Well, that's it for me for this this week, till mid-June some time—one more new post after this, and then over the weekend I've got to crank on finishing up all the posts for my recovery from my operation. Starting on Monday, if all goes well, you'll find two posts here every day until I return—one a "greatest hits" post from somewhere in my long history as a photo writer, which will appear at 7 a.m. Eastern US time every morning; and the other a quotation from hither or yon. Those will go up at 4 p.m. every afternoon. There are all sorts of them—I had some fun pulling them together. (For example, think hard about the Geoffrey Batchen quote about Daguerre's dilemma as it relates to digital and, say, the Steve McCurry controversy.) The comments will be closed, and I'm excruciatingly sorry about that, because they're one of the best things about this site, but the comment moderator is, you know, me.
I want to thank everyone for all the good wishes. Following your advice, I've resolved to be the best, most compliant patient I can be—I won't even ask the surgeon if I'll be able to play the piano after the operation. I'm trying to concentrate on two things: first, that I might actually enjoy the rest, and second, that I could come out of this seeing better. Which would indubitably be awesome/brilliant. Looking is one of life's great joys.
Have a great weekend. Sending patience, tolerance, kindliness and love to you and yours. Hope you enjoy the programming while I'm away.
All best,
Mike
Mike,
All the best for your operation and, especially, after!
At the Dentist , by Robert Högfeldt :
http://gorchev.lib.ru/hoegfeld-album/images/21-Beim_Zahnarzt_tif.jpg
Posted by: Kristian Wannebo | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 01:33 PM
Sounds like you've got the right attitude, you knucklehead. And there's one more benefit you can look forward to: once you've healed and feel like writing again, you can tell us all about your adventures with restorative surgery.
Posted by: Gordon Lewis | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 02:03 PM
Mike,
Wishing you all the best for your eye surgery and a perfect outcome of course! Use the recovery time to get some rest, you deserve it!
Posted by: Rob Griffin | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 02:21 PM
See you when you get back! See what I did there?
Hoping for a quick recovery.
Jim
Posted by: Jim Metzger | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 02:25 PM
Best wishes Mike. I will take a photo with something other than the phone in your honour this weekend 😄
Posted by: Nikhil Ramkarran | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 03:09 PM
All the best for a successful surgery, Mike! Hang in there. We'll be here when you come back.
Posted by: Frank Sauer | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 03:10 PM
All the best!
We may write comments on Patreon ;-)
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 03:31 PM
Good luck, Mike, hope all goes well with the eyes & I'll see you when I get to Penn Yan!
Jay
Posted by: Jay Burleson | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 03:44 PM
Welcome to the 'spare parts generation'.
And good luck with the replacement parts.
Posted by: paul in Az | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 03:48 PM
All the best! I'm looking forward to hearing about your experience and how your improved vision impacts your life.
Posted by: cecelia | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 03:56 PM
Go Mike Go! Best fishes for a speedy and relaxed mode recovery
Posted by: Eric Peterson | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 04:14 PM
Let me add my best wishes to the large pile, Mike. Everyone I know who's had cataract surgery has raved about the results and wishes they hadn't put it off as long as they did. (Though I guess the fact that they did put it off made the difference more dramatic.)
Good luck with Alexa, too, which does podcasts pretty well, and can play you just about any radio station that streams (which is just about all of them these days). I'm new to Alexa and podcasts myself. My two favorite podcasts so far are Aria Code and Serial. Just discovered Naxos Records has a podcast as well.
I suggest signing up for the trial of Amazon Music Unlimited. You can do that through Alexa, so no rush. Not because it's the best service, but because it is integrated with Alexa.
Good luck, and enjoy the break! Feel free to email with questions about any of the above, or anything else, really.
Posted by: robert e | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 04:15 PM
A while ago, in a huff I said I was gone from reading your column (but I sneak a look now and then). I read your post about your eye issues and all I can do is pray for you and wish you the best, Mike. Some day I will share my issues about cataract surgery, but this isn't about me; it's about you, your speedy and complete recovery.
Posted by: Michael M. Shaw | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 04:26 PM
Wishing you the best, Mike! Looking forward to reading some of your past gems and will be looking forward to your return and the posts on your improved vision!
Posted by: Christopher May | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 04:42 PM
Best wishes Mike. You will come back stronger than ever.
Posted by: David Lee | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 04:45 PM
Best of luck. We’ll be here when you return.
Posted by: Scott Abbey | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 04:57 PM
Wishing all the best for the operation. Equally important: in the period after, may you have the ability to let go and just take care of yourself!
No worries about your readers, they will be thinking of you whilst you are away and will be here when you come back!
Posted by: Martin D | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 05:17 PM
Best wishes - I hope it all goes well and the recuperation time is not too onerous.
Posted by: Rob Graves | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 05:47 PM
Wishing you all the best, a successful surgery and a rapid recovery. I’ll be here waiting for your return. Be well.
Posted by: Dave Levingston | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 06:14 PM
Mike, best wishes for a speedy recovery.
As for great posts from the historical archives, I think your discussion of how the 24x36mm "full frame" format evolved is an educational read. I saw that some (many) of the "photographers" on the infamous Dpreview took umbrage with some of your findings - which guarantees that your observations were spot on.
Posted by: Kodachromeguy | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 06:26 PM
Mike, wishing you a skillful surgeon and a speedy recovery. My wife has been awaiting heart surgery for the past 3+ months, we're hoping it will happen soon. All the best.
[And very best wishes to your wife as well. --Mike]
Posted by: Mike Potter | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 07:09 PM
Wishing you all the best for your surgery and hoping for a speedy recovery.
Posted by: Alan | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 09:02 PM
All the best! See you when come back!
Posted by: Kaemu | Friday, 31 May 2019 at 10:24 PM
Adding to the list of best wishes. Best of luck.
Posted by: David Boyce | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 12:13 AM
Yeh, best wishes from me too, in England.
Posted by: Roger Bradbury | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 06:08 AM
And one more: All the best, Mike. Looking forward to hear from you in a couple of weeks, hopefully with a much improved eyesight. I got eye surgery last November, freaked out quite a lot before - and came out extremely happy with the results. Every morning when I open my eyes, it amazes me again.
May the same happen to you!
Posted by: Fabian | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 07:32 AM
My best to you, Mike.
Posted by: Robert Billings | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 08:28 AM
GOOD LUCK old man (I can call you that because I'm older than you). I know what it's like to have problematic vision.
Just think..you're going to have the vision of a younger man again.
Posted by: George | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 08:29 AM
Be sure to take a selfie with the eye patch. It'll be worth $$$ some day.
Posted by: geo | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 09:21 AM
Heal well, Mike!
Posted by: Ken Ford | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 11:22 AM
I know at least half a dozen people who have had marvelously successful cataract surgery. I hope your experience goes at least as well!
Try not to go insane while recovering and being unable to do anything.
Posted by: David Dyer-Bennet | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 01:55 PM
Here's to the perfect outcome, excellent vision for life!
Posted by: Moose | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 06:21 PM
All the best Mike. I hope it goes well.
Posted by: Rob Allen | Saturday, 01 June 2019 at 06:41 PM
I'm sure I speak for everyone when I say we will miss you during your recovery process. But try not to think about "the job" and take care of yourself. Looking forward to your return. Very best wishes to ya'.
Posted by: Dogman | Sunday, 02 June 2019 at 08:26 AM
To all the good wishes I add mine, but I also want to express appreciation for the work you have put into preparing fill-in posts to keep your faithful followers nourished during your enforced absence. You are probably aware that you really wouldn't lose readers during your convalescence, and your extra effort demonstrates the admirable integrity and diligence with which you approach T.O.P. It seems to me these qualities are becoming increasingly rare, and your readers are fortunate to benefit from them.
Thanks Mike.
Posted by: David Miller | Sunday, 02 June 2019 at 11:44 AM
Best wishes Mike!
Posted by: Ramón Acosta | Sunday, 02 June 2019 at 12:00 PM
All the best! We’ll still be here.
Posted by: Phil | Sunday, 02 June 2019 at 02:49 PM