My Photographic Journey (Part 6) - August 2011

Then End of the Ricoh GRD

With August came the end of another camera era in my journey.  The Ricoh had to go.  Not because I didn't like it anymore, I still loved it, I just found the deal on a Leica I have been looking for and needed the Ricoh to help fund it.  All in all it was a great little camera.  If it had better ISO performance at night and still had the 40mm adapter I doubt I would have ever gotten rid of it.  But I just had to see what the red dot mystique was about.  Even thought it was small, it produced still to this day some of my favourite shots I have taken. 

Purple Flower Close-up

A long day of work ahead

Trapped Morning Dew

Shadow Giants

Riding the Darkness

The Leica M8

So why did I make the switch. Part of it came from curiousity about the "allure" of the Leica. But mostly it had everything I wanted in a camera. It was light, small, unobtrusive, allowed for interchangeble fast prime lens. On top of all of this it was nostalgic looking and made you feel a connection with the past. It was tough to adapt to because it took all bells and whistles out of photography, forcing you to read lighting conditions much more, and manually focus everything. But I am a bit of an old-timer at heart and I absolutely love the cognitive side of photography. I love that the camera made me think about so many things before just snapping a picture. My picture count went way down as I was thinking about them more, but the quality dramatically improved.

The only drawback though is the Leica has limitations due to its nature. It is meant for slow methodical photography. You can operate it on moving objects but it takes great practice at focusing and knowing the camera. It is a great camera for street photography and as such for all of August I pretty much solely focused on improving my street photography.

Reflections

So Bored....

The Water Tunnel

Entertainment Dancing

Its Right There...

A Breath of Fresh Air

Quiet Alley

Three of a Kind

Isolated

Yawning or Yelling

Two of a Kind

Texting Break

Playing with Colour
It wasn't all black and white shooting for me in August.  I dabbled a little into colour as well.  Black and white is the generally accepted medium for street photography because it allows the artist to easily seperate their subject and story from the busy background, but artists have been playing with colour too.   Colour just adds a whole new dimension to the photos and can often make them lose their impact on the viewer.  But you always have to try :)

Not street - but a beautful lampost at dusk

24H Newspaper Sales

Catching the Light

Twins

Well that once again concludes another part of my photographic journey.  I hope you enjoyed this as much as the last 5.  This month was dominated by street photography but I would still like to hear if you had any favourite images! 

I will tell you mine if you tell me yours :)

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A Rebalance Required

I have to be honest, my interest in photography was starting to falter a little bit over the course of end of August and September.  I kept a small amount of interest alive by trying some new things like shooting film on old mechanical SLRs but in the end something was still missing.

That is one of the main reasons why I started going through all my old photographs from the past year and a half and began sharing my photography journey.  I find it is always inspiring to see how far one's ability and talent has come and I was hoping this review of my photograph's would yield such results.

Two Beers and a Jar of Mayonaise

I was sent this message in a email forward and it had such a wonderful message in it I just had to share it with all of you.  I could not find a better way to get this message across than how this writer did so I won't even try.  So sit, back and enjoy!

I am not sure who the original writer is so I can't give them their much deserved credit

When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar and the 2 Beers.

A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, he wordlessly picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls..

He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was. The professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was.

The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with a unanimous 'yes.'

The professor then produced two Beers from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.. '

Now,' said the professor as the laughter subsided, 'I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life..

The golf balls are the important things---your family, your children, your health, your friends and your favorite passions--- and if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full.

The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house and your car..

The sand is everything else---the small stuff . 'If you put the sand into the jar first,' he continued, 'there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff you will never have room for the things that are important to you.

Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Spend time with your children. Spend time with your parents. Visit with grandparents. Take time to get medical checkups.. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house and fix the disposal.

Take care of the golf balls first---the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand.

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the Beer represented. The professor smiled and said, 'I'm glad you asked.' The Beer just shows you that no matter how full your life may seem, there's always room for a couple of Beers with a friend.

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