seewhyess

The Great Barrier Reef

George — Mon, 16 Apr 2012 09:07:06 +0000

Late March I went on a holiday with my partner to Airlie Beach. We cruised the coast, relaxed by the poolside and snorkelled The Great Barrier Reef. Here are some of our photos mostly taken with the iPhone.

15 Mar 2012

George — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 10:39:17 +0000

This morning I left the house with the Canon 24-70/2.8 aka The Brick. It deserves its name and today I was reminded why. I walked around for a bit over an hour and I was sick of lifting the camera up to eye level by the end. I was really pining for the Olympus OM-D. It can’t come soon enough. A FF DSLR with a brick on the end of it is not a street camera… mind you, I did intend to shoot some architecture and ended up doing mostly street.

On Street Photography

George — Fri, 02 Mar 2012 04:06:42 +0000

Recently I was posting something on a photo sharing website and I tried to explain why I like to shoot street. I summed it up in one neat paragraph.

I enjoy my photography and in particular my street photography. I get to walk around with open eyes and a casual stride which is a luxury to me. I get exercise, time to think and reflect, time to listen to my podcasts, and there’s a nice little rush when I click the shutter and I just know I snagged something interesting. All in all, these reasons are more than enough for me and the showing of my photos is secondary. That’s not to say though that it’s not important. Like most people, I crave a certain level of peer acceptance because I see it as an important part of growing and learning within my photography.

27 Feb 2012

George — Tue, 28 Feb 2012 00:59:30 +0000

I really wasn’t in the mood to shoot yesterday. I had my camera with me so I went for a short walk and just didn’t feel creative or enthusiastic. At least the train ride home was an interesting one with a few more sleepers for the bag.

20 Feb 2012

George — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 23:40:38 +0000

I was on fire from the moment I turned on my camera and didn’t stop for 2 hours. Feels great to be out shooting and having fun!

Olympus OM-D E-M5

George — Wed, 22 Feb 2012 01:59:32 +0000

It has been a long time since I’ve been excited about a new camera. There was a period about 2 or 3 years ago when I would buy a new (old) camera nearly every week. I have since sold a lot of my vintage cameras and have kept only the ones I see myself using. The pick of the crop as it were.

My most exciting purchase, apart from the Canon 5DMk2, has been the Olympus OM-1. It embodies the true meaning of ‘camera’. It is without a doubt the most pleasurable experience to shoot with an OM-1 and anyone that has owned one will tell you the same thing as they reminisce the beautiful simplicity and functional perfection. If you think I’m exaggerating for impact, you haven’t looked through the viewfinder nor have you turned the rings and clicked the shutter to hear the ka-klunk. A couple of nights ago I was shooting blank just to experience it again.

It goes without saying that I am very excited to see Olympus release a new digital mirror-less camera designed with the OM family of film cameras as its inspiration. It looks fantastic and the image quality from the samples released so far make this a perfect little street camera.

As you can tell I’m really excited and best of all, my beautiful partner only hesitated for a few seconds when I told her how much it costs. I’ll take that as a sign of her approval.

Enough talk though. Here’s some photos of this little powerhouse micro four thirds Olympus OM-D E-M5. The last two photos are a comparison to my Canon 5DMk2 which I currently use and the Panasonic 20/1.7 lens I’ll be buying for street use.

17 Feb 2012

George — Mon, 20 Feb 2012 23:18:06 +0000

With a bit of rain out on the streets I roamed the underground as well as taking advantage of the dry periods above the Town Hall station. I did spend most of my time practicing my panning so most of these photos are taken in the second half of my 2 hour session.

I’m really enjoying my street photography at the moment. It seems to be a season thing for me. The warmer months with the longer days are definitely easier and seem to entice me to out more frequently. Hope you enjoy these as much as I enjoy shooting them.

40 Minutes To Warm Up

George — Sat, 18 Feb 2012 08:32:59 +0000

Wandering around the city I saw nothing interesting. It took me over 40 minutes to start shooting. Still fun walking around with eyes wide open.

Sydney’s QVB @ 14mm

George — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 01:08:00 +0000

I work across the road from the Queen Victoria Building (QVB) in Sydney’s CBD. The view outside of my 5th floor window is filled by this grand 3 storey building completed in 1898 which now sits in the shadows of modern glass monsters. At any time of the day you will find tourists and locals alike taking photos of the glorious stained glass and craftsmanship found throughout. As the saying goes, ‘they don’t build ‘em like this anymore’.

Last Friday I had the opportunity to shoot inside the building with my Samyang 14mm UWA lens. I was pressed for time but I did enjoy myself and I will be back with a tripod in the near future.

A Terrific Stove

George — Tue, 07 Feb 2012 22:45:13 +0000