Getting Better

Bridge Stair, a photo by KJDreese on Flickr.

I haven't posted in a while but I have been on some epic trips including Volendam in The Netherlands and Sydney Australia. Awesome trips with LOTS of great photo opportunities. I will definitely post some more posts related to those trips. However, I need to get something off my chest before I do some story telling posts about those trips, and some local saffaris shooting street here in Boston.

I just have to say that the Leica M8 is an amazing photographic tool and it has made me a better photographer. When I look at my first posts back in January that were all cropped because I mentally wasn't able to get in close so I cropped... So used to using zooms. However, on my photo walks I find myself VERY comfortable with the single 35mm Zeiss lens and only a rare need to crop. In fact if I do crop in PP it's part of a broader thought that I intentially think about when gaining that rare shot... Instead of the past when it was happening all the time.

Anyway, on my recent photo outings I find that the cliche is finally becoming real to me... The camera is just an extension of me... I don't even need to think about it... Everything just flows so naturally. Selecting an aperture as I walk and prefocus. The shot above (jpeg processed with an iPad) was taken in Sydney and is a good example of what I am trying to explain. I was walking with a group on a cloudy day and saw the sun coming down the stairwell... The group was about to walk up those steps so I needed to act fast. I already had aperture set and prefocused... I quickly raised the camera to my eye and did final focus and shot it 1/2 second before someone walked into the shot. Now I get such joy looking at it not only that I like how it is framed, but also knowing that a split second late and it wouldn't have happened.

In addition, I realized that I not only shoot less frames but I find that I have a lot more "keepers" than any other camera I used in the past. I think it is because I finally slow down. Everything I am doing with the camera is a tactile thought out event. I of course learned to use my other cameras but I always felt like I was hunting for shutter speed or aperture or waiting for the focus to sync up. Now everything just flow and I spend time anticipating and seeing what the shot could or will be. It's more of an ongoing conversation that I am having with the camera and the scene. My photos ate getting much better but inhale a TON to learn, but the great thing is that the camera is now so comfortable for me to use.