thoughts on photography | alan frost photography

Posts tagged ‘thoughts on photography’

Slow down ….. it’s time to stop, think and enjoy the journey

There is a familiar saying which states – “Appreciate the journey, not the destination.” I have been giving some thought to this phrase recently and in particular how it might relate to photography.

The journey could be a very short one. A photo taken on a smartphone and instantly shared on Instagram or some other form of social media, might take no more than a few seconds from capture to publication. The image itself could be a very good one but has the photographic ‘journey’ been one of pleasure and satisfaction? I somehow doubt it and I suspect the endorphin rush is more likely to come from the number of likes attained from followers, who may only have observed the image for a second or two before scrolling and liking the next upload. It’s not exactly life enhancing is it?

I have been a serious hobbyist photographer for over 15 years, almost exclusively making images in black and white. The end result, i.e. the finished image or destination, is of course important to me but increasingly it’s the process or the journey which gives me the most enjoyment and satisfaction.

To maximise the pleasure of the journey it’s essential to slow down and give more consideration to the subject being photographed and the method of capture. The American photographer Minor White once said;

“When you approach something to photograph it, first be still with yourself until the object of your attention affirms your presence. Then don’t leave until you have captured its essence”.

If this is true, and I believe it is, a quick snap posted on social media doesn’t qualify does it? In other words, the time taken, and the consideration and deliberation given, all need to be part of the process. The camera might even stay in the bag until the composition has been visualised and the story behind the image has been thought about. The journey can then continue as the camera and chosen lens are positioned and set. Quite recently I have started using a tripod which definitely slows me down. I always considered a tripod to be a hindrance and now I think in certain situations it’s a valuable tool which helps to enhance the journey.

The other piece of equipment I bought recently is a Hoodman Hoodloupe. It’s quite a simple thing, well made and designed to shield the light and all unwanted reflections. You can look at the LCD in bright conditions to check focus and composition. It has glass optics and a diopter giving a very clear view although the image can be a little less well defined around the edges and in the corners. The very action of reviewing an image in playback mode using this loupe has, like the tripod, slowed me down. I have to say the whole process is more immersive and enjoyable as a result.

Using this method might mean that I take several minutes capturing a single frame. It could even be as long as 5 or 10 minutes from seeing to final capture. Longer of course if I have to wait for the right light. With digital I instantly know whether or not the result is any good as I can review the image on the LCD screen. I could turn this function off but why would I? I might wish to retake the photograph having made minor adjustments to the settings on the camera or the composition.

However I am now asking myself a question which might have serious implications – Would I enjoy the process even more if it took considerably longer? And I am talking days not minutes or hours. You can probably guess where this is heading.

I have always been inclined to shoot fully manual. Selecting all my settings and focussing manually is my preferred way of working. I feel more in control. I’m not a fan of ‘auto this’ and ‘auto that’. In this sense I am quite analogue in my approach. I still work digitally though and have never used film, apart from in the 70’s and 80’s, when digital cameras didn’t exist of course.

So what if I acquired a film camera, possibly medium format and one prime lens to get me started? The cost of film and developing would have to be taken into account. I would probably need a light meter to help me get the correct exposure. The waiting game of a week or more would kick in before I would get to see the first glimpse of the results from a photo shoot. No more reviewing the results on the back of the camera immediately after the shutter is pressed. Even with the negatives in my hand they would need to be scanned as I would have no intention of printing my work in a darkroom using noxious chemicals etc. I would scan them myself, but it’s another step, another delay before the final image or print can be seen. However isn’t that the whole point of this discussion which is to enjoy the journey and not just the destination. After all patience is a virtue.

Would in fact a mediocre image made using film still give me as much pleasure as a showstopper made digitally because the immersive analogue journey could be so satisfying, challenging and enjoyable? There are downsides aplenty of course but I will never know if I don’t give it a try.

As yet I don’t have all the answers but in the meantime anything which slows me down and enhances the image making process is in my view a very positive thing.

Lastly I am reminded of an interview with Michael Kenna (a photographer I hugely admire) when in 2016 he was asked what he did when taking very long exposures.

In his reply he said –

I’m often asked what I do during long exposures, which can go on up to 12 hours. Apart from the obvious answer – sleep – I return the question: “Why do we need to do anything?”

It reminds me of that lovely saying, “Don’t just do something – sit there.” It is a rare luxury to have the time to appreciate the present, to watch the stars trace through the sky as our planet moves, to witness a full moon slowly rising or setting…

Doing nothing, just observing nature and the passage of time sums things up rather nicely. It’s all part of learning to appreciate the journey and not the destination.

(All the photos in this post were captured in the past week using a tripod and reviewing the images with the Hoodman Loupe. The journey definitely gave me time to ponder and ask myself where my photography might take me in the future ……. to be continued!)

From Leica to Fujifilm and now back to Leica …. Why?

A couple of years ago I published a post titled ‘Switching from Leica to Fujifilm….well not exactly’. In summary I explained how I had decided to move away from a Leica camera body in favour of Fujifilm, albeit that I retained three Leica M lenses, so that I could continue to use them with a lens adapter on Fujifilm X series cameras. I won’t repeat the content of that post here, but do click on the link above if you would like to understand the background before reading the rest of this entry.

*Fujifilm XT3 with 10-24mm wide angle zoom lens*

Back to the current day. Why have I reverted back to Leica? What prompted me to do so and what equipment do I now use? I hope my answers to these questions will be of interest to you and may even assist you when you are choosing your own photographic gear.

When I invested in a Fujifilm XT3, I had anticipated that I would be able to enjoy the best of all worlds. I bought some zoom lenses to cover a wide range of focal lengths (10 – 24mm f4, 16 – 80mm f4 and 55 – 200mm f3.5 to f4.8). The Fuji has an APSC cropped sensor, so this gave me the equivalent range of 15mm to 300mm based on a 35mm full frame sensor. It would cover every eventually or so I thought. I still had my Leica M glass of course (35mm f1.4, 50mm f1.4 and 90mm f2.4) which on the XT3 gave me three fast prime lenses with focal lengths of approximately 52mm, 75mm and 135mm (in 35mm terms). What more could I want? Well for starters a very large camera bag and a strong back if I was to carry all of this gear around at the same time, however this was only the beginning of my deliberations.

Knowing I couldn’t practically or physically take everything on a photo outing I had to make certain decisions at home. Zoom lenses, or just the primes, or a combination and if so which ones? The answer would always come back to what I was hoping to see and potentially photograph. Sometimes I would have a good idea which made the selection process easier, but on other occasions the choice was less straightforward.

When I did choose the prime lenses I soon discovered the drawbacks. Firstly I didn’t own a wide angle M lens. I had traded in a Zeiss 18mm M lens in favour of the Fuji 10 – 24. Even if I had kept it the 18mm would only be the equivalent of a 27mm field of view with the crop sensor. Secondly none of the Fuji zoom lenses were that fast for low light conditions nor would they give me a shallow depth of field. Don’t get me wrong they are excellent lenses but like any zoom lens they have their limitations as to how they can used. Thirdly the shallow depth of field on a crop sensor does not behave in the the same way as it would on a full frame sensor. I had also grown accustomed to taking advantage of the depth of field scale on the M lenses. I have always enjoyed manual focusing, they give me a sense of complete control and if I wanted to resort to setting the aperture and lens to cover a certain focal range I could do so very easily and I would rely upon the result. This was no longer true when paired with the XT3 crop sensor. Some of the magic had gone from using the superlative M lenses.

*50mm lens showing the depth of field scale.*

By now you can probably begin to sense my growing frustration. The final nail in the coffin came when I began considering the true nature of my photography. What are my favoured genres and subjects. More importantly what images am I trying to make? Were these aspects of my photography hindered by my camera equipment and if so what changes were desirable?

The more I thought about this the natural conclusion soon became clear. The answer was of course a resounding yes, I was being held back. I was no longer able to make the images I really wanted. Take for example my church photography. To evoke the feelings I am after in a photograph I often use the lens wide open at say f1.4 to give me a shallow depth of field or soft background. The effect can be quite subtle as in the picture below, but it’s there and an important element of the image as far as I am concerned. Shooting wide open not only gives me the ‘look’ I want but it also allows me the freedom to work hand held without having to ramp up the ISO. I don’t have to rely on a tripod, which can be cumbersome and awkward in the confines of a small church.

My other love is the great outdoors whether that be a landscape, old farm buildings or a dramatic scene but I am not one to favour the type of picture captured by an extreme wide angle lens, nor a long telephoto lens for that matter.

The picture below was a spontaneous capture of an atmospheric scene which soon passed as the wind got up and the reflections in the water disappeared.

In summary then, if your camera equipment is hampering your style and you are no longer truly enjoying using the equipment you have, then it may be time to ask yourself a number of questions – What should I do about it? What can I change to improve both process and outcome? Above all what images do I want to make? Affordability will of course be a consideration and I recognise I am fortunate when it comes to setting a budget.

*Leica SL2-S with 50mm F1.4 Summilux lens*
*(I put black tape over the Leica badge – it’s more discreet)*

As I said earlier I have now reverted back to Leica as my main camera of choice but which model? Towards the end of last year I purchased a Leica SL2-S along with another Leica M Lens – the Super Elmar 21mm f3.4. I had previously owned the original SL Type 601, but the SL2-S is an altogether better camera not least because it now has in body image stabilisation. It is faster in use and whilst the sensor is still only 24mp (a sweet spot as far as am concerned), noise control at high ISOs is excellent. In some ways I regret parting with the first SL, but I have learnt from the experience. When compared to the Fuji XT3 I prefer the way the SL2-S handles. It fits my hands perfectly. The customisation of the function buttons gives me easy access to make quick changes when necessary and the menu in my opinion is less complicated to use than on the Fuji. Oh and I mustn’t forget to mention the superb EVF which makes manual focusing an absolute breeze. Combined with the Leica M glass the resultant DNG image files are excellent and are very good to post process. All in all it is a joy to use.

*From left to right 21mm, 35mm, 50mm and 90mm.*

In conclusion my ‘go to’ equipment is now the Leica SL2-S camera body paired with the 21mm, 35mm, 50mm and 90mm primes. I guess I am a purist at heart and trying to mix a Fuji camera body with Leica glass was never going to work, well not for me anyway. I truly love prime lenses and the artistic choices they give me, not to mention the joy I experience every time I use them. They suit my style of photography, they are like old friends. When I tried to change the relationship I had with them they reacted accordingly!

Not only has my passion returned for the equipment I possess, but I no longer have to use a large camera bag. The beauty of the M lenses is their compact size. Yes they are quite heavy (as is the camera itself) but I can easily carry the camera and a lens (normally the nifty fifty) with one or more of the other three lenses and a few accessories in a shoulder bag. On longer walks I will still use a camera back pack, but I now have more room for refreshments, extra clothing etc. It works well and most definitely suits my needs. I don’t have tricky decisions to make concerning which lenses to take out with me.

I accept that with this setup I don’t have access to an extreme wide angle or the reach of a long telephoto but as I have already explained my eye doesn’t see the world in that way. Changing lenses happens more frequently but that is no bad thing, it slows me down and makes me think more about compositional choices. Fortunately these four lenses all share the same filter thread – 46mm – which also makes my life easier when using filters etc.

The chances of me being able to make images that please me have improved and even if I don’t capture anything worthwhile then I will have enjoyed the process anyway.

In a nutshell isn’t that what being a photographer is all about?