Summer 2025

June starts with a trip to the Waffle House (#1614). Going at 7pm, it felt sacrilegous. The Waffle House should only be frequented between the hours of 10pm till 11am. At 7pm it was eerily quiet, devoid of life. A single cook and a waitress who was on her phone, arguing with sounded like a lover. She forgot my toast. I didn’t bring it up. You get what you get at the waffle house. It’s a beautiful place.

Next, a trip to the Pittsburgh Zoo. It’s fine. Half the exhibits were closed. They had Dippin Dots.

Back to NYC. I was around for the NYC Pride Parade this year, having missed it last year. A great place to walk around and practice street photography. The outfits are great, the energy is palpable and it’s easy to find an interesting scene.

Another summer in Italy. We head to Reggio Emilia on the Frecciarossa and toured a co-op that made Parmigiano Reggiano, as well as seeing some real Balsamic Vinegar production.

The following day we find ourselves at Pinacoteca di Brera, checking out some art.

From Italy, we head on the train to Lucerne. It’s been two years since I’ve been in Italy and I’ve been needing to hike again.

We find this trail in Stoos where the path is directly on the mountain tops. To get there, we take the Stoosbahn, which is the steepest Funicular railway in the world. At 110% gradient, it looks insane in pictures.

Mt. Pilatus. The signs said 4 hours and 45 minutes. The two of us think we can do it in less than 4. Three and a half hours later I’m sitting on a rock, stopped in my tracks by cramping in my legs. I’ve run out of food, all I can do it rest it off. A Swiss man runs into me and I try my best to talk to him while he shows me a mushroom he found while hiking. I carry on. 4 Hours and 24 minutes later, I’m at the top.

Luckily there’s a tram that goes down. Just riding the tram down the mountain costs 50 bucks per person. I’ll bring more snacks next time. Nerds Gummy Clusters would’ve been perfect.

In the former East Germany there used to be these style of facades everywhere. They’re being modernized, and each year I see less and less of them. I’ve grown to feel nostalgia for them, despite them being decades before my time. I just wanted to immortalize them here, as I’m guessing within a year or two they’ll be replaced with a something more contemorary like the surrounding apartment blocs.

I used the same gear this summer as the last: the Leica M11, the Elmarit 28mm, and the Zeiss Planar 50mm f/2. I’ve been thinking about picking up the 28mm Summicron since I’d benefit from the extra stop of light, but I haven’t pulled the trigger yet. Reviews for the M11 and 28 Elmarit-M coming in early 2026. Since this post is coming at the very end of 2025, I can say that this year I’ve noticed two things about my photography:

• I need to get closer with my 28mm
• I need to use my 50mm more often.

I really enjoy the 28mm, but I’m too afraid of getting close with the lens in too many situations, but all my favorite shots have been when I get closer to subjects, especially with street photography. And for my 50mm, I’m just not using it enough. I love the look of the Zeiss 50mm, I just can’t seem to use it often enough. I think my brain’s just too wired for 28mm, something I want to change for 2026.