Fog

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One of the great joys of living in San Francisco is having a cool and foggy summer. This year especially, I feel grateful for the chilly weather. The entire planet seems to have been enveloped by obscene heat, which is taking its toll not only on humans but also on flora and fauna.

Early in the morning or late in the evening, I find myself on the edge of the waters, enjoying the cool air of the ocean. In the evenings, however, I am enthralled by the multiple formations of Pelicans flying over the restless waters of San Francisco Bay. I captured a few such formations using the Leica M11 camera with a Leica Summilux-M 90mm f/1.5 ASPH Lens. These are edited versions of the photos I captured with the Leica M11.

The 90-Lux lens is a beast of a lens and renders the highlights in only a Leica lens can. These images were made wide open. ISO 64. 1/2000th of a second. Aperture f/1.5. I set the lens to focus on infinity. I intentionally wanted to avoid sharpness. Instead wanted to render what my eyes were seeing and what I was feeling.

July 26, 2022. San Francisco

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Between the Piers! Made with Leica SL2-S & Leica M f2/35mm APO-Summicron. Photo by Om

There are some days when the view outside your window aptly reflects your state of mind. And sometimes those days turn into weeks. This week, I found myself in a foggy state of mind, all too often. The whole mess around the pandemic, the abortion ban, and the general malaise in the planet, added to my broodiness.  

And as a result, I was too contemplative and unable to untangle a lot of thoughts and ideas spurned on by conversations with many smart people.  I hope to finalize a few bigger pieces in the days ahead. In the interim, as always I am sharing what I am reading — and find important & interesting on the link blog They are also shared on my Twitter account. 

September 5, 2021, San Francisco

Sticks & Smoke! Made with Leica SL2-S & Leica M f2/35mm APO-Summicron. Photo by Om

Sept 3: I have been trying to track down my former boss from a while ago. There was a time one could call “directory assistance” and get a phone number. How I am trapped in a spider web of broken/outdated links. What progress we have made with technology.

Sept 3: “The hypocrisy is not lost on any of us that a bunch of people running around shouting about bodily freedom when it comes to vaccination—are the same ones who think women shouldn’t be able to decide whether or not they wish to be pregnant.”  @abbygardner 

Sept 3: “CEOs have political power, particularly in Texas. Maybe they shouldn’t, but they do. Right now they’re abdicating it.” @danprimack  is so spot on!

Sept 2: Just coming across  @seanlock  video clips on @YouTube  is such a mindfk and makes me sad. This genius is gone, taken too soon. RIP.

August 31: “A key to making meetings more productive for me has been providing my meeting agenda items to the other person in advance.” 

 @bump  A very good productivity hack!

August 31: So  @danprimack says we are in the “age of dragons” and you are a member of the club with a minimum valuation is $12b. I wonder how many former unicorns are now “dragons” in public markets, as public markets better barometer of valuation. [Also: Someone just DM-d and said, when things don’t work, they will become drag-ons.] 

August 30: It is somewhat ironic that I find myself doodling about NFTs, networked society, memes, and narratives on paper using an old-fashioned fountain pen & ink.

August 30: Who is willing to trust this line of reasoning from a company that lies more often than being upfront about “anything.”  

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August 29: Starting the Sunday right: new photo book. New coffee. New (old) Coltrane on the music system. Let the day of rest begin!