As boxing day comes to a close, we enter that weird twilight zone between Christmas and new year where we all lose track of what day it is, so on this particular boxing day (Tuesday?) that I take advantage of the first day of dry weather in a few days, very keen to commence the first of my ‘compact chronicle’ outings.
Armed with the Lumix LX7, a wander on a local shingle beach at low tide seems the ideal way to begin my latest photographic escapade.
After all the hype of the festive build up, this boxing day exudes a quiet lull after the storm feeling, the only sound, the crunch of shingle from my sturdy walking boots and the odd squawk of an attention seeking gull.
Normally I would pay attention to low shots of the boats stranded on the grey low tide sludge,instead I look to the smaller details of the shoreline, the macro mode of this little camera is just the tool for these compositions.
With the first of my chronicles under my belt, I am looking forward to the twists and turns that 2024 will bring.
With just a week or so to go before Christmas, even this curmudgeon is beginning to look forward to the ‘big day’, as it will mean spending time with family and a well earned few days off.
With this Saturday being the penultimate weekend, the shopping centres will be heaving, not my idea of a fun time but I have slowly but surely amassed my Christmas gifts so that operation ‘avoid the crowds’ can be deemed such a success that I was able to get out for another photo walk along the East Devon coast to Budleigh Salterton.
I had not expected the place to be as quiet as it was, most of those partaking in a sneaky seaside stroll walked without a care, with an aura of ‘yeah, I’m ready for Christmas’!
This Saturday was a day of grey overcast skies, with the occasional rays of light playing peek a boo through rare gaps in the cloud, one had to pay attention to capture these all too fleeting moments.
As I strolled along the beach, I began to think more about what direction this blog may go in the new year.
I had started blogging originally when I decided to shoot an entire year with my Fujifilm X100F, a project I really enjoyed, with a camera that I regrettably sold and is too much money second hand to even contemplate.
A second project with just 50mm over 50 days of photo walks soon followed and more recently most of my posts centre around my collection of old digicams and mirrorless cameras.
What started off as projects have become the norm for me, so I am thinking of starting a series of blogs focusing on those compact cameras that I love using so much, the working title is ‘The compact chronicles’ but I am open to other suggestions.
Alongside the ‘chronicles’ will be more blogs based around a lens that has become a firm favourite, the Panasonic Lumix 20mm F1.7, no working title for this yet but something like ‘twenty twenty vision’ is churning away on the cerebral back burner.
I still have a little time to finalise my ideas for 2024 but lets enjoy what is left of ’23 with a handful of shots from yesterday.
A mixture here from my Lumix LX5 and the Olympus EM10 MK3 with that 20mm.
After a busy few weeks during the peak season, I am back to a Monday to Friday routine, seeing a welcome return to my visits to my home town of Salcombe.
While I am still focusing on my ‘squares’ project, the black and white theme was temporarily put on hold, as Saturday’s early outing rewarded me with some beautiful light and colours, so today saw the return to ‘normal service’
Today’s shoot was with the latest bargain buy, an Olympus EM10 mk III, with a 17mm F1.8 Olympus lens (35mm full frame equivalent).
This particular focal length is probably my favourite, certainly my most used after spending a year shooting with just a Fujifilm X100F just a couple of years ago, going back to it once more is like slipping into a comfy pair of well worn shoes.
Today’s outing is at Beesands, on the South Devon coast, a couple hours here before my return to Exeter for the start of another working week.
Inspired by the Olympus ‘Grainy film’ mode, I have developed some custom presets, some with less grain and contrast, others to emulate that gritty analogue vibe, Capture one being my editing suite of choice, that said, I do like the in camera output enough to use on some occasions.
I am really enjoying the challenge of the black and white format, learning to use the light and tonality to my advantage, looking for other shots when the light is not in an ideal place, I do feel that I am learning to ‘see’ in black and white the further I get into this project as my shot choices are becoming more selective.
On my regular monthly visits to Salcombe, I generally make Saturday mornings my photography day, leaving Sunday as a more relaxed affair as I prepare for my return to Exeter and another working week.
I was happy with yesterdays exploits, despite the lack of those sunrise colours that I enjoy so much but this Sunday morning was to provide a pleasant surprise as I was about to make my six AM brew…
My first look out of the upstairs window showed a lovely bright morning with a layer of mist on the estuary, that cup of tea could wait, I was off like a ferret up a drainpipe!
Mornings like this are so few and far between, it always feels such a privilege to be able to capture the landscape in this mood.
In my last post, I mentioned that I had been awaiting delivery of my latest older camera acquisition, the original Sony RX100, so today’s musing is centered around my first shoot with this little compact.
The RX100 was first released in 2012 and while I did look at the reviews and various videos, it was not something I would consider at this time, I was too obsessed with seeking my holy grail of photography, ‘full frame’.
How times and mindsets change, the RX100 now fits well into my criteria for an older camera, I was looking forward to taking it out for its first shoot, to the East Devon seaside town, Budleigh Salterton.
Having only just picked the camera up from the Royal mail parcel collection office half an our previously, this was going to be very much shooting with an unfamiliar camera and customising on the hoof, rather than doing so in the comfort of home as I normally would.
Fortunately, the menus of the RX100 are laid out in a similar way to other Sony cameras, so I was not a total stranger to the settings so was able to get taking photos in no time.
If I am being honest, I was not sure how much I would like the RX100, one of my first dalliances into full frame was a Sony A7, of which the image quality was stellar but felt a very sterile experience to use, it was rarely the first camera I chose to shoot with for my own personal use but very reliable and capable for any paid work I was doing at that time.
The same cannot be said for the RX100, it is an absolute joy to use and will find a regular place on future outing for certain.
A sunny Friday in November, the perfect recipe for a seaside photo walk in the East Devon town of Sidmouth.
If ambling around the coast in the off season months is a pleasure, that pleasure is twofold when it is before the weekend, almost as though it’s an exclusive members only club.
With my Canon S95 taking a day off, I use the Lumix LX5 for many of today’s shots, I love using this camera with its multi aspect ratio switch, where I choose to shoot a good few 1:1 square images alongside the usual 4:3.
The more I use these compact cameras, the more I am amazed at how good they are and just how much enjoyment I get in using them, they have become the latest chapter in my photographic journey.
This time last year I would have never imagined that some of my favourite images would come from using a small digicam but my foray into the world of older photography gear has been an absolute joy.
Today’s favourite image comes from a trip to the Seaside town of Sidmouth in East Devon, as I was walking along the beach, there are a number of shelters along the sea front. Glancing up, I immediately saw the potential of the candid nature of this shot, using a compact camera would not draw that much attention.
It was when I looked back at the shot later that I noticed a rare phenomenon, there was not a mobile phone in sight, this was a good old fashioned face to face chat between a group of people who may or may not have known one another, social media old style!
My recent 50mm for fifty days project saw me using a 50mm lens on an older camera body (canon 5d MKII), as I simply no longer wanted to participate in the race to keep up with all the latest gear, it was a chance to use camera gear that I would have liked when it was new but was simply financially out of reach, or in the case of the small point and shoots I now have, simply not even considered.
Those flagship cameras of a decade or more ago have long since been superceded by newer and more advanced versions, where they can be bought for a fraction of the price, this is where I acquired a collection of varied older cameras that had been left in a box and unused, until now.
I have posted a number of blogs of photos taken with a Canon G11, Canon s95 and the two more recent additions a Leica X1 and Dlux-6 but I had one more to try from my original box of goodies, a lumix GF2 which I paired with a Panasonic 20mm F1.7 that I had retained from my dalliance with the Micro four thirds system.
Wanting to take a smaller camera with me on a seaside walk last weekend, I finally packed the GF2 and 20mm into my bag and rarely used the 5dII as I was enjoying the smaller combo so much.
The 20mm lens is spoken in high regard with many of the Micro four thirds fraternity, it is not hard to see why, this unobtrusive lens is sharp even at the widest aperture, what’s not to like?
A few years ago, a camera without a viewfinder would not have found its way into my camera bag, since then, I have come to love how not having a viewfinder helps me see shots I may not have seen with the camera at my eye.
Enough about the gear, the images of my walk around Teignmouth were a very enjoyable way of spending a couple of hours by the coast.
My twenty or so years working in the catering industry meant that the summer holiday months of July and August were ‘out of bounds’ but September and October were times that I could look forward to a few days away.
I have become so used to this arrangement that even now, I still like to take a few days in late October and early November, where popular destinations are a little less busy and the pace a little less frenetic.
My last visit to the coastal town of Ilfracombe was over three years ago, it was time to catch up with friends once more and enjoy a couple of days exploring a favourite location.
My arrival on Wednesday afternoon was welcomed by strong winds and persistent rain, perhaps the beginning of the payback for such a good summer but in any case, I had promised to reprise my catering skills, in the form of a slowly cooked lamb stew as a token of appreciation for some very comfortable accommodation for the next two nights.
Thursday morning was a little brighter, so just after seven thirty I headed out for some fresh air and hopefully a good few photos.
A typical November morning with a blustery wind found me watching the sheer power of the waves as they pounded the rocks below my viewpoint, the roar of water as it crashes against rock never fails to remind me to respect nature in this kind of mood.
Rain clouds and blue sky fought for dominance as I meandered my way up the hill just above the town, where a brief squall presented me with a great view of the town partially bathed in sunlight and the start of a rainbow to boot.
There would be no doubt that I would take photos of Damien Hirst’s legacy ‘Verity’ but just a few footsteps away from my hilltop view is a more understated monument, dedicated to the memory of a 14 year old Russian girl who tragically fell from the cliffs in foggy conditions, she had come to study English in the town.
‘Ekaterine’ is a very poignant reminder of the fragility of life, as I took a photo of this memorial, I was blessed with some golden sunlight, as I paid my own quiet respect to a life taken far too soon.
Descending the hill to follow the sea wall footpath, my route takes me to the harbour and another visit to a little gem of cafe I found on my last visit here, for a cup of tea and a cooked breakfast.
Again, I was spoiled with some striking scenery, St. Nicholas chapel standing atop lantern hill since the 14th century was aglow in the sunlight as the clouds parted once more to allow the sunlight freedom of the sky.
After my breakfast and two cups of tea, my meander took me to the breakwater and harbour beaches, retracing my footsteps of previous visits where I was happy to oblige with the typical seaside photography imagery.
My three hour amble seemed like just an hour, it never ceases to amaze me just how quickly time flies when I am in my photography walk mode, I hope to return to Ilfracombe again in the not too distant future, but for now, thank you for the (new) memories.
As I prepare for my impending house move, the blog posts may have slowed a little as I spend my evenings after work on the onerous task of packing boxes, allowing me the leeway for a few hours shutter therapy at weekends.
My last outing to Teignmouth was on the first train of the day at just after 5am, back in May or June, where the sunrise was at just after five thirty AM, with the first week of autumn already history, I catch the six fifty five from St. David’s for a seven AM sunrise.
With about thirty minutes before the sun’s daily ascent, the sky already has tinges of orange and blue and there is a noticable chill in the air, as the temperature sits at two degrees celcius.
While I was tempted to find a different viewpoint to watch the day break, the contrasts of deep orange against the pier seemed too good to pass up, out came the camera and the obligitory flask of tea as I watched the scene unfold.
It never ceases to amaze me just how quickly the sun rises from it’s inital appearance from the horizon, the blues and oranges from a few moments ago dissolve away in the blink of an eye, with just a pastel glow of yellowy orange paint the surroundings in an attractive glow.
With the sunrise part of today’s shoot done, I head for a local cafe for a cuppa and a fry up, my treat for my an early start, before moving on to explore Shaldon, just on the other side of the estuary.
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