This website contains photographs I have taken using a number of different cameras. I’ve used everything from a Leica M8 and Canon 5D MKII to the Panasonic GF1 & GH2 , Fuji X10, Leica D-Lux 4 and the Pentax K5.
I am an amateur photographer with no asperations of ever being a “Pro”. My interest in photography began while I was in my teens and that was a long time ago.
My first “serious” camera was a used 35mm Argus C3 rangefinder. I bought it in a pawn shop for twenty dollars. Used and outdated, it was still a joy to own and was the beginning of my love for rangefinders. I soon progressed to a twin lens reflex and then on to an SLR and my own darkroom. I shot black and white 99% of the time and dabbled in slides and a bit of Cibachrome.
After a number of years I grew tired of the darkroom and sold every piece of equipment I owned, including my cameras. The darkroom and all it entails was just not enjoyable to me. What followed was a 20 year period in which I did not own or touch a camera.
Photography would not be a part of my life again until Canon introduced the D30 in 2000. I was looking for a new hobby (having sold my Harley) and the thought of photography without the darkroom was very appealing. Thus began a new love for a hobby I had given up over two decades ago.
Let me also say that I learned more and bettered my photography skills in one year of shooting digital than in ten years of shooting film. I’m serious, that is no exaggeration. The immediate feedback is a wonderful learning tool. The ability to shoot and make adjustments allows you to learn how to read the light much quicker than in the old days of film. Digital is not perfect but it is in so many ways, at least in my opinion, better than film. It’s been almost thirty years since I last touched a canister of film. I doubt I will ever touch another.
The Gear
I now use multiple cameras and enjoy them all. This website contains samples of the output of each of my cameras. Photos you will see here are from the following cameras: Canon 20D, 5D, 5D MKII, Leica M8, Leica D-Lux 3, Leica D-Lux 4, Leica X1, Sigma DP1, Sigma DP2, Panasonic GF1, Fuji X10 and Pentax K5.
Some photographers like to classify themselves as being a certain type of photographer (Street, Portrait, Wedding, Nature, Landscape, Etc.) I don’t. I shoot any and everything. Whatever the moment presents me is what I shoot. I never want to limit my photography to a particular genre.
I have quite a bit of gear but I do not consider myself a “GearHead”. I am more about the end product, the image or print, than the gear I use to achieve that end. I’ve been buying cameras of different types because all of them have something different to offer and allow a different type of shooting. My current DSLR is the Pentax K5. I use it for concert and portrait work. My smaller cameras like the D-Lux 4 and the GF1 are the cameras I use the most. They’re small, easily carried and are the most fun to use. I have recently added the Fuji X10 to the list of cameras I own and use.
Seeing
Having the latest and greatest gear is a great option but the gear is simply not the most important thing. “Seeing” is by far more important than the gear. If you can’t see the shot you might as well not have a camera with you. I’ve seen amazing photos taken with a Holga and equally amazing photos taken with the Leica M9. These two cameras are at the opposite ends of the gear spectrum but either of them, used by a skilled photographer, can produce wonderful photographs.
It’s not the gear, it’s the photographer. Gear is only part of the equation involved in producing a great photograph. When I see a photograph that I really like, I study it. I try to learn from it and then apply what I have learned to my own work when the opportunity presents itself.
Yes, of course gear matters…. but the gear itself will not make you a better photographer. Give a Canon 5D or a Leica M9 to a poor photographer and they will still produce poor photographs.
Post Processing
Learn to post process. Anyone who thinks the finished image is the one that comes directly out of the camera on that memory card is missing what anyone who ever worked in a darkroom can tell them. Taking the photo is just the first step. The terms “dodge” and “burn” were not invented by Adobe. Having good post processing skills is an important part of photography today.
Enjoy
Enjoy your visit. I hope you find something interesting here, maybe even something inspiring. Photography is a wonderful hobby and an amazing art form.
I will probably never make a living from my photography but photography makes me happy and that is enough.
Jim Radcliffe