Problem Solving

I'm fortunate enough to have a job I love working in the outdoors. I get to hike all day and see areas that few others do. One downside is the only camera I usually have with me at work is me phone. But I can always go back later with my actual camera. The other downside is that a lot of interesting scenery eventually becomes mundane.

How do I get inspired to take photos of where I live? It's a question I see a lot and one I've been asking myself lately.

Sometimes it's technical issues that make it difficult for me to capture a landscape. I live in a dry climate that often has clear skies in summer so the lighting can be challenging. Or I work long shifts and spend weekends catching up on house work. In the winter I can lose access to the more alpine areas due to snow or mud. But a lot of the time I just make it a chore in my mind to get in the car and get somewhere to take photos.

Other times it can be hard to photograph something you're too familiar with. Because of my job working in the woods I have a different perspective on the landscape around my home than visitors might. For instance, when there's a mountainside covered in trees I see an overgrown forest that's been mismanaged. It can take away a bit of the magic.

And other times there just isn't an image there. In a recent video, Thomas Heaton describes that a pretty view doesn't necessarily make a good photograph. If there isn't a reason to take a picture, you don't need to take a picture. It can be better to just sit back and enjoy the scene.

So, what am I doing to overcome these challenges?

1. I'm working on trying to see this area like it's my first time. Hell, I've only lived here for 4 years I'm still new and there's plenty that I haven't seen yet. Still, I'm trying to see the everyday with fresh eyes. For example, in another video of Mr. Heaton's, he comes across a skid road in a forest. I come across dozens of those everyday and rarely give them a second thought. But he looks at it and sees a neat abstract image of the branches crossing overhead. So I'm working on slowing down and taking everything in. 
2. Compositions: I've often struggled to capture an image of a landscape that I'm really happy with. Part of that comes from lacking perspective and sense of scale - I've since learned that wide angle lenses, while able to incorporate so much of a scene, aren't always the best for depicting scale. My main fallback when I can't find a composition that works to capture a whole landscape is to look closer at the individual elements, like the textures of a tree or rock. Although I've gotten some great images, they're not always the ones I want. 
3. Invest in photography. Aside from building a well-rounded kit (I've only really had kit lenses and wide angles so I want to experiment with various focal lengths, especially longer ones), I need to devote more time to this hobby. Spend more time exploring areas and scouting locations. Work on developing skills and techniques. There's a few tutorials I plan on purchasing and studying and I hope to attend a workshop in the next few years.

So those are my goals for 2018 and beyond. I'm looking forward to devoting more time to photography this year, improving my skills, and some great adventures!

Cheers!

New Year News

Happy New Year! This post is long overdue, but the holidays were busy and I haven't done much post processing of my latest images yet. 

Now for a confession. I have G.A.S. (gear acquisition syndrome) and a bout of system indecisiveness. I'm sure every photography blogger has written about GAS, but this is my blog and my turn to talk about it! Maybe I'm being defensive, but is it GAS if I'm still building up my kit? I mean I just got my first filter for Christmas...

Anyways, this post will go through my equipment history and highlight my lack of knowledge.

Back in high school I bought a refurbished Sony a100 because I needed a DSLR for my photo class and there was a Sony outlet in town so I was able to get it pretty cheap. I had a lot of fun learning on that camera but as I went through college I stopped using it and eventually sold it. 

One of my favorite images from my old a100 DSLR. 2008

Fast-forward to the fall of 2014 and I found myself wanting a camera again so I started looking at the options. I hadn't done tons of research but I was looking at mirrorless systems because I wanted something small and portable. At time Fujis were about the same price as the a7 series which seemed too expensive for me so I went with the (slightly) cheaper Sony a6000. I really liked the a6000 and had a nice little collection of lenses for it. I grabbed the 50mm F1.8, but sold it after a while because it was too tight for my interest - remember how I didn't do research? Well I didn't realize it was equivalent to 75mm. I also had the Sigma 19mm F2.8 and near iconic Rokinon 12mm F2.0 along with the kit lens.

The Rokinon 12mm was basically glued to my camera, it's a blast to shoot. Unfortunately there's a lot I had to learn about photography and especially shooting with a wide angle lens. Like I never knew that shooting wide open sacrificed sharpness. So now that I'm really digging through and editing my photos I'm seeing a lot of my shots that are either soft or I missed focus on. Most of my compositions with that lens are pretty lackluster as well. I was so pumped to be able to capture epic landscapes in the frame that I didn't notice how small mountains appear or that they lacked an interesting foreground. Gonna be working on compositions and reviewing my photos instead of just dumping them on my computer.

Big old soft landscape with no sense of scale.

This past Fall I sold that kit off. I felt that I had outgrown the a6000 and when I couldn't find any other lenses that I liked I decided it was time to move on. 

The Sony a7 series, though tempting, still seemed too expensive and I really prefer mirrorless to DSLR now, so in September I bought a Fuji X-T20 with 18-55mm kit lens. 

Aaaaaaaand 3 1/2 months later I'm selling it. And getting that a7 II I keep hinting at. The main selling points of Fuji, the manual dials and film simulations, don't work for me. Folks give Sony guff for feeling like a computer with a lens on it, but I never had to fuss with my Sony as much as I do my Fuji. I feel like I'm making way more adjustments now and every time I do, I have to take my eye off the viewfinder and fiddle with knobs, switches, and settings. I just never got used to this camera.

I'm glad I shoot manual because I can't figure out how to use autofocus on this thing. Is it the switch on the front? Or the one on top? Or the dial on top? Or the switch on the lens? And even though the film simulations look great, they turn off as soon as I import the images. I know I can turn them back on and even pick and choose which one to use in Lightroom, but even the 'standard' one looks different than the RAW file. So I have to decide whether to start editing a RAW file or one with a simulation on it, or add the simulation at the end. But that would kind of defeat all the editing I did. If only you could turn them off completely in camera.

Last but not least, the X-T20 is not comfortable for me to use. I got a grip/L-bracket for it which helps some, but I'm not a fan of the shutter release being on the top plate; I prefer it to be on the grip, which is tiny on the X-T20. I also keep hitting the D-pad with my palm when I go to take a shot. You can lock the buttons by holding the menu button, but as I mentioned before, I find myself having to make adjustments frequently with this camera.

So looking ahead, I'm saving up to get a Sony a7 II and some yet to be determined lens(es). I've never had a kit that covers the whole focal range. Heck, I've never had a system long enough to build up a lens collection. After researching different cameras and getting my hands on some at the store I'm confident in my choice and plan on sticking with this system. I've been eyeing it for years after all and the lens selection keeps growing and getting more affordable.

There'll be a couple months where I don't have a camera aside from my phone. Good thing I have a big backlog of edits to do so I can keep posting photos. Once I get my new camera I plan on working on focus stacking and exposure blending!

Thanks for reading this long tangent!

-Jeff

One of my final images with the Fujifilm X-T20.

Why now?

My job has a lot of standard operating procedures and while there's definitely cause for problem solving and creative solutions I've been in need of an actual creative outlet. So I turned to my camera.

Although I've been using a camera on and off for 10+ years, I've never thought of myself as creative or artistic. I rarely share my photos, or even bother to print them. Hell I put off learning Lightroom until recently because it seemed so daunting. For the most part I just upload pictures to my computer and the only time I see them is when they come up on my screensaver. 

The outdoors have always inspired me. The way all of the elements and textures of plants, water, and earth all come together to form a scene just amazes me. So I've been reading countless articles and watching hours of YouTube tutorials to develop my skills. I started carrying my camera everywhere with me and slowing down on hikes, keeping my eyes open for compositions. I created a new instagram account focused solely on my photography and started participating in forums.

I'm not hoping to become a professional photographer. I just want a space where I can share my work, document my progress, and talk about how I see the world around me.