I was paid a very kind compliment today regarding a recently made photograph. The kind observation was that it was very much in the style of a very famous landscape photographer- a genuine household name. This got me thinking about a question that has vexed me for a very long time. What is my style? The sub question is inevitably, 'and should I have one?'There are many photographers including most (though not all) of the best who have an almost instantly recognisable style. You see the photograph and are at least half way to identifying the maker before reading the byline. For some it may be long exposures, monochrome, pinhole, heavy vignetting, compositional strategies or even colour palette. I think that many if not all of these individuals tend to impose their 'formula' onto the scene or alternatively choose only a subject and conditions that fit their concept. For me it seems to be a little different ( how many times have I said those words over the last 58 years...). The 'style' almost seems to be in the scene already. Sometimes I see it at the instant and sometimes it 'grows' during review or processing. For all of us, every photographic outcome is the result of everything that we have experienced in our lives, our resulting personality and mood. Each one contains somewhere, some aspect, echo or tiny ripple from every single photograph we have ever seen.I'm enjoying watching this develop and wondering what if any 'my style' will be. Comments made by others suggest that it may be something that others observe first, more or differently. Right now I continue to make pictures and they seem to have little in common and often form as much due to my state of mind at that moment as anything. Kelly Hall Tarn at Torver near Coniston in the English Lake District.
Goldilocks Tripod?
For some the search for the perfect tripod is like the search for the perfect camera bag - endless and unsatisfying. For the first time in many years I am no longer looking for a tripod and consider myself to be 'reasonably satisfied'. This has been achieved through the collection of a Goldilocks set of three tripods. These are:Gitzo GT3530S Systematic with RRS BH-55 head - @2.8KgGitzo GT2531 Mountaineer (centre column removed) with Three Legged Thing Airhed 2 @ 1.79KgGiottos MT 8241 with XCSource KS-0 Head @1.33KgThe use for each is dependent upon which camera is being used, which lenses might be used, the total pack weight sustainable and the distance to be covered. It is also influenced by context such as wild country, urban, carry on required etc. The heaviest total combination would be a Nikon D800 with 70-200mm f4. At the lightest, probably a Fuji X-T1 with a 14mm.The Systematic Gitzo is the default option for all work that is within an hour from the car. It, combined with the RRS head, provides the very best in stability that I am prepared to carry. The head is absolutely stable with no sag even with the biggest lens. In operation it is perfect. I occasionally wonder about the longer leg variant but not sure I'd be prepared to accept the weight and bulk increases.The Mountaineer is now a couple of models old but does the job for me. It represents the best compromise between weight and stability that I could find. The TLT Airhed was a difficult choice as I was trying to get something under 400g to make a big enough weight saving. At 388g it seems to punch above it's weight. Only with the 55-200mm on X-T1 is there the slightest hint of sag and even then not always.The Giottos is of course made up of more compromises for the lighter weight. However at 1.3Kg it really is a 'carry just in case' or a 'carry when the rest of the pack is already too heavy' tripod. It is always better than no tripod at all and together with the rock bag I always carry it works well enough. The Ks-0 head exists under a range of manufacturer's names but as so often XCSource are the cheapest and this head works well above its weight and price point.At the time the photo was taken the Mountaineer did not have spikes fitted but these were included in the quoted weights. I buy medium length spikes off Ebay dramatically undercutting the original Gitzo versions. They are worth the slight increase in weight for the added stability.Update: April 2017The three series Gitzo has now been replaced by an almost itentical model but with the longer leg length. The original version required me to stoop even at full height and leading to back ache. The L version works perfectly.The TLT Airhed has been ditched and replaced by the RRS BH-40. While beautiful the Airhed couldn't support even the Fuji with 55-200mm without a sag as the head was locked off. There became no way of accurately framing without guesswork. It had to go.
Torridon Challenge
A week in Torridon has the potential to be a dream come true for a landscape photographer. Towering mountains, beautiful lochs and the ever present pine trees, all it needs is a suitable bit of weather. That of course means different things to different people. For some it means blue skies and sunshine, for other rich sunsets and for some of us weather that is a little more dramatic and atmospheric. I'm not sure if there is anyone for whole a week of rain is the ideal.There is of course the joy of the challenge. It rarely rains anywhere in the UK continuously for a week so the solution is to watch the weather, scan the forecasts and to make sure that in those fleeting moments we are in the right place."Good light is like a dragonfly. You can't chase it but need to wait patiently and let it come to you."It is fair to say that the past four days have not been particularly productive but may just have give one decent image per day at best. That will emerge when We're home and start sorting and editing. It is also the case that there have been none of those 'competition winning' breaks in the cloud' no lonesome pines isolated beautifully against the black skies. However there have been a few clear moments when photographs have been made and one particular incident where one starts to consider a force running within the universe. We often defer to the term 'recce' when circumstance or weather prevent the making of photographs - no pictures but we've sussed some locations out. This has been a good week for exploration; I haven't been to Torridon since my climbing days and this has effectively been a first visit. In between an occasional image we've been blown about, rained on, sandblasted and experienced various forms of equipment failure. However we've explored Loch Maree, Glen Torridon, Applecross, The Bealach na Ba road, Loch Clair and Mellon Udrigle. All places to which we shall return. Our house for the week at Gairloch looks straight over the sea and a compensation for the poor weather has been the pleasure of watching each phase move in across the sea.After four days I'm in love with Torridon but I fear it will take a number of visits before I start making the images I have in my head.
Living with the Fuji X-Pro 1
There are many influences that make people hand over cash for a Fuji X-Pro 1. There are those seeking lighter weight. Those looking for retro. Those perhaps even first time buyers seduced by good advertising. For a while in the media it was 'the second camera to have'. the world and his brother seemed to have bought one.
For a substantial proportion of the camera buying public, it was the nearest thing we might ever get to a Leica M series. There were similarities all over even down to the launch with just three primes. I think I was somewhere between all of these. I've owned an X-Pro 1 for about 18 months - there are positives and negatives. the size and weight allowed an entire kit to be carried in a small shoulder bag and a day in Venice was possible without shoulder pain or moaning. The quality of the results suggested no compromise was being made. It was a pleasure to use, feeling good in the hand. However there were some aspects that provided a bit more of a challenge given the way I work.
I'm not certain of the order or priority but the following issues affected me in some way. The USP of a traditional cable release has the downside that there is then no way of using a timer for long exposures. You have to fire the shutter, lock the cable and watch the seconds on the screen and release manually. For most it doesn't matter a hoot but for those of us who make long exposures, it is an added complication.
I do find the viewfinder most useful in RVF mode in order to allow precise composition but still feel it is difficult to assess accurately. No dioptre adjustment is certainly a factor in this.
The Q menu button is REALLY easy to hit, real pain.
The camera goes too far to sleep. The recovery is so slow that it becomes quicker to switch it off and back on again rather than wait for the wake up.
Even with these niggles it is a great camera and still a pleasure to use. Watching how the s/h price is dropping through the floor, it becomes an absolute steal on the used market.
DX to Mirrorless CSC
My 'main' camera is a Nikon D800. It is now outdated and superseded by the D810; I don't have any plan to update it in the next year and probably not the year after that. Along with the 16-35mm and the 70-200mm, I usually carry my 50mm lens. None of them heavyweight but together I know they are in the bag. For some years I carried a Nikon DX format camera when weight was critical. A D3200, 18-55mm and 55-200mm seemed to weight almost nothing in comparison. The image quality was beyond real criticism in my opinion. Of course (since they performed perfectly...) I allowed myself to be seduced into a change. I sold the DX stuff and invested in a Fuji X-Pro1 and a few lenses.Is there a dramatic leap in the quality of the pictures? No. Do I enjoy using it? Oh yes. There is a great feel to the camera and lenses. Increasingly even Nikon's top end lenses and camera seem to be covered in plastic. The Fuji stuff just feels good. As a lightweight kit it works really well and makes a huge difference if a very long day is planned. The optical quality is high, reliability so far is fine but there are, shall we say, some idiosyncrasies.
A good picture?
A wild and cold walk along the wall gave some time for thought and reflection.I thought a great deal about the concept of 'Value Added'. This (sadly) is a well worn path in my current line of work and while I hesitate to transfer over, it did, for me, allow a framework for thinking.
There are many ways to define a good picture; many are 'liked' on Facebook with a near instant, unconsidered gut reaction. This is a valid route in my opinion. In the 'real' world we may be seduced by the tactile aspects of the finished print or paper. The careful dissection with regard to rules of thirds, lead in lines, foreground interest etc may also provide a route to determine goodness or even greatness. The question that will be considered in a future post is 'Has the photographer added value in some way?' Have they been somewhere that the viewer cannot themselves go? Have they secured an image that would be technically too challenging for the average? Have they captured a unique and unrepeatable moment? What elevates this image above the ordinary?