better. And cheaper. And easier. And then I won't have to give up a fast car for a top heavy van loaded with bedding and weird wiring. And awkward smells...

Yep. that's the ticket. Forget the van. Forget the sleet and snow. Forget the icebergs sliding precariously across a mountain road in eternal night. 

Home in time for the prix fixe dinner at Chez Extravaganta. Can't wait. Oh, and here is another attempt trying my hand at Landscape photography. Doesn't work for me. But I'll keep trying. Please buy my prints and my books and follow me on .... oh, never mind...

The color version.

the black and white monochrome version.

Variation.

indecision.

Collage or hodge-podge?

Huge dust bunnies? Nah, aircraft warning buoys.

the "Terry Richardson" version. 

the Garry Winogrand version. 

the Stephen Shore version. 

The Robert Adams "study." 

kirk makes a valiant attempt to do a vertical photo. 

Got my "S" curve working. Magic. I smell a limited edition calendar in the works....

The sad camera that was forced to participate? The gun metal version of the Leica M240 (m-e). And everyone's favorite landscape lens... a 50mm f1.4 rangefinder lens... thypochke = the Russian version. 

It's Tuesday. I'm thinking about attending the LSI (Leica Society International) meeting in Montreal October 23,24, & 25th. Who is going?

 

photographer with Leica TL2 camera. At the W Hotel

The LSI grew out of the original organization called, The Leica Historical Society of America. Going international pretty much made the original name a bit... obsolete. I attended the LHSA meeting as a guest of LHSA back in 2000, when it was held in San Antonio, Texas. That was resolutely and firmly in the film days for Leica. 

A year earlier I had written a long piece about the Leica M6 system for Photo.net. The article got millions a millions of page views and hundreds of sometimes heated and confrontational comments. It got Leica's attention. One of the main speakers at that year's meeting was the famous rock-n-roll/music photographer, Jim Marshall. He and I spent some fun hours at the bar at the Gunter Hotel one afternoon. He was beyond interesting, and hilarious once we got going. 

I'm thinking about attending the meeting in Montreal for three reasons. Maybe four reasons. First of all I wanted to go to Montreal in October anyway and had been lazily planning a trip there long before I got news about the LSI meeting. Second, my friend and fellow Leica enthusiast, ATMTX is already on board with the meeting and made his arrangements a while back --- before I was even aware of the event. Third, a photographer whose YouTube channel I follow, Gajan Balal, will be one of the speakers and I'd love to listen to his commentary. And finally, four: There is always a tech component to these shows with new product announcements and showcases. And if history repeats, there is a marketplace appended to the show filled with used Leica products and knowledgable vendors. 

If a bunch of VSL readers are headed there for the LSI show it might be a fun idea to schedule a casual coffee meeting on one of the mornings, pre-show opening. Or not.

On the other hand I'm not much of a joiner and might just head to Montreal for no other good reason than to walk around aimlessly with a Leica "X" in hand and make pretty pictures while taking advantage of great hotel rates. I'm most likely going one way or another.

Swim news. In previous years, when I have gotten a flu shot or Covid vaccine, the following days have usually been...uncomfortable. Sore arm. Headaches. General bleariness. And some low energy swims. But not this time. While my right shoulder is a bit sore I'm generally pretty good shape. I woke early, ate an early breakfast (a couple hours before my 8 a.m. swim) headed to the pool early. The outside temp, according to my car's electronics, was a wondrous 63°. Even better, the water temp was a perfect 78°. 

I swam with Dan this morning. He's a former college swimmer who is younger than me by a decade. He's fast! But he's fun to swim with. And accommodating about intervals. They have to be just long enough for me to make them! Coach Jenn put up a complicated and challenging set of distances with ever shortening intervals. I was mostly out of breath for the better part of an hour... The things we do to maintain those glistening, Adonis-like bodies...

Travel. Now tossing an M Leica in the Subaru Legacy Sport and heading West towards Fredericksburg, Texas. Just for the heck of it. A nice, sunny day on which to walk around and photograph somewhere different. But still thinking about the LSI thing. I'm at a cautious maybe right now.

Hope everyone is happy and having fun today. 

OT: Rockin the new Covid vaccine this morning. "Be Prepared."

 I mentioned to a group of swimmers this weekend that I was heading over to get the Covid vaccine on Monday morning. Everyone seemed indifferen to the idea and talked about acquired immunity or something. I mentioned that I'd gotten the previous shots but I HAVE NEVER HAD COVID. People were surprised that there are actually people who have NEVER HAD COVID. But the vaccines seem to work; at least for me, my spouse, my extended family and a lot of people who don't fly across the country at the drop of a hat. Or sing in a choir. Or go to packed blockbuster movie openings. Or hang out at crowded bars. 

At this juncture I think 93% of people in the USA who have been tested have tested positive for Covid-19 antibodies in their systems. That leaves 7% completely uninfected. 

But my diligence in getting the vaccine, especially as a 69 year old, is not only to prevent initially catching the disease but to also have a shot at surviving it. People are now acting like it's no different than the common cold but according to the CDC 2,200,000 Americans have died of Covid19. That's a lot. And the vast majority of them are in the demographic that I think is most prevalent among VSL readers: Ages 55-90. 

Keeping current on the vaccines is no guarantee that you'll never catch the virus but it is a statistically relevant way of preventing death or lasting infirmity if you do get the virus. 

And for all you old, cheap bastards, the vaccines are widely available and, to just about everyone 65 and over, absolutely free. Takes ten minutes out of your day. May keep you from coughing to death. Seems like a smart trade off to me. 

I got the latest 2025-2026 formulation of the Moderna vaccine which is said to do a good job against the newest strain of the virus. You could get one too. 

I'm flying across country several times in late September and mid-October. Nearly every one I know caught their first bout of Covid right after flying somewhere for work or vacation. I'm not taking chances. It's the same reason I don't smoke cigarettes or snort cocaine -- I'd like to not flirt with an early death. And yes, I'll likely wear a mask while waiting at the crowded gate and in the airplane.

I mean, after all, we worked really hard to save up all this cash for retirement it just seems logical to make plans to stick around and enjoy it for a while. Right?

(have no fear, that illustration above is a radiation shielded injector made for injecting isotopes for radiology. The real vaccine needle is tiny and almost pain free in use). 

Now....who is up for a nice flu shot?

Some more random shots with the new Thypoch Simera 50mm f1.4 lens. It's adorable.

It's been hot here in Austin, Texas for the last week or so. I go to swim practice, have coffee and breakfast, read the news and return emails. By the time I've finished with the daily rituals it's generally past noon and already in the mid-90s. By the time I get motivated to go out to photograph it's nudging the 100° mark and it just feels kinda stupid to go out in the heat to walk around aimlessly, taking photographs that aren't really part of a logical, unified project. But not today!

Today a Northern weathe front came through town and cooled us down into the 80s. And it rained. And the rain was most welcome. After a late lunch I fired up the VSL studio car and headed over to South Congress Ave. to play with a Leica M-E (typ240) and the 50mm Thypoch lens. It was raining but not a hard, continuous rain --- more of a drizzle punctuated by bigger drops at random intervals. Stochastic rain?

I wore a hat even though the UV threat was low. The hat is a convenient camera rain cover for those times when the rain picks up and seems more threatening. Mostly paranoia on my part but I'm unsure about the weather sealing on the lens so it seemed prudent to take proactive care of a temporarily unproductive camera. Worked pretty well and I sure didn't mind a few drops of water on my head as I walked along.   

I made one gear mistake. The camera I picked out of the drawer was wearing a +2.0 diopter on the viewfinder. I was wearing my eyeglasses so I didn't really need any correction to see the  50mm frame sharply but I didn't have a convenient place to stick the little, easy to lose, diopter. I stopped and had a quick self-debate. Was it more important to jettison the diopter and just use my glasses; as I do with most other cameras, or should I just stick my glasses in a convenient pocket and continue on with the diopter? I decided on no glasses/yes diopter which, of course, meant that the world around me, when my eye wasn't glued to the viewfinder window, wasn't tack sharp. Not even rusty nail sharp. More like Nerf Gun Bullet sharp. But I decided that I didn't really care if the world around me was a bit diffused and I went on photographing just the same. 

The only real issue, should you decide to go with a +2.0 diopter and no glasses comes when you want to review something you've shot, on the back screen, or when you need to engage the menu for something. Fortunately my eyes aren't so far off that squinting won't work. It does. It just makes me look dorky in the moment. Oh, who am I kidding? Any 69 year old man in shorts, Birkenstock sandals and a goofy hat, with a camera hanging around his neck, is going to look goofy anyway so why bother worrying about it?

I could go on and on about the lens and get lost in the weeds of detail but essentially it works as well as all the other M mount 50mm lenses I've tried. More than sharp enough, good detail, nice mechanics, etc. I like shooting this one wide open because I always feel like I'm getting away with something. You know, f1.4.

I walked through the touristy area for an hour and didn't really see much I wanted to photograph beyond the mannequins and a few details, but that's okay because it's an hour spent moving and taking in the weird consumer culture of one of high end shopping destinations. And it feels weird to write that because when I first came to Austin to go to school this area was very dicey. Lots of really slimey XXX theaters, sex workers working the intersections, drug deals going down and Texas State Legislators routinely being busted by undercover cops for soliciting sex or buying drugs. It was almost a thing to read the newspaper on Monday morning to see which devote, Bible thumping, conservative lawmaker had been caught with his hands in one of the cookie jars --- so to speak.

Now it's one of the pricier neighborhoods in central Austin and filled with high end retail shops and restaurants. One of three or four epicenters of tourism in the city. And still a lot of fun to walk through. If Austin really needs extra revenue the sheer number of parking meters in this areas should be a huge help...

The rain picked up a bit. My previous dose of coffee was wearing off. My hat was getting soaked. It was time to head home through the traffic generated by the 100,000+ people who'd come to watch a football game at UT Austin. And I needed to make sure I had some presentable clothes for later. A nice dinner out with the spouse. A dressier location. Might even spiff up the shine on those shoes...

Here's some more: 

I just missed these two young women taking selfies while holding a tray of pastries. 

I'm not too shy so I asked them if they would do the selfie thing all over again. 

They did. And I photographed them. And they were happy. And so was I. 

Glad NOT to have been wearing felt hat out in the rain. 

Wet felt hats always smell funky in the car on the way home...

Office window at the Hotel San José. 

And a  walkway between rooms below...

I always thought this was a fun car. 

In other news:

MJ at TOP is doing a fundraiser: details:

https://www.gofundme.com/f/the-online-photographer-would-like-to-relaunch

if you like to read his writing about photography (and other stuff) you

might consider making a donation to the cause...

Just sayin.