On Pause

...until next April!

Photo Daniel M: Lumix GX8 /G VARIO 12-60/F3.5-5.6

The (photo gear) example not to follow ... Well, not for all of us!

 Trying and working with several camera and lens models and systems over the last, let's say, four or five decades, I often thought to myself, is it so pertinent to do so considering that a good photographer with a decent piece of equipment can produce very competent image output in a long period of ownership and regular use? And is the only true or, more maliciously, is a classic pretext to overcome any discussion about the qualities of an upgraded photo gear? Only God knows (or his hairdresser)!

Photographic gear has been (and still are) in constant evolution since more than two centuries. So, it is not, in any ways, a new debate. Many technical aspects have been enhanced like optical formulas, analog film performances, internal camera mechanisms, focusing techniques, exposure metering systems, ergonomics, etc. This long process has been translated in many cameras, lenses, and accessories (like flashes, motorization) variants over the years and the decades.

And this is not a "You Tube" phenomena!
Major camera manufacturers like Leica, Nikon, Canon, Minolta, Pentax, Olympus, Konica, and many others have introduced a lot of system itineration and, sometimes, complete overall redo of their product line up. And, honestly, I have spent a lot of time (and money!) to try and experiment *** some of them and I was not the only one, I can assure you. Photo magazines (the paper ones) for one were presenting a lot of different gear reviews although the presentation pace was a bit less frenetic in those times compare to the actual Web race to be in the front firsts.

The point is that the new photo gear offers you new technologies that facilitate greatly how we do photography with a better success rate. It also simplifies the learning curve which can be very frustrating for photographers even for the most experimented ones (who often will deny it, of course). All the technical aids are giving you better opportunities to concentrate yourself on creativity and composition of your picture subjects. So, novelties can be a good thing and ... future can be better than past! Saying that, it is not everybody who wants to embark into the ever-changing train of technical evolution which have its own logic in terms of habits and picture results.

The problem of today's photo equipment "You Tube" reviewers that many of them are idealists or tend to justify their personal choices or want to reach a higher clickbait as possible. That can be seen as the result of our Web communication revolution that is promoting instant rewarding based on the size of the audience. And the "Web Like" phenomena can be observed to almost any subjects presented there. Photography is only a very small part of it.

The fun of trying something else!
There is an interest for every different tool available but there is no real tool that will fit perfectly for everyone. It is a question of ergonomic, of interface, of results attended. If you are a curious person, you may like to experiment various photo equipment that will add to your total knowledge on gear variations versus their appreciation to use them or not. And curiosity is a bad thing as we use to say or to hear from our childhood or ... maybe not after all! Learning a new interface may be a good opportunity to further learn certain photographic fundamentals or to break preconceived barriers to creativity. And if you don't try it, you will never know.

This is not an attempt to tease you in buying each photo gear novelties that will be introduced, far from that. There are many ways to simply look at new cameras and lenses, virtually or in person. You can even rent them for a day or two. The only suggestion I will give to you if you feel more adventurous (and fortunate) is to keep an open mind about the latest technical developments and their applications into manufactured products. Who knows? You may find your (momentary) Graal!

*** And it is far from terminated! (I hope) ;-)

Photo Daniel M: Fuji X-S10 / 55-200F3.5-4.8; Olympus Pen-F / 45F1.8

On the move : the nomad photographer

 Everybody knows a story about people that have spent the entire life at the same place with the same surrounding and even the same neighbors. A story that seems to be more and more rare in this world in constant upset of many kinds. In short, humanity may be divided in two class of people: the nomad one and the sedentary one, but on a longer run, everybody will eventually change places. The reasons can be multiple like the search of resources, of peace, of better social perspectives, of a better climate, etc. With the demographic exponential grow of the latest centuries et the development of transport and communication structures, there are less reasons to stay put in the same place for a long period of time and, on the contrary the pressure to move has never been so great.

Since the beginning of my professional life, I have occupied seven different residential spaces not counting my two summer refuges. My average time spent in each place was about four years. It is little if you compare that to my parents that have been at only two residential addresses for their whole life spend. And I am not considering myself as a great voyager compared to some others that will be better to rent hotel rooms instead of doing incessant packaging and unpacking their stuff over and over. Why we are moving so frenetically especially considering the insecurity that such action generate in our small life, and not counting some sounding argues from those who are living with us, may sound even today a mystery.

Mobility appears to be a determinant factor to succeed in your life both professionally and personally. We are looking for the better in each case, It is not only looking over the fence for the greener grass but also have access to. So, those fences have been replaced by gates that can be opened easily or simply jumped over. The human animal is in fact a nomad specie that need to go forward even if we don't really know which direction, we are talking about...

On the other hand, we need to have some sort of fixed places because it is impossible to bring with us all the material heritage of a life that will constitute a small part of our modest humanity legacy. So, we are also "temporary" builders because most of our constructions are ephemeral except for some very specific megalomaniac historical monuments.

We can compare our different living places as train (airplane, boat, bus, etc.) stations or rest areas that help us to stabilize our individual situations and to rest for a time necessary to build strength and new knowledges before going back on the road of discovery again. Some of us will spend more or less time during these pauses as for some will stay there forever, they can do. Therefore, human history has been a transitional one to the last frontiers we can imagine and travel for. It is that dynamic nature that has been qualified as evolution and that photography and other interpreting media and expressive arts have recorder through time and cultural periods.

Frequent moving will challenge photographers in term of day-today organization, documentation tasks, selecting recording supports and finally finding sharing channels. If we have welcomed the digital ages for some of those challenges just mentioned, there is a growing uncertainty in regard of the sustainability of the photograph itself especially with the phase out of print pictures which have been the traditional way to conserve them through the ages. Speaking from my own modest example, I have almost lost all my photographic archives without any chance to recover them. Is it the price to pay for mobility? May be but there is also the lack of other interests to document the past compared to the previous generation. We live now in a kind of narrow instant past-present-future that seems to exclude any further necessity to expand our historic references.

Some aspects of moving are less critical. Changing places is having the opportunity to observe and learn new things, new behavior and try new experiences. Without the past social pressure on our shoulders, we can reinvent ourselves on and on (That doesn't mean that there are no more restrictions but, at least, they are often different!). It can also provoke more creativity with a new perspective and renew subjects and contexts. It forces us to experiment again and get out of our past comfort. So, at the end, moving can help us to be a better experimented photographer.

Good moving!

© Photos Daniel M: Lumix G95 / G 25mm F1.7 (X 2);  Fuji X-S10 / 55-200mm OIS

Details...

 In photography, the devil is in the details. Sure, the entire context of a picture can be paramount for a better understanding of the story behind, but details are always captivating the lookers and are pushing their reflection about the subject. More than that, the detail can be the only picture object subject. They are becoming an extraction of the total reality of the complete situation. And details have a soul of their own. Don't minimize details and maximize their impact instead.

© Photo Daniel M: OM-D E-M1 III / 12-40F2.8 Pro

Micro Four Third??? Yes Sir!

"The reports of my death have been greatly exaggerated." - Mark Twain... and MFT!

We will reverse the problem for one time: Why all those so-call "full-frame" aficionados want that the Micro Four Third sensor format is a dead end into the photographic and videographer gear world of today? It seems a kind of incessant frustration in regard of a certain ascertainment in regard of the difficulty to be a compact and affordable sensor format system when we speak of the digital 35mm incarnation (24 X 36mm mini film format).

But enough controversies to simply celebrate the new gear introductions by OM System (Olympus OM-1) and Panasonic (Lumix GH6) proving that there is still a "market" for good ideas and ... for the good taste! These two new camera models personify the two major MFT trends as photographer and videographer devices. They are professional (or financially comfortable enthusiasms!) intended products, but we understand the marketing goal intention from the two manufacturers to establish a renew credibility. On the side, OM System have proposed new lenses that are a kind of bridges between their most expansive "Pro" optics and their "Premium" amateur ones.

With the Asian market pressure, it is conceivable in a near future that more MFT amateur products will be introduced equally but keeping in mind that the middle range offer will certainly decrease accordingly. So, save your money if you are looking for a more sophisticated camera model with more manual configurations available. The same may apply for the optic offer composition.

Cameras are devices primarily designed for photographic and videographic purposes which is not the case for smartphones or tablets. The last are evidently difficult to handle properly and don't have the same use flexibility. For people who like to do and create imagery with a high-quality level in more extreme subjects or contexts, "real" cameras are still the first choice to make in terms of gear and use. But there is always this historical search for more compact and less intrusive photo (and video) devices, and therefore the MFT sensor format can be a beautiful, complete and reliable answer to that demand.

So, what will be the (far) future of MFT sensor format as for traditional photography as for any visual art techniques? We cannot say it in this great adventure of human expression but that have never prevented us to have the pleasure to do and share photographs between us.

© Photos Daniel M: G95 / G 25mm F1.7; G Vario 12-60mm F3.5-5.6