Tuesday, April 19, 2016

History....

I have always been interested in photography, from a very young age. But somehow never really got into it. Of course when I was young, we could not afford to pick it up as a hobby. However, I do remember being interested and even learnt some basics from the school photographer.

My first real proper camera was a hand me down from my brother, a Nikon F801. He upgraded to the F801S, so I got the F801. And there was when it all began, although not seriously. I progressed thru a number of cameras, all Nikon. I finally ended up with the D300 and that was the only camera I had for a long time. 

All that changed when Fuji released the X100. I got one but still photography was second fiddle to me. I had other interests....

Along the way, I suffered from G.A.S. and acquired a number of mirror-less cameras. But all that changed when in July last year, I picked up the Leica T. I decided that I should seriously venture into photography. I set-up a blog and all but still spluttered along... 

All that changed this year. I decided enough is enough... Its time to take action. Either I go into photography or stop. So I sat down and looked at all the gear I have collected (books included) and either I sell all the gear and get a simple point and shoot or jump in. 

Well this is my second (?) or third attempt and hopes this time it last....

Friday, April 15, 2016

Bangkok marathon

We were in Bangkok recently for a short family holiday. Taking a break...

Woke up early to capture 'the golden hour'... but was not that early. However did capture these....

Basically all were shot using Leica T with the 23mm lens. 

Tried some panning shot..


23mm, f3.2, 1/30 ISO100

Interesting costumes.


23mm, f3.2, 1/80, ISO100


23mm, f4, 1/40, ISO100

Converted to black and white iPhoto.


23mm, f4, 1/30, ISO100


23mm, f4, 1/40, ISO100

Selfie... (not mine).


23mm, f4, 1/10, ISO100

Shot 'inside' a flower trough. 


23mm, f4.5, 1/125, ISO400

Birds..

Early in the morning and some birds in the area. All shot with Nikon D300, AF Nikkor 70-300 f4.5-5.6 G, 300mm, f11, 1/500, ISO 500.

Not an expert in birds..so don't really know what bird it is...







Wednesday, April 13, 2016

The whats and hows....

A bit about how I shoot and all...

Basically I shoot in P mode but with an eye on the aperture setting. If the aperture selected by the camera is what I want then its all good. Otherwise, I will go into programme shift. Sometimes I shoot in Aperture Priority. 

I shoot 100% JPEG. I have not graduated into RAW or DNG. Someday maybe I will....

I do not (mostly) do post shooting processing save cropping and conversion to Black and White. And I use iPhoto and nothing else. 

I shoot 100% digital. I may return to film (actually I am seriously thinking about it). 

What do I shoot? Anything actually. Anything that catches my eye (since I don't have an eye for things). I like Street Photography, but not really gotten into it. 

So that it. 

Even the cat is interested...


Leica C-Lux 1, P mode, 28mm, f2.8, 1/8, ISO200.

Love, friendship..

Seoul....



Leica D-Lux Typ 109, 24mm, 1/400, ISO1600

Me, myself and I...



Leica T, Summicron T 23mm, 23mm, f2.8, 1/20, ISO 400

Learnings

One of the things I do when embarking on a new adventure is to learn as much as I can. In this case, photography and all things related to it. Some can be very technical, some can be things simple, some can be about the gear..... basically anything.

As I progress, I will post about books I am reading, sites I follow, and just about anything else related.

At the moment, here are some books I am reading. Mind you I do have some knowledge about photography, just no formal training, but reading from here and there...

Interesting read.



A genre I am interested in.


A bit of history ...


Makes interesting reading actually, who knows maybe one day...



All the photographs above were shot with Leica C-Lux 1, P mode, 28mm, f2.8, 1/8, ISO200.

There are more. I will post about the others later.