Slight

Last week I had the urge to go out shooting so my brother and I took off chasing the sun as it sank lower into the sky. We found a couple of nice new spots to explore as we drove blindly down streets unfamiliar to either of us. The smaller the road became, the more interesting the surroundings. Sometimes it surprises me to discover how many places I have yet to discover within a city I have lived in for so very long. The spot where this photo was taken was in a field near the runway of an airport, overgrown with weeds and brush yet the whole place was glowing in the the light of the last five minutes of sun during the day. I love how delicate this one little piece of this bush was and the way it seemed to stretch so perfectly upward with its gentle curve. The wide aperture took this little wisp of a twig and gave it life. I love the ever so slight way that it drifts out of focus toward the top.

As the sun dipped below the horizon we started to head back and along the way discovered a great new spot to go relax at the end of the day. It may seem odd to some of you but it’s a new gas station that serves cheap food and has a few tables both outside and in. The nice thing about it is that the seating has this fantastic view. It sits right next to an airport field and faces west so you get this wonderful view of the sunet over the field. The thing that drew me to this place, however, was the fact that while I was there I had that unmistakeable feeling of being somewhere that does not at all remind me of home. That subtle high that I get while traveling places unfamiliar to me. I thirst for that feeling and it’s exciting to find it, even when it’s somewhere unexpected like while sitting at a random gas station overlooking an airport. I find great comfort within this kind of place and its a feling I cherish any time I manage to grab hold of it. These moments are easy to miss so keep an open mind and your eyes open because, at least in my experience, it can lead to a feeling of peace not often found otherwise in your daily life.

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.

After

After the fall quickly leaves us we are left with the cold, the piles of dead leaves, the humbling realization that time is still moving forward with or without us. Winter, just around the corner, and for many of us, already well settled into place. It is a perfect time to reflect as the crisp air bites into our senses. I love the cold weather and as backwards as it may sound, my favorite part about the cold is getting warm. Is it not a wonderfully satisfying feeling to be bundled up and protected from the cold outside? I love the way a fire feels against my hands in the cold, the embrace of a good scarf around my neck, the chills that run through my body as I tense up and shiver when the cold sneaks in despite my efforts. It makes me feel alive, alert, ready. Then there is that overwhelming sense of calm that overtakes me when I get inside a warm building or under a blanket and the cold slowly starts to vanish from my senses.

Maybe I’m crazy but I have a lot of respect for the winter. If the fall is the season of change, then the winter is the season of reflection and rest. To me, it’s beautiful, a chance to get inspired, read, create, and recharge.  So here’s to a great start to the new season, I hope everyone can get as much love out of it as I manage to.

Ari Marcopoulos Camera Bag

A couple of months ago the thought crept into my mind that it was time to get a more suitable camera bag for my needs. Oddly enough I have only ever had two or three camera bags, one of which was a small, single camera crumpler and the other a small Lowepro backpack. The problem I was coming up against was that I found myself carrying two or sometimes three different bags around with me from day to day. One for my essential camera gear, one for my simple small day to day things like an iPad, notebooks, etc. and one for my work needs like my laptop, tools, cables and other such things. Problem was that more often than not it was the cameras that were getting left behind and while I always at least had my small rangefinder on hand I often wished I had my 5D or other cameras for different things that would come up to shoot.

When I first started to look into getting a new bag I thought I wanted something that could carry everything all at once. I researched all of the big camera backpacks on the market and was close to jumping in but was quickly grounded when it was suggested to me that maybe I don’t really need to have everything with me all the time. Perhaps its best to split work and casual needs into a couple of bags because more often than not I don’t need both sets of gear at once. Once I let the idea settle in I realized I could do all I needed with a nice simple photo bag that was also capable of carrying a few other everyday needs like my iPad, notebooks and pens.

This made the search a bit more simple and I narrowed it down and decided to get one that I had my eye on for quite some time. The Ari Marcopoulos Camera Bag made by Incase which was co-designed with the bags namesake. Clumsy name aside, after measuring it out and deciding it appeared to be big enough for my needs I jumped in.

The first thing I noticed when loading my gear in for the first time was that it felt smaller than I thought it would be. I was used to using a slightly larger lowepro backpack for my camera gear. After considering the size of the bag versus what I felt I  really needed to carry from day to day I found that its humble size helped me fully realize that I don’t need to go full tilt with camera gear every day. What I narrowed it down to still may seem like a lot to some but it’s just enough for me to feel prepared to pull out a camera of choice at a moments notice. As of this writing the photo below shows what I am carrying inside at the moment. It varies a little depending on the day but this is a pretty typical set up.

After spending some time with the bag I can see why it may have cost so much for such a simple, mid sized bag, it’s the details. A lot of thought seemed to have gone into the details of how it was assembled such as reinforced stitching all over the place, plenty of cushy padding, and different types of fabric to best accommodate each part of the bag. For instance, there is a nice soft furry fabric liner for both the iPad area as well as the spot designed to accommodate a small point and shoot camera. I usually stray away from products that have been over engineered to the point where they feel contrived but I feel this bag manages to hold steady to that important balance between cleverness, usability, and style.

The attention to detail where the internal organization is concerned is very specific and planned to the point where the only logical places to store your different gear is exactly where it was designed to be stored (such as your main camera body with lens fitting only in the middle slot). This is because that while the interior section dividers are secured with velcro, and are able to be removed if you choose to do so, they can not be placed wherever you please inside the bag because most of the interior is a simple padded nylon fabric. This limits your options if you are the type that feels the need to be overly specific with such things but for me the design intentions worked out perfectly.

The ambidextrous nature of the strap design was a huge plus in my eyes as I greatly prefer having the strap rest on my left shoulder where many sling type camera bags force it onto your right. Once it is pulled tight across your chest it fits really comfortably. The strap also features a clever design that makes it quick and easy to tighten and loosen the bag on your back as needed with a simple pull and while did take a little getting used to I found this to be a really handy feature on a camera bag. Speaking of the feel of the bag while worn, I have a fairly wide frame and this bag suits me well. My brother, who has a tall, slim build couldn’t get as comfortable in the bag as it fit a little too big for him. This is something to take in consideration if you are someone with a smaller build but may not be true for everyone, just wanted to mention it.

When I pull the strap to fit lower the bag can be pulled around in front of me and sit open which makes for a great work surface. This is because of the way the zipper opening pulls back some of the fabric of the front of the bag leaving its overall profile slightly curved when closed. The fabric then does not simply bunch up at the opening, it sits open in more of a ‘V’ shaped opening which makes it easy to get to what I need. With many messenger style bags the weight of the bag will pull the main opening closed leaving it a bit more difficult to easily get things in and out of the bag. This already came in handy recently during a trip to a lake nearby. I had waded out 20 feet or so into the water and was able to confidently have the bag open by my side where I was able to change out cameras and gear without any struggle and left me not worried about dropping anything into the water.

One last little thing I wanted to toss in here about its physical features was the fact that there are a couple of straps on the bottom of the bag for a tripod or jacket should you need them. Also, as you will see in the photo below, there is a subtle grey scale screen printed on the back side of the bag, most likely a random idea from the photographer that ended up in the design. I am thankful they decided to simply leave it hidden on the back side of the bag.

There is a nice zippered space inside the bag behind the main camera compartment where you can store a notebook/papers and has a dedicated sleeve designed specifically for an iPad but any small tablet or device similar in size would fit in there just fine. I was actually surprised at how much I could comfortably fit in this section of the bad but if I stuff it too full it does eat into the space within the bag overall.

Of course, a perfect bag does not exist and there are a couple of things that I didn’t really care for personally. On the front of the bag there is a small flap held down with a magnet and behind the flap is a small zipped access point to the inside of the bag where they made space for a small point and shoot. While this is a handy feature that I have used a couple of times I feel the zipper opening there under the flap is not quite long enough and I have to put more effort into digging my little XA2 out than I would like. I do sometimes miss having a place to put a water bottle but I have gotten used to this and on occasion I will shove one in the bag above the cameras, not ideal, but it works. There is also a rain fly that is stuffed into a hidden bottom pocket which is great and all but the fly has a weird face printed on it that they added supposedly as a design feature from the photographer they collaborated with on the bag but to me its just a bit to ugly for its own good and clashes horribly with the otherwise wonderfully minimal appearance. This can be remedied by flipping the fly inside out but this does leave the stitching exposed.

My solution for this was to simply head to a local camping store and buy a bottle of Tectron water repellent. The bag is a heavy canvas material which appears to be as close to 18 percent grey as they could manage to make it, another clever design detail, but this does leave it fairly open to attract dirt and stains so I felt better after adding a couple of coats of the repellent which left water rolling right off it’s surface and has over the last couple of months kept it cleaner than I feel it would have been otherwise.

Overall I feel it was well worth the money spent and I can see getting a lot of use out of this great bag assuming it stands the test of time and heavy use which is always the deciding factor of any bags true vitality. I have no reason to believe I wont get a few good years out of it. I have already grown to miss it when I don’t have it around and it has proven to be a fantastic companion to my every day and allowed me to keep shooting along side my often hectic life. I can easily recommend anyone looking for a new camera bag to give this a go. You can find more information on the bag on its dedicated page on the Incase website here.

If you have any questions more specific about the bag I can do my best to answer them so feel free to leave any in the comments below. Also, after a couple of requests, I added the top image in the review as a desktop for anyone interested.

Fell

The second photo from this years fall desktops is a classic in the sense that photographs such as this with a shallow depth have quickly become a defacto approach to shooting in an abstract or seemingly delicate way. To some cynics out there it is seen as taking a shortcut to getting a photo with apparent depth or a sense of awe. If you have been following 50ft for any length of time then you are well awaret that I have an affinity toward a shallow depth of field. I use it as a means to create negative space while composing an image where there often is none. I don’t think I have ever used shallow depth of field as a gimmick or because I was feeling lazy. For years now I have explored it as a means to simplify an otherwise complex world.

That said, I would like to share my point of view while shooting this way. If you stand and stare at an empty forest in the fall it is but a noisy, colorful blur, or to me, a blank canvas. As you wander forward through the leaves and branches, particles of light start to solidify and ideas bloom in your mind. Then as you explore different angles and viewpoints patterns begin to emerge and interesting shapes will form. You start to connect the dots into a beautiful self realized constellation of sorts and the forest comes alive. Using a wide aperture I can mimic this play of shape, light, and color with the lens and exploit the beauty that hides among the noise.

For years I have been discovering these sorts of hidden forms and using a wide aperture as means to pull forward details. Early on I came to realize that there is a large difference between abusing shallow depth simply to get all those pretty shapes and using it to a true advantage. The rules of composition still apply even when dealing with such abstract forms and a healthy amount of experience and exploration still has to go into the process to become refined. At any rate, pardon my musing on the subject, I hope you enjoy the fresh desktop!

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.

Autumn Daydream

As a photographer it sometimes feels impossible to resist the song of fall calling out to be photographed. It only comes once a year after all. This year has felt off somehow though, as if the trees are out of sync. Thankfully though, the past couple of days things seem to have started to fall into place. Trees are starting to glow their warm yellows and oranges and the light of the sun throug the trees combined with the crisp air seems to illuminate the calmness that the season brings. A season of transition and a time to relax and settle into the cold months of the year. This is the first of two or three fall images I will post before those last few desperate leaves manage to drift down.

The image was shot with my 5D along with my new Olympus 55mm lens, a fun combination that I am still only just now starting to explore. The only alteration from the original image was a boost in the highlights using a curve tool and a very slight tint in the shadows, further illustrating what you can accomplish without a heavy reliance on post processing.

The Beginning

Here we have it, the long rumored and discussed design refresh! In the same way a musician slowly fine tunes an album of new songs for a new record I have been slowly picking away at details and preparing things to build a solid future here on fiftyfootshadows.net. The process started over a year ago when I felt a fresh new design would help push things into an exiting new space for the site. My original mockup, while good, just didn’t quite feel right. This lead me to scratch what I originally designed and start fresh with simply a pencil and some graph paper.

All at once the new design came to me like the sharp glare of sunlight after coming out of a dark room and I sketched out what would become the design that you see today. This design is actually a year old which is hard to believe for me personally because I still enjoy it as much as the day it was created nearly a year ago now. I wanted something that would help give my photographs and content a fresh, easy to digest space to live. Something bold and minimal but still functional and unique.

During the process of tweaking things over the last year pixels were nudged around and ideas were refined to the point where I felt things were just right. So now, at last, here we are with version 2 of fiftyfootshadows.

The design features easier access to wallpaper downloads and the terms of use. Below any post with a wallpaper image you will find easy to use download links and a link to the terms of use. I have only had time to go back and tweak about one years worth of older posts to fit the new format of the design but as I have time I will be migrating all older posts to the new format as well. The one drawback to the design that some readers may have to get used to is the simple fact that if you are following along with an RSS reader you will need to simply click through to the site to access these download links. I will look into alternatives to this in the future but for now this is a compromise I needed to make.

Another key feature of the new design is the simple ability to switch between two themes, day and night. I know many readers prefer a darker viewing environment while others, like myself these days, prefer the more open, uplifting spirit that a lighter design can bring which is the default theme for new visitors. Unlike most sites that use a crude background color switcher, I have taken time and effort to create theme specific styles to match both the day and the night versions of the design so either one you choose to use you can rest assured that you are still getting a finely tuned reading experience.

As you see, comments are still in place here on 50ft. I know the current trend in smaller web logs is to leave off comments and rely only on social networking or email for communication with readers I greatly prefer giving you guys a voice here on the site to either let me know how I am doing or share your opinion on an article. I realize the net is full of sarcastic egos that abuse the anonymous nature of comment systems but I have had nothing but wonderful experiences with my readers in the comments both on the positive and negative side of the fence. I have a lot of respect for all of you out there who have shown me support over the years and so I feel its important to let you have your space here as well.

With the dawn of a new design here on 50ft I plan on taking advantage of the fresh mental space and start devoting more time to writing. Over the past few months I have not only been tweaking the design slowly but I have also been stock piling articles and potential wallpaper images to share in order to help me successfully break into a new routine within posting to the site. My goal is to post a new article, review, mix, or feature once a week on Monday or Tuesday. There will be additional posts on off days when I can afford time and discover fun things to post and will also lay into place a public Q&A type category for those with questions about photography so with my answer others can benefit from the advice as well.  I also plan on posting at least one new wallpaper each week as well as something new to the site, guest wallpapers.

I have thought long and hard about the possibility of sharing others work here on the site and have come to the conclusion that it could be fun and be an encouraging way to get readers involved. I have spoken to a couple of readers already about sharing an image to help things get started off right and will be sharing them in the coming week. These images will be invite only for a while until I get settled into the idea but you can rest assured that I will continue to maintain the high standards I set for the site within these images. Guest wallpapers will most likely show up a couple of times each month so as not to dilute the overall experience here on the site and give each post space to breathe. If you do know of someone or think that you have an image that would fit in here on 50ft, feel free to send me a mail. I will do my best to reply to submissions.

This is just the beginning, I have plenty more yet to come and I will introduce new additions as they make their way into reality. These changes are a long time coming and I am overjoyed to see things start to more forward. Next up on my to do list is a photography portfolio site as well as the launch of a store here on 50ft where I will be selling prints, the wallpaper book mentioned a few months back, and other fun things. This and an FAQ page to handle often asked questions.

A million thanks to all of my fantastic readers without which inspire me day in and day out to continue pushing myself as a photographer and as a writer to places I never thought I would reach 10+ years ago when I started sharing like this online.I also must thank my dear friend Dave Jansen who was the mastermind behind the beautiful coding of my design. I will be writing more about his generosity and brilliance in the near future.

Heres to tomorrow.