Hiding In Plain Sight

My favorite kind of light to shoot is fleeting. It consistently appears like a ghost passing through my awareness. Soft, delicate reflections that drift slower than our patience will usually allow us to notice moving until its gone. There are countless memories stowed away in my mind where these ghosts have shown themselves to me only to have me scramble to dig out my camera wherever it may be only to find by the time I was ready to shoot it had already passed. Light is a force of life that reminds us that we must absorb these fleeting moments before they slip by, camera in hand or not.

That said, if you fancy yourself a photographer here is a challenge for you. Capture one of these moments. Surely you know the type. That tiny window of time wherein light graces a surface in a way so perfect it could only exist this way on rare occasions. It’s not always just a beam of light creeping across a wall. Sometimes it sneaks in through the window of a bus like in the photo above, perfectly lighting everything inside until it turns to another street or ducks behind a building. Other times it may be that perfect combination of the angle of the setting sun and the spot you are standing in that causes the world to illuminate in front of you.

Here is the tricky part. Once you find it, take only one photograph. Even if it’s against better judgement to do so. Just go with your instinct, don’t over think it, use what you know about good exposure and composition and trip the shutter. In limiting yourself you are playing along with the transitory nature of the moment. I think it’s an important lesson to learn and one I hint at often around here. Don’t let the camera get in the way of the wonderful things you seek out to shoot. Let these moments find you and simply live your life.

For me, photography is an experience in which you hold close the romantic nature of life and do your best to keep it from being forgotten. So keep your camera nearby and look for those softly lit moments hiding in plain sight. If you capture something feel free to share it with me through email. Maybe I could share it here in the future.

Old Is New

Some of you may remember that I recently started shooting with an Olympus OM2 film SLR. Over the past few weeks I have grown to really enjoy having it around and I hope to write more about the experience eventually here on 50ft. I think it could make for a nice series of posts to cover the old film cameras that I love shooting with so much. Hopefully some of the joy that I find when shooting film will rub off on some of you. Today, however, I wanted to write about something related to, but not exactly about, this great old camera.

When I bought the OM2 I bought it not as much because of the camera itself but because of the lens system that exists around the body. Specifically, an older lens, the 55mm f/1.2. After a lot of research I knew I would be taking a bit of a risk because of its reputation for not being very sharp. I decided that I could have fun with the soft, dreamlike quality of the lens and hopefully take advantage of this characteristic while using it.

Once I decided on the lens I popped over to eBay to have a look and see what was available and ended up getting quite lucky with the price and condition of both the lens and the OM2 body (which also arrived with a 50mmf/1.8). While looking through what was available in the used market within the OM system I was amazed at the price and availability of some really great lenses and cameras.

Among my first thoughts when deciding to try a new camera system was wondering how easy it would be to convert the old manual lenses to mount on my 5D for the added bonus of having some new glass to shoot with on the digital side of things. You can just about stick any lens on any camera within reason. Of course there are limits to converting lenses to different bodies because they are designed with a specific body in mind when they are created but when it came to OM lenses on the Canon EOS mount I seemed to be in luck. As soon as I won the lens and camera on eBay I found a simple, cheap adaptor on amazon that seemed to get fairly consistent reviews and jumped in.

The simple option of being able to swap lenses between the old film SLR in my bag with my digital camera turned out to be even more satisfying and worthwhile than I had imagined. Both the 55mm and the simple, cheap 50mm are highly satisfying to shoot with and I have been getting some great results with both. When placing an old manual lens on your fancy modern digital camera there are a couple of things that will take some adjusting to if you are used to an automated shooting style.

First, you will be forced to forget your camera has automatic exposure settings. This is an exciting prospect, especially for photographers just starting out or novice ones wanting to step up their game. Because these old lenses have nothing automatic about them, there is no way for them to communicate with the camera leaving you to set the aperture physically on the lens and the shutter speed within your camera. While its common advice to shoot only in manual mode if you are studying photography I feel using an old manual lens takes things one step further and leaves you with a connection to your exposures that is often casually ignored otherwise.

Second, and perhaps more obviously, autofocus will be lost. Manual focusing can take a little getting used to but once the process clicks with you it’s hard to deny how helpful it can be to be able to quickly focus in on the exact space you are aiming for without having to rely on what the camera is guessing you would like to be in focus. These old manual lenses were designed for it so focusing is nice and smooth. One suggestion for any serious user of any prime lens with a fast aperture would be to invest in a focusing screen that better suits fast lenses. Unfortunately many modern cameras don’t allow you to change them out, especially Nikon which, unless they have changed in recent years don’t even pretend to have the option outside of a few third party manufacturers and hacks. The benefit of this is that most focusing screens are designed for slower lenses like the kit lens paired with autofocus and therefore is not as accurate when focusing at wider apertures. Just something to keep in mind but its beside my point.

The main reason for writing about using an old manual lens on a digital SLR is because I wanted to share the great experience I have had with it and encourage others to consicer this as an option when thinking of getting a new lens. There are hundreds of amazing old lenses out there and while there are only a handful of those cult classics such as the 55mm I bought there are plenty of others to be explored as well. Don’t forget the added bonus that you could easily buy the original SLR film body that these old lenses were designed for and have a nice film camera as well!

The images I have taken using the old OM lenses have a wonderful warmth to them that I really love and with a watchful eye on my white balance setting I don’t often feel the need to adjust much of anything in post work. As a point of reference, the image below was taken with the 50mmf/1.8 and has no post work at all applied, it’s straight from the cameras sensor.

Another thing to consider is that in many cases these old lenses were made with a higher build quality than many made today and can be found for great prices both locally and online. As of this writing I see a number of great 50mm OM lenses on eBay ranging from $30-100 depending on the model and condition. Heck, some of them you can buy WITH a camera for under $100. I wuoldnt be surprised if you found one at a local thrift store or yard sale for even less. A simple mount adaptor for Nikon or Canon will only run about $20 on Amazon and you are on your way to enjoying a new lens and new possibilities.

This of course is not limited to the Olympus OM series, old Canon, Nikon, or Pentax lenses can be easily converted to other digital SLR’s as well. Then again, if your shooting a Nikon with an F-mount design you can buy most of their old SLR lenses all you want as they never changed their mount when newer technology started to become prevalent in cameras.

To boil this all down, you don’t need to constantly thirst for the latest and greatest in camera/lens technology. There is an enormous amount of gear out there from the past 40+ years that is still alive and well just waiting for you to pick up and experiment with so before you drop a lot of money on a new lens take a couple hours and dig into the past to see what is out there, you might be surprised of what it is capable of.

Close Your Eyes

Before we get into what I wanted to talk about here today I’d like you to take a moment, close your eyes, and imagine a photograph. What came to mind? Was it a snapshot of your significant other? A beautiful landscape? A classic work of art? Maybe you invented one in your mind, an image never seen outside of your imagination. Now, consider being the photographer behind the camera as the photo was taken, even if you were the one who took the photo. Can you imagine the smell of the air? The sound of the environment around you? The emotion felt as what lay in front of the lens transpired?

This is something that makes photography unique among other forms of art. These are not just arbitrary collections of light or pixels, photographs are alive. They are living breathing creations. Every snap of a shutter is another wormhole opening that bridges the past and the present. They collect memories, preseve them and hold the potential energy to thrust them back into your awareness. Even when they are not your own. A great photograph can take you anywhere, it can transform you. Of course, that is, if you let it.

Trouble is that we are currently drowning in imagery. The potential of any one image is being diluted with over exposure. I bet that when you closed your eyes, your mind didn’t jump to one, single photograph but leapt among a dozen different images, bits of each colliding into the next. Our minds move so quickly through an endless mental back catalogue of imagery that it can be hard to focus on any one thing for more than a split second.

It’s why you don’t see me posting a ton of images here or on Flickr. Being more mindful of what I choose to share allows them to have more of an opportunity to be seen, absorbed, and with any luck, remembered. Mental space is a precious thing these days and we can use all the breathing room we can get.

In light of this perspective on the value of any given image I have, in the past year or two, found myself shooting less than I once had. While out taking photos of something I won’t fire off a few dozen shots of the same scene. I find myself being more selective of when I trip the shutter. It has lead me to to a place where I feel more focused and confident in the process of shooting. At one point in the past year I lost my one lager capacity compact flash card and rather than go out and replace it with another I decided to stick with the few 2Gb cards that I have around. These give me around 120 shots per card and I rarely switch out cards unless I am traveling and shooting more often.

I find that in limiting the potential amount of images I allow myself to capture I am able to drive myself into a mental space that puts a greater importance on the things I do choose to capture. It puts me more in the moment rather than constantly glued to the LCD display of my 5D. While this comes after years of constant shooting and learning, I think both beginners and pros alike can benefit from a few creative restrictions.

Photography is a lifestyle as much as it is a profession. The images you create are only as good as the places you allow yourself to explore or the situations you place yourself in, so rather than let photography control your desires, let your desires and passion drive your photography.

Point being is that I firmly believe that to get great photos that will leave a lasting impact you must live your life to its fullest. Don’t question yourself too much, just stay active, follow your instincts and passion, and surround yourself with things that inspire you. Take chances! Nothing ever happens just by sitting around. Sometimes to discover these things you have to go out into the world and find them.

This is something I realized a few years back when I started to shoot film again. I discovered that my favorite personal work was that which I left a little piece of myself in. Sometimes it may be an intimate moment, other times it could be a place or situation not typically thought of as deserving of a photograph. Years of tailoring my shooting and subject choices for what I thought others would like grew tiresome. Letting myself venture beyond my comfort zone helped me discover that I did in fact have a voice while behind the lens and it’s been a joy to explore the implications of this. Even while out shooting at my favorite lake or while on a job site, I look for things that speak to me. I compose the shots I take first in an obvious way, then I shift my perspective to look for that one magic spot where I feel the subject resonate with my point of view. A good example of this would be the seemingly out of focus image posted a few weeks ago.

Life as a photographer should be an open book. There should be no dividing line between where your day to day life begins and your photography ends. Share with the rest of us what makes you you. When I see an image I always search for its reason for existing as much as its technical achievements. No matter how great an image may be technically, it won’t leave a mark if it lacks a soul.

This is one of the most important lessons learned while developing my skills as a photographer which, of course, is never ending. As with every great photogrpher in the medium’s short history you never really stop learning, it’s beautiful evolution and it should be embraced. So, that said, get out there, camera in hand, and live.

One Shot (Redscale)

Suwon Hwaseong Fortress. HolgaGN. Crazy lomo redscale film. (I posted this over on flickr but I thought I would share it here as well.)
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While in Seoul I found a decent price for a 3 pack of the Lomography redscale film and figured why not give it a go. Tossed it into the Holga and shot through the roll only later to discover it’s helpful to over expose the film a good amount in order to see better results. Guess I just wasn’t really thinking, pretty unlike me to jump into something without a fair amount of research beforehand.

From what I understand, redscale film is nothing too fancy, just normal color film only it has been spooled into the canister upside down so you are shooting through the base to the emulsion which results in strange color reactions. This shot was pretty much the only usable one from the roll due to everything being greatly underexposed. I suppose I will give it another go, maybe shooting through the hasselblad for more exposure control. While it was fun to try I am pretty sure I wont be using it again once I run out, a touch too gimmicky for my taste.

…to elaborate on my comment about it being gimmicky. I was thinking about it and realized its not particularly the gimmick that I find fault with, it’s more my personal approach to photography not having a place for this kind of image. I’m just not sure where it fits in with my other work. Like the X-Pro and double exposure ideas I have toyed with in the past the results can be fun but I never know quite what to do with them.

I have worked internally for quite some time looking for common themes and ideas within what I shoot and alternative processing never really seems to fit in with my end goals. Point being, I love this shot and have fun experimenting but its satisfaction feels very singular, like an island in that it feels isolated and disconnected from the rest of my work. Or then again, as YoungDoo mentioned to me, maybe its not simply a singular statement but the beginning of a new process I have yet to fully consider. We shall see.

Seoul Photo 2011

I’m not sure how many readers reside in Korea but I once again have photos on display in Seoul and this time I thought I would point it out as I think its a great exhibition to check out. I only wish I were there to participate. The images on display/ for sale are a selection from the collaborative effort between myself and YoungDoo over at OurWindow.net. While it has been some time since we have posted to the series we hope to pick it back up again in the future to add to the collection. The photo art fair seems like a wonderful display of fine art photography and I am excited to be part of it, even from a distance. Here is a link to the flyer over on YoungDoo’s Flickr photo stream.