This is a photo from the end of August 2015 when I went on a business trip to Stockholm. The city is beautiful, especially because it is on the water, where reflections can highlight the city and bridges, making for some wonderful photo opportunities. I am not sure exactly how much distance I covered during the days I had free, but the city is so walk-able that it I found it impossible not to just wander around the city. In fact, there were a couple of times where I stepped outside the hotel doors, chose a direction and just started walking. There are even some fantastic routes for running right in the middle of the city, which is so convenient. If you ever have the chance to visit Stockholm, you should!
I think this is such a great video for a number of reasons.
First, the photos that Lukasz Kazimierz Palka creates are wonderful and beautiful. I love his night shots, especially the vivid colors and incredible sharpness. He really captures the vibrance of the Tokyo streets and the people there. Fantastic!
Second, I feel he has an honest perspective on his own motivations for photography and why he takes the photos he takes. I thought the way he got into photography was interesting and realistic (a way to get out of his apartment and explore the city), then his explanation that he takes photos of subjects he finds beautiful is honest and straightforward. It’s the way it should be.
And third… it’s Tokyo! My favorite city of all time. It was my dream to live and work there, and I did for a few years. It’s funny to think that I have not been there (even visiting) for 15 years. It seems like it was just yesterday! I really like Osaka, but my heart is in Tokyo. So, seeing Lukasz Kazimierz’s photo brings back so many good memories.
Anyways, please watch the video. I think you’ll enjoy it!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/25 sec, ISO6400 “Olympus XA” Cedar Park, 2016
こんばんは！How’s it going? Over here, it’s raining… make sure to keep dry and stay healthy!
Today’s photo is of one of my favorite cameras, the mighty Olympus XA. It is such a great design, and takes wonderful photos because of the lovely Zuiko lens. I love it, although I don’t shoot with it too often.
Tonight I replied to a post on Flickr that was concerning running out of hard drive space because of shooting many RAW files. In writing my response, I thought about how my philosophy on making photos has changed over the years to where I am now, which is a happy place. Not surprisingly, it has to do with decluttering. Below is the response I posted:
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Just my personal experience…
Short answer: It helps if you cull your photos early on, and be “ruthless” about it. :)
Long-winded answer:
I think many of us have gone through or are going through a similar situation, myself included. There was a time when I was shooting so much, in RAW, kept everything, was running out of space, and “got behind” in processing those files. Photography started being less fun for me.
Then, I started shooting some corporate events and my view on culling the photos started to take shape. Each time I clicked the shutter, I would think “This photo is going to take me X amount of minutes to process.” This left a feeling of dread – I didn’t want to stay up all night processing so many! So I decided I needed to cull more aggressively. Now, if I shoot one event presenter, I might take 40 shots, but immediately (in camera) cull that down to 15, deleting obvious ones like closed eyes, weird mid-talk expressions, etc. Then later in Lightroom, I’d spend one minute to cut that to 3 maximum (more for a keynote), and post-process those.
I then started applying that to my personal work. I found that choosing the best ones in-camera soon after I took them made photography a lot more enjoyable. The sooner I deleted the rejected photos, the less I would think about them and consequently eliminate any regret I might have had in not keeping them. (I didn’t have time to get attached to those photos) And my memory card felt nice and tidy, free of clutter.
Another change that really helped me enjoy photography more is that I now shoot exclusively (for my personal photos) in JPEG. I have found that committing to the image immediately gives me a sense of closure and peace-of-mind. This may sound weird, but to me, a RAW file is the middle step in the photographic process, with the end of the process being a print or JPEG. It’s like the RAW file represents an unfinished project (with endless possibilities) and when I had 1,000 RAW files sitting on my hard drive, it was like having 1,000 unfinished projects just gnawing away at me. (I guess I have some issues!)
So now I cull like crazy, and I’m happy with (or at least committed to) the images I keep, and forget about all the others… it’s a lot less clutter on the hard drive and less clutter in my mind.
Sorry for the long-winded (and somewhat off-topic) message, and thanks for reading.
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I hope you have a nice rest of the evening, and let’s do our best tomorrow!
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/30 sec, ISO6400 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
こんばんは！How’s it going? It’s just about Friday… this week has gone by so quickly. Maybe the fastest for me in a long time, maybe ever. I am so busy at work that the days just fly by!
I haven’t talked about the podcasts that I enjoy listening to these days lately, so I figured I would mention a couple. Of course, I listen to a lot of photography podcasts but my favorite ones are Street Focus with Valerie Jardin and the Photofocus podcasts with Scott Bourne and Marco Larousse.
What I enjoy about these is that they are not really centered on gear or technology. Instead, they focus on the art and inspiration pertaining to photography. I think that at this point in my photography hobby, I am less into gear and specs and more interested in photographic expression. I’m not saying that I am an expert… on the contrary, I have so much to learn about the essence of photography and what it means to have a certain style. I don’t really have one… and as a non-professional, I don’t feel the need to have one. At this time, I just want to document our lives. I try to think what could be interesting to my great grandchildren who might wonder how his or her ancestors lived.
And from a lot of my photos and posts, I bet they would know that Mariko is an amazing cook and baker. Today’s photo is of some donuts that Mariko made at home. I haven’t tried one yet, but they look amazing, don’t they?
Well, I am pretty exhausted… I have been fasting during the daytime and having one meal in the evening. So, I feel great physically and mentally, but get worn out quickly. But it feels good actually… hard to explain but I like it. Makes me feel alive I guess.
Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 0mm, f/0, 1/50 sec, ISO3200 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
As you might know, I love my Fujifilm X100T. It’s my favorite camera I’ve ever owned. But, there are a couple things that could be improved upon. For instance, I wish there were more of a tactile difference between the AEL/AFL and Q buttons on the back. So I ended up putting a couple layers of gaffer’s tape right next to the AEL/AFL button. That’s right where I grip the camera with my thumb, and now I know that the AEL/AFL button is just to the left and I don’t accidentally hit the Q button.
Also, the tape serves double-duty to cover up the LED light that flashes green or orange. I actually used a pin to make a tiny hole in the tape, so I can still see the light, but it is a tiny, discreet dot instead of the super-bright beacon.
BTW, I usually shoot in manual mode, and use the AEL/AFL button as a back-focus button. Really convenient!
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My camera & photos
I use a Fujifilm X-series camera for most of the photos on this site and my Instagram. Why not pick one up for yourself?
