I have no tales of woe or deprivation. But I did go out for a walk this afternoon and it was hot and sticky. When I got home I had a peanut butter and jelly sandwich and a glass of milk. Then I played around with photos.

 

As you might know I got interested in Japanese photographer, Daido Moriyama, last year. Last night I ordered "Daido Moriyama: A Retrospective" edited by, Thyago Noguiera. It's a stout book and the black and white images are beautifully produced on thick, high quality paper. There are essays by seven Japanese writers and there is an illustrated timeline in the back of the book which shows examples from every period of Moriyama's work; from the early 1960s to near the present. The incredibly high contrast of his images still throws me for a loop but I really love the blunt impact of the photography and the raw nature of the content. No one took time out to fix anyone's make-up in these photos. I think. 

The book was ordered last night and the delivery came this morning at 7 a.m. Just in time for a quick look through with coffee and toast. Inspired I decided to re-arrange my day and prioritize going out into the world and taking photographs just for myself. 

After breakfast I had one quick work task to take care of. We needed some  exterior images of the law firm building and office park signage to use as locators on the website an agency in Florida is creating for the law firm we worked with last week. Their offices are five minutes from my house and this morning was pretty much perfect for the work. Bright blue skies punctuated by glorious high, puffy, singular clouds. 

I spent half an hour there and was actually delighted by the nice breeze and cool air blowing across the space. Two story offices surrounded by lots and lots of trees. I should have savored it even more because by the time I ended my walk downtown this afternoon the heat index was already well over 100° and climbing. I used the Leica CL coupled with the Sigma 18-50mm zoom lens to make the office shots. A great, lightweight combination to use for just about anything destined for a life spent on a website. No sense bringing along the tools of overkill. 

I did take time to import and enhance the 18 images that made my cut. Then I sent them out with WeTransfer.com to the client and the agency. Total transparency in this particular project. 

And then I landed myself in the middle of downtown with a big hat and comfortable shoes.

My Apple Watch tells me I took 8800 steps during the walk with a camera and my average heart rate was around 95 bpm for the walk. Sounds good. 

Since I'd been pre-prandially influenced by Moriyama's retrospective book images in the early morning I decided to take along my favorite little Leica M240. That would be the M-E model with the "anthracite" finish. It seems natural to pair that camera body with the Voigtlander 50mm APO....so I did. The finishing step was to set the camera up to shoot contrasty black and white Jpegs, and to operate in a completely manual manner. No auto-ISO. No automatic modes. 

Once the camera was set to black and white I told my brain to only look for potential images that would look great as black and white photographs. My brain was complicit and compliant. But that's probably because we've practiced together many times before. Mutual cognitive respect, or "M.C.R."  I think my brain knows we could shoot color at any moment but is good at playing along once the settings have been made in the camera which give us the illusion of living in a black and white universe. I was good as well. I never tried to slide backwards to a raw file with the sneaky intention of changing my mind and initiating frames of unwanted color - after the fact. 

The fun, stand out thing for me on the walk was coming across an impromptu open air show of photographic images, framed in five by seven inch frames and attached to a white, exterior wall of plywood that was part of a construction project. The show was right there. Unguarded. Unsupervised. Just available for everyone to enjoy. I loved the idea and the execution. The artist's photos were in color but my documentation hews to the commitment my brain and I made to each other when we started out on the walk.  Black and white.

The images are shown below and I'll circle back and caption them with the author's name. If possible...

I'm always pretty delighted with the way Leica M cameras of a certain vintage handle black and whites in particular and Jpegs in general. As though a group of avid photographers programmed their cameras with love and care. And tradition. And, well... you get it.

Some photos are just the result of dumb luck. Two trucks passing on Third St. Each with truck-side ads for alcoholic beverages. So much fun. I was hoping my reaction times were quick enough. 

I was aided by an agile and "always on" camera. And a 50mm lens. 

High scores at various games. An odd way, I thought, to advertise an arcade. 

But I'm betting it seems normal, good even, to the demographic

the arcade is aiming at...

Ah, the look and the smell of a freshly black-topped parking lot and even fresher yellow striping. 

Again, no pigmenting allowed. 

Here's the impromptu show of photographs formally displayed against white painted plywood panels. Gorilla Art indeed. And actually very, very nice. 

By "HeyItsBigHead" 

A Gorilla Gallery

Since the art is "al fresco" one can inspect it as closely as one would want. 

A nice, sticky Summer walk would never be complete without one fashionably dressed

Mannequin Super Model. Complete with straw bucket hat!

The hike and bike paths around Lady Bird Lake intersect here, and right in the middle of the three path thoroughfares sits a bush. One forlorn but tough bush. I photographed it (above and below) from all three angles and only later it dawned on me that the trail was almost empty of people this afternoon. Was it work? The heat? Just an odd scheduling glitch in the day?

I didn't care. The absence of everyone else gave me lots to time to consider the bush without feeling foolish. And it was quiet. Very quiet. How nice. 

A lovely day for clouds and sun.

this image of me was taken at a favorite lunch spot: Hopdoddy's Hamburgers. I ordered the kale Caesar salad with a Waygu beef patty on top. My dining companion opted for the traditional burger and fries. Then he picked up my Leica M and proceeded to make my portrait with it. I suppose I need to credit the artist: ©2024 ATMTX

It's an inspiring image. It inspired me to get my haircut. 

No more time!!! It's my turn to provide dinner this evening. It's five p.m. and I haven't even produced a menu; much less gone shopping. 

Go out and walk. It's really good for you. Even if it is really hot. Just remember to hydrate. And, yes, coffee does count --- a bit.