A boot kind of day. Allen's Boots on S. Congress. Part of a partly air conditioned ramble.

 

If you were wondering what to get that special lady in your life might I suggest some knee-high, white cowboy boots? Just the thing for formal occasions or a quick run to the neighborhood quickie mart to pick up a six pack and a loaf of white bread...

Yeah. I went for another walk down S. Congress Ave. The weather was worse than on the day earlier this week when I curtailed my hot, afternoon walk in favor of shopping. Today was downright soupy. Highs near 100° with humidity high enough to support aquatic life right here on the sidewalks. But after spending time cleaning up my office and taking care of business details I was feeling a twinge of cabin fever and I knew the cure. 

I chose a walk up and down the prime shopping area of S. Congress Ave. because there are a number of fun shops and boutique hotels and I could duck in and out of the air conditioned spaces to balance out the geothermal load. One of my first interior stops was at Allen's Boots. Ground Zero for sales of over the top cowboy boots to tourists. and those deep into Western Wear fashion. I love seeing just how insane a boot people will consider as part of their regular haberdashery. 

I used a Leica SL mirrorless camera and a Sigma 45mm f2.8 lens for all the photos and I wouldn't really bother mentioning tech stuff if I had not been so impressed with two things. First of all, with the lens set at f5.6 it's really very, very sharp and impeccably optically behaved. And second, when I opened up the boot files (as opposed to the boot directory) I am amazed at how well the camera handles files shot at ISO 6400. Scroll a bit down and look for the green boots detail shot and the pink boots detail shot, and also the ladies shopping in a group shot which is in the vicinity. All done at 6400 ISO and as saturated, and happy as can be. I did use the A.I. Denoise in Lightroom Classic but sparingly and with a light touch. The files were perfectly fine without my intervention but I did see some noise in the dark areas before. Nothing dramatic and certainly only noticeable at 100% enlargement on a good monitor.

That camera and lens are a lovely combo and I've heard that another one of my friends has snapped up his own mint copy of the camera to add to his collection. He's thrilled with the images he's getting and that means a lot to me because he has experience with a vast number of cameras and, in some regards, he's much pickier than I. 

Yes. Allen's Boots has more than boots. They've got hats of many varieties as well as a collection of Western style shirts and jackets. Everything you need for an evening of two stepping at the Broken Spoke (historic Texas dance saloon...).  Buy a Stetson there and the boys at Allen's will fit it and shape if for you. Kinda fun....if you are into big cowboy hats. 

Here's the green pair I was writing about. No noise anywhere but in the shadows.

6400 ISO. Works for me!  Ditto below.

I spent time looking at all the boots and photographing them. No one ever stops to question an older "tourist with a fancy camera." They just assume it's all okay. And, for the most part, it is.

After a loop through the outposts of high commerce I headed back to my car and skedaddled back to my neighborhood to sit down and take a look at the results. Thank goodness for air conditioning. And accommodating retailers. And zany boot makers. 

In the image just above there was a white price tag glued onto the front of the shelf. I used the new object removal tool in LRC to expunge it. Amazingly good. Where was this feature two weeks ago when I had to clean up a muddy sidewalk in a group photo? That would have made my retouching adventure a lot more fun...