The vertical touch!

Foreword: It is true to say that I have a special commitment with "vertical" framing since my early 35mm analog photography times. I always found the "portrait" way of taking picture more dramatic, more incisive of the subject. Even with a traditional panoramic perspective in view, the question if the "vertical" should be a better picture rendering is always part in my mind.

It may be a cinematographic bias to have the habit to see our surrounding world into a panoramic view, i.e., horizontally framed. And we have a tendency to privilege "vertical" framing mainly for a portrait type composition. But selecting an "upper side" view as context photography is rarer to do and to share. Even doing systematically for a photo project with vertical frames can be difficult to present in terms of continuity or acceptability.

Explore the height is not a usual eye reflex except for some specific subjects like humans or urban buildings. But most of the time our view will be directed to a horizontal search or a panoramic scan. It can be a kind of ancestral behavior that has been implanted for survival purposes. Looking at the sky has been associated to the dreamers, the mystics or the oddly curious ones. Activities like writing for westerners is a highly horizontal exercise although some people are very good in diagonal paper reading!

What didn't really help those who are tempted to do vertical framing is the fact that many camera models are much more designed for a panoramic view. In the past we have seen specific cameras that privilege a vertical view but today those curiosities are sparse to find. So, doing vertical framing will ask you to perform some adaptations in the way you are taking pictures with your camera, especially holding it and interact with its interface. Some camera models will be more adaptable with the addition of an optional "vertical" grip although the combination camera/grip will be bulkier and heavier (and more noticeable from the subject!). In a common rule, we can observe that the compact cameras are easier for doing vertical framing (in flipping them on the spot) than the bigger cameras.

Subjects that can be vertical. I cannot no special limitation to select a vertical framing of a subject even-though that many teaching photographers would tell you the contrary especially for projects like landscapes and panoramic view attempts.

Subjects to explore vertically. All subjects can be vertically interpreted although some are more usually done like portrait, fashion, action close-up, etc. Some like urban architectures are now well represented and some others like landscapes have a less propension to be treated in the "upper" way. The question for the photographer is to ask herself/himself if it will be not interesting to try it.

Vertical contexts. Are there pictures taking situations more suited to a vertical view? Probably not because at the end it is only a photographer personal iconographic interpretation. It can be done in many ways during the photo taking session as for the post-treatment of the picture selected.

Vertical fragmentations. We already know and appreciate the work and the result of assembled pictures to get a panoramic view of the subject. The subject by itself may be decomposed in different part illustrated by a picture assembly. The same can be done vertically although it seems odd from the start, but the experimentation should conduct us to better understand the intrinsic nomenclature of a subject and its context and surrounding.

Reframing in post-edition. A vertical lecture of a horizontal picture is another option that a photographer may choose after a photo session. This was very popular during the analog photography era especially in using a square frame medium format camera. With a larger negative the drop-off image quality was staying on the minimal side. In fact, cropping a recorded image afterward will force you facing with some kind of picture resolution and definition lost that may result in a none-suitable final presentation for your taste. With high resolution digital sensors that phenomena will be less perceptible if not almost negligible.

Preferring a vertical (rectangular) framing for your image is, at the end, a personal creative choice. It can be more likely a photo taking bias insuring that way a stronger vertical interpretation of your subject on the spot and it assure you an optimum quality image recording. By pivoting our natural way of eye scanning the context and the detail of a subject, it destabilizes the looker and force him/her to pay a different attention to the picture with less filtering bias. It may be the reason that we are now seeing more and more vertical photos alongside with the smartphone popularity. It may the future standard, who knows?

Full psycho of the syndrome of the mania for the newest photo gear available!

What about 1973 or 1987 or 2004 or 2021? Are they special years in my entire life of spending (a lot of) money on photographic gear from the cheapest to the expensive ones? And when that race of flavors will be ended by my own incapacity to take pictures?

What has been a story of ambiguity and unbalanced passion in getting and trying something else to do photography? Because did I really know or not what I was doing with all these iconographic devices named under fantastic names from every foreign language even from some nonexistent ones! Should I really try to enumerate them or should better be to forget all these material ephemera pieces of past uncommon human genius.

The big question is for what higher purpose do we need to substitute our successful equipment for the newest one. Surely the taste of the day may play an important role. Curiosity is another factor and our love to look over the fence and see a brighter landscape. The there is also all these influential people that promote all these novelties with the implicit complicity of the manufacturers or simply because they want to be ahead of everyone.

Lately I was struck by the futility of always changing for something, let say honestly, that will allow us the same level of artistic or documentary satisfaction or may be worse ask us to do again an apprentice for devices not really more technically appealing. At the end we are facing very consuming habit just for the desire to own something that will be replace in a short future by another one. What is the use to do so again and again? Do we have learned something regarding this futile material behavior.

Hopefully, may be because of the pandemic, although it has started a bit before, there a recent trend to go back to basic photographic good, reliable and still performing photographic gear that are fulfilling nicely our photographic task with a much lesser price in term of money and in term of spending time for their learning curve of use. You can consult over the Web some interesting articles or posts about less recent camera models or lenses that their respectable authors are sharing and are still proving their pertinence.

What lessons we can retain from the race for the photographic latest gear acquisition mania. May be that, for some, they cannot prevent the appeal to switch for the newest of the newest. For many others, that material rush doesn't seem to be a logical way of doing photography because of the more importance to master the medium by themself and doing their own technical artistic choice over the inside camera computer internal algorithmic.

At the end it is a matter of needs, tastes and ... money!

Light poles (... in Canadian winter!)

Going outside during the winter season is not popular among every people that don't really appreciate the cold and frosty feeling on their face. If you are living in a more urban area, it seems that the cold level perception is much higher may be because you are a little bit more habit to a warm inside way of life.

So, going outside will require you to be better accordingly clothed for preventing the obvious discomfort and the frost bite dangers. But winter is also a wonderful season of light mainly because of the lower angle of the sun during the shorter day period of time. Just be beware about your in-camera battery shorter life and bring with you some extras.

This series has been taken in Montreal near the Rockland Road overpass

A race that never stop!

On the contrary of we may have thought last year (2020), the manufacturers of photo equipment have been very active not only to consolidate their infrastructures and operations but also by offering a surprising high level of new products. The fact that the traditional photo market has been more limited and definite than the passing years before can have helped a lot.

Photography have generated a nice niche consumer market during the past decades (and centuries!). Oppose to the habitual mass market concept, a narrowed specialized consumer base deeply simplifies the technical and marketing challenges with specific needs and constraints and the traditional photo equipment market have learned its lessons about the numerous attempts (and failures) to overpass this simple fact.

The rich, the poor and the maniac are may be the real segmentations that characterize the photo gear market base. The rich composed from professional and wealthy people, the poor that are ranging from the newcomers and the modest wallet persons, and the maniacs made of enthusiasms and aficionados of the domain. The task for the manufacturers is to fulfill a part or the complete spectrum of this market which represent millions of potential sales because it is a "large" niche market after all!

There is no certitude for anybody, big or small, into any consumer market. Photo equipment market cannot escape that constatation. From a very strong position, you as a manufacturer may move to a much more fragile state in a short period of time and past examples are numerous and dolorous. The best ideas, the better concepts, the finest products are not a full guaranty to success or longevity. Even a trademark name may not be sufficient to survive.

Reviews from last year (2020) activities about photo gear announcements and product introductions have presented you their own choices of the more significant novelties. These preferential listing are often incomplete and a personal interpretation of a real overview of the photo gear market in term of importance in view of a more global analysis. What we have seen during these twelve past months is a surprising resilience from manufacturers to survive, regroup and progress in spite of a very disturbing media climate. Already forecasted programs have been rearranged to face the new challenge of the pandemic input shortages difficulties. Moreover, manufacturers have accelerated the rationalization of their production plants. And some players finally decided to exit may be faster the market.

In the whole, Canon, Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Leica and the non-mentioned others, are still in activity and are not certainly going to throw the towel in a short term. Although they will play their cards differently, their maintaining market presence is the best reassurance that the consumers can ask for the moment. For a specific product or line of products from each of them, we cannot predict a specific continuity, but for the trend, we can be reassured of an active future. Yes, that race is still on the go and promising!

All pictures from CIPA - Camera & Imaging Products Association.

Winter grip needed!

At the start of every winter in Montreal (Canada) the same story is repeating itself and, here and there some (mild season's) bicycles have been surprised by the first snow fall. If lucky, their owner are able to recover them but there are always some others that are becoming orphans that ultimately be freed the next spring, usually in a very bad shape, by the municipal services. The most strange about this is that the unlucky ones  are staying "safely padlocked" all the winter season!

Santa Claus doesn't exist!!

This year 2020 has been a very peculiar one in every senses. Not only for the pandemic world crisis, which was a strong event by itself, but also because of this many long-forecasted changes that have been occurred in short space of time. In the photo equipment planet, the consolidation of the mirrorless market was already obvious, and the D-SLR and the compact counterparts have finally been reduced significantly although these last two are still maintaining a niche presence.

I kept a particular affection for the MFT (Micro Four Third) system. Another factor that has guided my choices is the decrease of my revenue resources as many others have experimented this year. Many of my past photo equipment had to be sold but I have no regret since we always have too much material that at the end will confuse us and affect our creativity search.

Secondly and more important is the emergence of new photo opportunities in term of people, places, events, etc. So, how about the next year 2021? It seems that will be a very gradual social process that can highly differ between the nations and the administrations. What will be of the outmost interest is how the world has been altered by the sanitary crisis. The availability of things, of activities, of people gatherings, all these giving past possibilities will be surely revealing a new aspect. Let's hope that photography will record all these changes of the human paradigm.

Photo (real) reporting could be a difficult task in this world of increase of institutional and corporate controls. Furthermore, photographing people is becoming more and more restrictive on the base of respecting personal privacy policies or rules. Facing that trend, spontaneous photography like street, casual even travel is presenting a new challenge for everybody.

Next year 2021 can also be a big transition period to something that is very touchy to predict but, the passion of photography is still convoyed by all the ones who love and care about this powerful artistic medium. Excellent, Happy, Healthy 2021 new Year for all!

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Flash-Post: Double-Double-(Window)-Exposure-Level

Lisbon, Portugal

Flash-Post: Screen-Cat

 

Up-Down Perspective!

Travel-Scape: Palacio Nationale da Pena, Sintra, Portugal

It is difficult to remember today how it was so simple, so available and so easy to travel before the sanitary Covid-19 crisis. Last year (September 2019), we had the chance to visit Lisbon in Portugal and although the historic city was fascinating by itself and deserve to be explore for days and weeks, we decided to take a break excursion to the Palacio Nationale da Pena at Sintra located not far north from the capital. The place and surrounding were gorgeous to photograph (and the weather was accordingly splendid). Looking back to these pictures as a gift to close this tumultuous 2020 year.

Nothing Personal!

"People love to read personal life stories"

I hope it is true although I think everything we wrote is in some ways a very personal interpretation of our small world. Intimate is may be the other way to say it. So, writing about something that is closer to us can be easier to associate us because it is a more accessible life experience.

In retrospect of the recent years, I have found that time have a tendency to accelerate by itself or it may be that our time references are beginning to contain too much remembering that we can memorize. To this general observation, you can also add that the times are always changing with new situations which we have to adjust ourselves, let’s say, along with their positive-negative (and neutral) sides. People around us are aging, new people appears for the good of our future, material things surrounding us are muting to various and different aspects, human technologies are transforming to new interfaces, etc.

I don't think that simply orienting our mind to the reassuring past should be the remedy to insecurity about the apparent uncertain future. Furthermore, this retro-thinking prevents us to better welcome changes that are obviously are not possible to avoid.

In this past year (almost!), the sanitary Covid-19 crisis has been the highlight of our day-today life by imposing us new ways of doing very basic things such as going to your store, eating at resto, receiving friends, be able to enjoy a movie or a show, and many more activities that have been stopped or modified or simply push away into our to do-calendar.

In my family, we were forced to increase our attention for a special care of our aging relatives which was and still is a very complicated matter that has not been fully addressed until this day. Other relatives and friends were difficult to reach at first but by using Web technologies most of the channels have been partly or completely restored.

What we (my wife and I) have discovered in this year 2020 is the importance of concentering ourselves to the essential of life. Simplicity has become our motto for many things. For example, we have sold our propriety to go renting a small apartment in next June 2021. It will give us a better freedom of decision and allow us an easier mobility. Aside that we have renewed our interest to spend more summertime on the countryside as we had begun to do it seven years ago.

In the photographic field, the year 2020 has signify to me the stop of the frenetic material itineration in term of photo equipment which was a very good thing for my shrinking wallet! Many performing digital devices have now enough mature to consider their use on a much longer time period. The photo equipment market is facing an obvious plateau (at least if not a decrease) and the manufacturers (and vendors) have rightly adjusted their production in that perspective. But I must add regarding this good resolution that it will not totally end my envy to try new products time to time (which I have always done since the beginning of my interest in photography).

Lately we have seen the disappearance of some major photo equipment (in situ) events such as the emblematic Photokina in Cologne, Germany. Even before the Covid-19 crisis, most of these events were jeopardized in their future potentiality. More locally I have experimented the same tendency. In some ways I was sad to lose those opportunity to encounter in person and share interest between the members of the photo community. Big and small gatherings should be reinvented instead of being simply virtually transformed. As I may already state, the screen projection should not be the final stage of photography in traditional and fundamental term. For future and longer preservation, photograph should be printed.

To conclude on a personal note, I can restate that my interest in photography has not been too much altered by the last few years changes but the vision of it may have reached a different definition. But the purpose stays the same: "A trace of light that survive a little further than the actual moment of flash!" 

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Two hundred means nothing or everything!

Reaching any numeral level can exercise for some a kind of fascination. For others it proves some kind of persistence. And for other others it represents simply nothing. So, having published two hundred posts over the years on this blog is not in any ways comparable to the more serious personal web sites with thousands of posting and interactions between followers.

In fact, I am only a bit surprised that I have done all those posts *** while many had been less persistent and simply abandoned their channel to go somewhere else. I have found many Internet personal tragedy when I discovered nice now orphan blogs or Web site that had no longer recent activity. You are confronted with broken lines of interesting not only of information but furthermore of beautiful personal and emotive human engagement. However, I can easily understand the lassitude of the creators facing the difficulty of getting positive and interesting feedbacks from their blog visitors.

In my case, I never have really pro-active followers but a good number of visitors which is OK under the Web perspective that people just pick the moment and after that go to another web pick (We do all this!).

It happened a few times that I was discourage to a point that I had almost suicided this blog. It happened again this year during the month of August 2020 (No posts!). And finally, some changes in the way I am interacting with blog have revive the motivation to create new posts with a new approach (like the Flash-Post series). How long it will stand? We don't know because we are facing radical changes regarding photographic interest and ways to produce them under the new human reality of sanitized interact between ourselves.

If you like or you want simply to react to theses blog posts, don't prevent yourself to use the commentary section under the related post. That is always very appreciated!

*** Two hundred (posts) is a nice number but I must add that more than 200 of them have in fact been presented on this blog but some (especially in the early ones) have been regrouped or more drastically removed from their ephemeral prosperity!

Flash-Post: Variation of a stone monk

 

Photo gear variations without fear!

It has been a kind of obsession of the last decades over the photographic planet: the photographic gear mania! Partly because as a human we are curios how the things have been done, by who and with which technique and with which tool. And photography cannot really exist without using a tool that we can define from the antique "sténopé" to the latest modern sophisticated digital camera incarnation.

So, we cannot escape the relentless discussion about photographic gear. Furthermore, gear is also a good cultural representation of our society, the photographic tool had become a symbol by itself like clothing, jewelry, etc. Even if we are strictly staying on the photographic technical level, there is a lot to argue about gear selected to do photography.

I love to try different camera systems and different camera models. It is not only a kind of technical curiosity but also it motivates me to "do" photography! Because the results is not the only mean to get involved in photography, it is also the activity by itself, the act of photographing. In that regard, it is not really surprising that I have over the years try a good amount of different photo equipment. That has been and still is part of my lifespan.

My great personal conclusion after all this diverse gear itineration is the fact that I prefer compact camera systems over bigger photo devices. I have the same taste about automobiles. I find them (compact photo equipment) easy to bring with you, discrete especially in doing public photography such in town or travelling, funny to manipulate with less physical fatigue, highly ingenious for their particular analog or digital interfaces and esthetically more appealing in my sense.

It is true to say that photo equipment gear is becoming more sophisticated over the years but every gear time period have its own charm and I haven't hesitate sometimes to get a gear retro version to rediscover its particularities and to be able to enjoy its own way of doing pictures. Some can argue that I am losing time and opportunities (not speaking money!) by being forced to learn every time how to use a new camera model but frankly each of those ones have a different inspiring way of interpreting a pictorial situation. And the photographic technical basic has stayed almost the same despite many proclaimed hardware and software innovations.

My wife uses to tell me; "Oh! You will try a new camera!" with a bit of irony after all those years and she is absolutely right because I cannot prevent myself to do so. At the end I am an indefensible curious as many of (human) us!

Flash-Post: The death of a leaf

It has been a beautiful summer
But now the fall season is almost complete
And soon we will be entering in the sleeping state of the long winter