I want a Leica M3. Always have. For me the M3 represents the pinnacle of camera design, engineering, and construction. The newer, and very expensive MP is probably close, but I’ve never looked through the famed M3 .91 magnification finder, made specifically for 50mm (and longer) lenses. Need to try one. The following cameras are also on my must try list, if only for a short time, so that I can stop thinking about using them.

Above is a photo of my “junk” drawer. We all have them. Years from now, photos like this become valuable as fodder for archeologists. I like to think they will, anyway. I love looking back and seeing how parts of my life were arranged at the time.

What a beautiful lens! As far as I can tell, this Elmar 9cm was made in 1957. Looks lovely on the M4, don’t you think? It still works like butter; so smooth. Hard to believe it was made over 50 years ago. I don’t have anything longer than 50mm in M-mount, so I’d love to try some portraits with it. I expect it to be a bit soft, with a bit of a “vintage” feel to it.

Taken during a Kentucky Derby party last weekend at which everyone wore hats. Including this young lady. She was trying to remain interested in the events, but was losing the battle.

Most Sunday mornings I grab a cup of coffee and my iPad to catch up on feeds and articles I’ve saved to Instapaper during the week. It’s a ritual similar to that of reading the Sunday paper. One recent Sunday morning I found myself thinking about newspapers, so I stopped at a local gas station and picked up the giant Sunday edition of the local paper and sat down to read.

Tweaking my systems is fun. Whether it’s productivity tools, development methods, photography workflow, whatever. Today I find myself messing with my personal notetaking, todo, and calendar system(s). I have both a lifelong love affair with paper and a deskload of electronic gadgets. I don’t consider this a contradiction. I call it using the best tool for the job. Except that’s not always how I decide. And I sometimes change my mind.

I’ve been testing the new Squarespace 6 for a couple of months and have grown to like it. In fact, I like it so much that I’ve decided to start fresh with jackbaty.com right here. Like, completely fresh. All new. Yes, I know this breaks everything. Sometimes that happens. I’ll fix RSS feeds and the most popular former links as soon as I can. The old stuff is archived statically at http://archives.

Tweaking my systems is fun. Whether it's productivity tools, development methods, photography workflow, whatever. Today I find myself messing with my personal notetaking, todo, and calendar system(s). I have both a lifelong love affair with paper and a deskload of electronic gadgets. I don't consider this a contradiction. I call it using the best tool for the job. Except that's not always how I decide.

I like this photo. Here’s why… There’s pattern There’s symmetry, almost, since… …one of the vent covers has had the shit smashed out of it.

The changing of the beer list is always bittersweet. A favorite may be gone but something new and exciting could take it’s place.

It’s nice to walk around outdoors in the spring with the rangefinder and some film.

I like taking photos of bricks. Can’t explain it.