A morning stroll with the LX5

In my last blog post, I mentioned that I have started to take myself out of my comfort zone in my photography and I did so again on my latest photo walk.

More often than not, there will be a compact camera in my bag, backed up with another micro four thirds camera body and a prime lens, the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 being a big favourite.

For this walk, I wanted to see what I could get with just my Lumix LX5, removing the dilemma of which gear to use on a particular shot, as so often becomes the case.

I did allow myself the luxury of the optional filter adaptor, as I have not tried long exposures with a compact camera before, besides which, the filters barely took up any space in my camera bag anyway.

The LX5 is the perfect tool for keeping to my square format project, the dedicated aspect ratio dial is much better than having to dig into camera menus, for me dials are king!

In the not too distant past, I would never have seen myself enjoying my photography this much with an old point and shoot camera, a big part of me wanting to have the latest gear, and too big a part of me wanting to be seen with it.

One of the other advantages of a smaller camera, is the fact that I will happily have it in my hand for the entirety of my walk, there is no weight to it at all, so it is always ready for another shot.

Knowing that I had only the LX5 actually gave me a sense of freedom, rather than restriction, my mind was set to compose the shot with the single camera, either I took the shot or I didn’t, simple.

More often than not I did, with an almost equal measure of colour and black and white images, I may have mentioned on more than one occasion that I love the black and white colour profile on the ‘5’.

In the last few months my outings with my collection of digicams have been mostly around my home city of Exeter, but the coming months will become a little less manic in work terms, allowing some time off and trips further afield.

Anyone who has watched the Tom Hanks film castaway will understand why my immediate thought to this scene was ‘WIIIILLLLLSSSSONNN!’

Finding my niche

Since early July my working week has increased to six days a week, so when I am able, I try to get out for some after work shoots to satisfy my image making appetite.

Just a few weeks ago, I felt that I was in a creative rut, perhaps down in part to my preference for early mornings where I habitually shot the beautiful reflections in my local River, the Exe, or the sun rising to mark the start to a new day.

The change in my normal routine has brought me out of my comfort zone but also spurred me on to embark upon my latest project, shooting in square format.

I feel excited once more about getting out and taking photos, even if it is on my doorstep where I must have thousands of images already but not in this format and I am just glad to be out doing the thing I enjoy most.

To reach this chapter in my photographic journey, I have of course been inspired by so many photographers, in any learning curve we all try to emulate our peers but there comes a time when we emerge with our own creative voice.

Maybe my own journey has taken longer than many, those who come on photo walks with me, know my propensity for taking detours to find a different shot, my photographic self education has followed this same meandering path, yet it is a journey I would not change.

The gallery of images below have all been shot over a period of a few days, in various locations in and around Exeter, all very familiar to me but seen with my current mindset.

Powdermills in monochrome

Of all the numerous ruins to be found on Dartmoor, the Powdermills are one of my favourite places to visit and photograph.

Powdermills produced gunpowder for the quarries in the local area and was operational from 1845 until 1897, with dynamite becoming the preferred explosive in quarrying.

The ruins of the various buildings are well isolated from one another, the fear of an explosion was very real, as was that of a subsequent chain reaction.
Tools used in the manufacturing process would have been made of wood or copper, again to lower the chances of creating what would be a devastating spark.

With my recent intention to capture many of my photographic outings in black and white, it was appropriate that the weather was suitably moody, the one subsequent rain shower waited until the very end of the walk.

Another bargain and more squares.

‘I don’t need any more cameras’ I said, ‘I have enough I said’, as I feebly attempted to talk myself out of another online bargain.

This bargain was meant to be, (still trying to justify the decision), it was just a few doors down the road from where I live and was just less than £35.

So I now also own an Olympus E-PL3 PEN camera (who thinks of these names for cameras?) from 2011 and took it for it’s first shoot today after work.

Sold as body only, it came with 3 batteries and is in very good condition and of course will work with my small selection of M43 lenses.

Being like a child on Christmas morning, I was keen to finish today’s shift and try out the camera with my Olympus 17mm lens, the perfect small factor match for this diminutive camera.

I spent the bus journey back into town tinkering with settings, where I found the ‘grainy black and white’ profile which I thought may be fun to experiment with, especially in the square format.

To be honest, I was not expecting much, it was just playing around after all but I was in for one big surprise, I loved those in camera Jpeg’s as soon as I saw them on the PC screen.

The added bonus was little or no post editing, a crop adjustment, maybe an exposure tweak but nothing major.

Here is the pick of the bunch, taken around Exeter city centre.

Another local photo walk

To all intents and purposes, this is Day 3 of my ‘squares’ project but I have not really put any time constraints on this one, it will be an ongoing theme for the coming weeks / months.

Today, I decided to take out the GX8 and Panasonic 20mm F1.7 lens, one of the few lenses that have been protected from my sell and repurchase habit from over the last few years.

Today was a more August like day, sunshine and clouds and some bright light which would be ideal for the black and white predominance of late.

That said, perhaps I need to address the elephant in the room, one image today which caught my eye, was always going to remain in colour, just because I liked the way the light caught the subject matter.

An image from the local library with its array of coloured seating was just too good to miss!

In the last few months, I have felt that I have lacked a creative spark or edge, enjoying the image taking process and the walks that go with it but perhaps not offering anything new but this new project has kick started my enthusiasm once more.

Shooting in the square format is nothing new but its almost as if I have found my favoured ‘style’.
For some photographers, they may specialise in Landscape or portrait photography, others have a particular style in their editing technique, perhaps the simple ‘square’ is my forte?

A grey day in August – Perfect!

It’s a Saturday morning but I have a few hours of overtime at work to do before I can get out with my camera and get a few more frames in the bag with my square format project.

I have packed my Lumix LX7 in my rucksack, so I am good to go, once I am back in town, even though it will only be an hour or so, I’m looking forward to finding a few images of my home city again.

I really like the monochrome profiles from the LX5 and LX7, so much so that I am happy to shoot Jpeg, the small sensor digicams add grain and noise that for me, look better than in post editing, it also saves time being sat in front of a PC monitor.

For most of the morning it has rained, as I arrive back in town, the rains have cleared but a thick cloak of grey remains above, perfect for my needs today!

My favourite from today is the old bus station yard, I deliberately set an ISO of 400 to increase the grain and noise to give a gritty feel to the scene, not to everybody’s taste but I am enjoying experimenting.

Post editing consists only of straightening and exposure adjustments if needed and a frame added on a selected few.

A new photographic project

Once again it has been a while since I last posted any content on this blog, it’s not for the lack of outings, perhaps more from a lack of anything new.

I am still shooting with retro cameras but I feel that this is now the norm, not the exception, so perhaps it’s time for a new project, something to challenge or exercise my photographic imagination and creativity.

I have decided that over the coming weeks, that I want shoot in only in 1:1 aspect ratio (square format), with an emphasis on black and white images.

To some, this may sound a little restricting but there are a couple of reasons why I am doing this.

Firstly, with the summer season in full swing, my working hours are longer as I work within the food industry, so my photo walks are going to be to quickly accessible local places that I have already photographed the socks off!

Secondly, I enjoy the challenge of self imposed rules, after recent projects, I have seen familiar places in a different way, almost as though I am seeing a location for the first time again.

Without further ado, I would like to share my first images from my latest idea, a few shots around my home city of Exeter, shot with one of my favourite compact cameras, the Lumix LX5.