Another week with lots of work and very little time for photography. One of the chief pleasures of the week (photographically speaking) was the arrival of a 90mm Tele-Elmarit, a sometimes underrated Leica lens which nonetheless is a delight to use and produces excellent image quality.
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Monday night I had to take visiting colleagues from the European Patent Office out for dinner. We chose Kategorri, a Basque restaurant in the centre of Alicante. It is a true pleasure to eat outside in the evening when it is no longer brutally hot, just normal hot. This is Carolina, a Spanish economist who joined my team in March and is a great addition, not least by her deep experience with national accounts and industry statistics:
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When my 90mm arrived, I tested it on our Swedish statue in the lobby. The advantages of statues is that they do not move. This one is with the Leica M8:
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But in the end, I prefer to test lenses on live subjects. This one was made with the Fuji X-Pro 1:
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Friday evening I took my daughter to eat at a newly opened Lebanese restaurant (called Emessa) on the beach promenade, a couple of km from where we live. I find the restaurant scene in Alicante a bit boring, dominated as it is by local cuisine. Therefore, I always eagerly jump at the chance to try something different:
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Two of Emessa’s small dishes. One the left is Muhamarra, a paste of peppers and walnuts; and on the left Mutabbal, made from aubergines (eggplant). Both were absolutely delicious:
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Falafel, equally delicious. Opening a new restaurant in times of crisis takes courage, and I hope Emessa makes it. I will certainly do my part to support them:
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Another test of my “new” 90mm lens on the M8. Cheeta has seen something on the street she does not like, and so she does her duty and barks at whatever it is:
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On Saturday I went with my daughter to the nearest Apple Store, in Murcia, to fix a problem with the keyboard on the Macbook. We have places in Alicante where you buy Apple products, but no proper Apple store. So we drove the 80 km to Murcia, and while waiting our turn at the Genius Bar, I snapped this picture of a store employee listening very attentively to a customer:
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Finally a couple of cycling pictures. First, another roadside memorial, more elaborate than the usual flowers:
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Abortion “debate” along a road south of Alicante. Abortion is legal and freely available in Spain, but the conservative government, with its strong ties to the Catholic Church, wants to put in place some restrictions, which would seem mild by US standards but are controversial here:
