The Way Others See Me

I've been walking around this town about forever it seems, always carrying a camera or two, and often taking pictures like it's as normal a thing to do as scratching an itch. I guess that sets people at ease, and I usually won't miss a beat in the conversation. On the rare occasion when I'm taking photos of somebody new, and they ask why, my standard reply is something like "Taking pictures? Who's taking pictures? There's no camera here. I'm not taking pictures! Do YOU see a camera? It's all your imagination..." Anyway, it seems to work and I keep right on snapping away.

For several years my carry-everyplace camera was the little Leica CL. That's the one in front of my face. After I bought the Bessa L with that ultra-wide 15mm lens gradually I started to carry that everyplace and eventually stopped taking the Leica CL every time I went out. I loved the way I could get in the pictures myself while operating the camera in one outstretched hand. Either hand will do. Well, on this particular day I got the brilliant idea of taking both cameras with me. I wanted to get a shot of myself shooting with the CL. I was actually chatting with someone on the patio at Starbucks while photographing myself with the Bessa and photographing them with the CL.