tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-15979592130549086982026-05-12T11:45:26.130-05:00The Visual Science Lab A blog about photography. Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.comBlogger6393125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-63550670213455955222026-05-11T22:18:18.328-05:002026-05-11T22:18:18.329-05:00Sony fans like to claim the A7 as the first full frame, mirrorless, hybrid camera. Sorry, that honor goes to Leica. They debuted the M240 in 2012. Sony followed with their announcement in the Fall of 2013. Leica also patented, and built to proof of concept, the first autofocus system as far back as the 1960s. Never commercially produced. Everyone acts as though Leica is lagging. They're just waiting for everyone else to catch up...Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-10153361721741983392026-05-11T11:29:34.918-05:002026-05-11T11:29:34.919-05:00I have been reading books and listening to blog posts about the mechanics of successfully retiring. Most suggestions have nothing to do with money... I read too much. I guess that's better than watching too much TV. Or watching sports on the internet. Lately I've been trying to get through books about successfully retiring. About meaning in life. About dealing with loneliness --- and it dawned on me that the perspective of most of these articles and presentations are aimed very specifically at people who had or have regular jobs. And by Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-33590346075733913872026-05-09T18:55:24.273-05:002026-05-09T20:40:45.952-05:00More photos done with the APO-Summicron SL 1:2/50 ASPH. And, I actually bought another lens today...While the APO Summicron 50 SL is big and heavy it's also a spectacular lens. Especially so when attached to the front of an SL2. But then photography isn't a sport for sissies. It's heavy but not as heavy as the Carl Zeiss 50mm f1.4 Milvus lens I had in the early part of 2024. A great lens in its own right but so front heavy it was uncomfortable to use for any extended length of time. If you wantKirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-39731971267137894252026-05-09T05:30:00.000-05:002026-05-09T05:30:00.199-05:00The unexpected resurgence of the Leica CL. I blame it on a lens...The Leica CL is a solid, little camera. Pretty much the ultimate expression of a compact but powerful camera for the format. It's an APS-C sensor-sized camera. Leica built a whole little system around this camera and its sibling, the TL series. This camera and the TL were responsible for the genesis of the L mount we enjoy today. The CL was introduced in 2017 and discontinued by Leica in Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-24504416250124555302026-05-08T05:00:00.000-05:002026-05-08T11:01:05.298-05:00Montreal. Food. Markets. Veggies. Fruit. Stuff. Captured while on vacation from vacation. Food is neat, even in its raw form. (Montreal). We could discuss argue about which camera or which format or which lens is the one blessed most by the holy saints of photography or we could just go out to various places and have fun making photographs that appeal, at least to use. I took a vacation and went to Montreal. Everyone told me it would be cold and bleak but of course it was sunny and temperate. I went to the markets and had funKirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com5Montreal, QC, Canada45.5018869 -73.5673918999999917.191653063821157 -108.72364189999999 73.812120736178855 -38.41114189999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-68516847219824242242026-05-07T16:56:49.782-05:002026-05-07T16:56:49.782-05:00Beauty everywhere you look. I was stumbling around on South Congress today, I think I overdosed on staying home and doing chores earlier. I escaped. I brought along a small and discreet camera and paired it with a nonsensical seeming lens; the 28mm f1.4 M lens. The camera was a Leica CL; a small APS-C mirrorless camera. The young woman in the two images above was sitting outside in front of a coffee/juice shop Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-65859561439853975442026-05-07T16:49:46.548-05:002026-05-07T16:49:46.548-05:00Shoes at the coffee shop. What? Decided to become "re-interested" in the Leica CL camera. Why? Because I suddenly realized what a fast 28mm lens is ultimately good for. It's for use as a 43mm "normal" lens on an APS-C camera. And you know what? It works really well...I was focusing on the tasseled loafers in the mid-frame...Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-86767672638970347612026-05-07T10:53:18.103-05:002026-05-07T10:56:46.234-05:00Gone to the market. Looking for colors. Nothing quite like a brisk Spring day, bright sunshine, deep, rich colors and a steady hand with a camera in it. It's gray and cool in Austin now. Today. About a week and a half since I returned from my fun trip to Montreal. An okay day to swim. But not a great day here for photographing bold colors and blue skies. Swimming is so sweet. Gliding through the water is akin to flying. Flying is Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-40009033192155539462026-05-06T10:12:58.207-05:002026-05-06T11:00:55.124-05:00Nuts and Bolts. Time Spent Backing Up The Blog Legacy. The bakery in Lisbon, Portugal that was featured in the thrilling novel,"The Lisbon Portfolio." My favorite question about the novel: "Was this really fiction?"Every once in a while I get flustered by robots scraping this site for content in order to make actual, human writers obsolete by using their own work against them. My knee jerk reaction is to shut down the blog and walk away. Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-12715980606576760372026-05-06T06:00:00.000-05:002026-05-06T06:00:00.118-05:00Even more photos from Montreal.... All images photographed with either a Leica SL2 or an SL2-SAnd, with either a Leica 35-70mm R lens or a 50mm Thypoch lens. Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com4Montreal, QC, Canada45.5018869 -73.5673918999999917.191653063821157 -108.72364189999999 73.812120736178855 -38.41114189999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-77782460363433362242026-05-05T17:32:40.847-05:002026-05-05T17:32:40.848-05:00I tried to be a wide angle photographer. I really did pull out all the stops and work it. Here's three images from a park beside a river in Montreal. No, I don't go up in Ferris Wheels. It's too scary!I took a 21mm Ksana f3.5 Thypoch lens with an M mount and an M to L adapter with me to Montreal. I used it on the SL2 camera. Even though I'm not as comfortable with the super-wide angle focal lengths I thought it would come in handy. And it did. Much handier than I imagined. In fact, I think I used it about 25% of the time, over the course of seven days. It's actually quite nice. It does Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com7Montreal, QC, Canada45.5018869 -73.5673918999999917.191653063821157 -108.72364189999999 73.812120736178855 -38.41114189999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-30594865506854148072026-05-04T13:29:12.904-05:002026-05-04T18:05:05.076-05:00More Montreal. Metro.Not in the Metro.La Remote? Le Remote? El Remote? Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0Montreal, QC, Canada45.5018869 -73.5673918999999917.191653063821157 -108.72364189999999 73.812120736178855 -38.41114189999999tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-63828152374576876142026-05-03T18:00:36.766-05:002026-05-03T18:00:36.766-05:00I'm happy I got to see the Torlonia Collection of Roman Sculpture at the Musée des Beaux Arts in Montreal while I was there. It's wonderful ! From the show: Torlonia Collection: Masterpieces of Roman SculptureMore infoI headed to the Fine Arts Museum of Montreal in search of the Richard Avedon Immortals show. When I got to the museum and purchased my entry ticket the person on the other side of the counter asked me if I wanted to see the Roman Sculpture show. I said I did and asked if there was an additional charge I needed to Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-39648540776026839192026-05-03T11:53:03.578-05:002026-05-03T11:53:03.578-05:00Why the 50mm APO SL lens? .... why not?Stetson's Open Road Hat; imagined for Summer. Well displayed and merchandised at Maufrais on South Congress. As must be painfully aware to long time readers of the blog I have an affection and a deep comfort with the 50mm focal length for lenses that are being used on the 24x36mm format cameras. It's certainly my "desert island" lens. It's the one I have way too many of. But it's the Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-56126262923674992202026-05-03T11:24:26.917-05:002026-05-03T11:24:26.918-05:00The Extroverted Loner. Photographing people on the streets of Austin. With an awkward choice of gear? After the obligatory selfie these ladies grabbed a friend and asked herto photography their group. I asked if it would be okay if I snapped a photo as well. They were happy to accommodate.After days of rain and gray skies the sun finally came out yesterday to buoy up spirits and start the drying out process. The Farmer's Almanac says we in Texas will have a cooler and wetter Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-51677563854984092922026-05-02T11:44:06.083-05:002026-05-02T11:44:06.083-05:00The Extroverted Loner. (tm). A few more images and thoughts from Montreal.A complimentary bottle of wine...Thoughts all the way down at the bottom of the post.No color to black and white (snob vocab: Monochrome) conversions in post.Commit to black and white in the camera in Jpeg. No going back. No second guessing.Honor your own intention in the moment. No surrender. Montreal Photographer, Pierre Charbonneau. Hotel Gault. One of my two favorite hotels in Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-50805855950335625902026-05-01T18:18:33.848-05:002026-05-01T19:58:12.079-05:00A Solo Photo Vacation with a couple of cameras, no schedule and a welcoming city. A summation by the Extroverted Loner (tm). Self portrait in Crew Café. Using the SL2-S and the Thypoch 21mm f3.5 lens.It was a rainy morning in Austin. I got a notification from Air Canada at 5:30 in the morning letting me know that my departure was going to be delayed for three hours. I rolled over and went back to sleep until later. I hadn't flown since our trip to Chicago last Fall and was expecting the worst from airport security and Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-40717660671311083512026-05-01T09:13:53.693-05:002026-05-01T09:13:53.693-05:00Evening ramble in the Old Town of Montreal. Late night. Old Town. Montreal. Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-57397900939868394892026-04-28T18:07:52.035-05:002026-04-28T22:39:24.673-05:00My not so secret "mission" last week in Montreal. I first became really, really aware of Richard Avedon and his amazing photography reading an extensive profile done about him in American Photographer Magazine in 1980. I think I got the year correct. I was traveling in Europe at the time, was relatively "underfunded" and that magazine, with the large photo of Avedon against a black background on the cover, ate up all of my magazine budget Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-64509435456934065532026-04-28T12:00:00.000-05:002026-04-28T12:00:00.113-05:00A few selections from my upcoming, soon to be bestselling book: THE MANNEQUINS OF MONTREAL. Just trying to wrangle a sponsorship from Leica...Ancient Roman Mannequin seen somewhere around Montreal last week.Hey! Leica!! All of these images were photographed using wonderful Leica cameras. And some Leica lenses.We'll keep posting the stuff regardless but you might want to dip into the marketing budget and send along one of those fabulous SL3 cameras. Then we can really do justice to these underserved mannequins. Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-7462035030915949982026-04-27T15:54:12.205-05:002026-04-28T11:07:59.577-05:00My trip to Canada was fun and, because of a last minute gear concept rethinking, quite different than what I first imagined. The last thing I wrote before I headed off to Montreal, Quebec, Canada, was about the gear I had "decided" to bring with me. I kept imagining a package of gear that was small, light but effective. Stuff that would fit into one small Domke canvas camera bag and, while limited in scope, might effectively funnel me into doing good work by eliminating distractions. Mostly the distraction of "too manyKirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-35970133321450540212026-04-26T22:30:12.968-05:002026-04-26T22:30:12.969-05:00Back in Austin! Dorothy was right: "There's no place like home." I've got some processing ahead of me but I'll have a blog up sometime tomorrow. Yeah. First day at the hotel I got a note from the front desk: "Kirk, would it be okay if we upgraded you to a suite. No charge, of course..." Well, I thought about it for a while and then decided I might as well give it a try.I ended up taking a totally different set of cameras than I thought I would. I'll write about it tomorrow. Also, brazenly carried an "untaped" and "Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-21462865328816950642026-04-17T16:18:00.006-05:002026-04-17T16:29:05.056-05:00Packing is such sweet sorrow. What to take and what to leave behind? The mechanics of being an eccentric photographer going on vacation...From a project for the Texas Hill Country Wine Association. Naw. I'm not heading out to pick grapes in central Texas. This time I'm heading further afield and am doing so without a client attached. Or a travel companion of any sort. I'm going off with a small Domke bag that has some carefully selected cameras and lenses as well as the few accessories I know I'll need but might not be able toKirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-18758885735467981172026-04-14T12:13:00.004-05:002026-04-14T12:22:43.522-05:00It takes time to learn how to stop working and start art-ing. But the learning process is, for the most part, fun. Being retired isn't much different than working as a self-employed person. You can end up going through some of the same motions to create art that you like, you just ditch the clients --- and by extension you ditch actually getting paid to walk around with a camera. At some point it dawns on you that you spent a life time investing so that your money can do the heavy financial lifting for Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-1597959213054908698.post-21664383074324361852026-04-13T18:39:00.003-05:002026-04-13T18:40:44.842-05:00As part of my preparation for my photography creation adventure (upcoming) I've been taking out "candidates" from the gear inventory to see which system/camera/lenses I really want to use for six days straight. So far this combo has the inside track. It was cloudy and rained on an off yesterday. I thought it was the perfect atmosphere in which to test a camera and lens combo. I'll be traveling next week to a favorite photo location and I want to make sure I'm taking gear that I really love. No clients to please and no affiliation with any camera company which might nudge me away from good judgment. I get to just select the stuff I like Kirkhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/10817860941525302936noreply@blogger.com0