Project 52: Week 26

Halfway there!

It really doesn't feel like it's been six months that I started this personal project, and been shooting with my cheap camera set up. The goal was to become a better photographer, to see the photo in my head before taking it - to shoot less and keep more.

From the 26 photos I've taken so far, many are forgettable. But there are a few that are good—I think so, at least—and less than a handful are keepers. And not just "cheap camera keepers"—they are actual keepers, regardless of equipment used to capture them.

However, the main lesson learned so far is that gear is really least important element in making the image. I am actually actively minimizing my gear, or actively thinking of buying older or used cameras and lenses. Not only is this a blessing to my pocket (a big plus), but the confidence that I can shoot the images I want with any camera is a bigger benefit. 

I just ordered a used Fuji X-M1 body and a brand new Fuji 18mm lens (won on eBay, at about 1/3 of retail price). A two year-old camera with a (*gasp*) three-year old lens. Coupled with a cheap 28mm equivalent optical viewfinder, set at hyperfocal distance, this is a street photography setup that has nothing to envy to the Leica's of the world, at a bargain price. Can't wait to shoot with it.


Project 52: Week 25

Almost seven months in, I noticed that there are weeks where the picture presents itself, the choice is obvious. And there are other weeks when the choice is not so obvious, mainly because most pictures are equally mediocre...This is one such week, and the above pic is the most interesting one of the bunch. There's always next week (sigh).

 

Project 52: Week 24

Summer festival season has official kicked in Toronto, where there's roughly 17,000 events happening all over the city ever weekend. A did a lot of walking outdoors, a lot of picture-taking, and the picture of the week was one taken indoors at the Eaton Center. Irony...

In case it's not obvious, what caught my eye was the enormous print-out of the Zara model in comparison to the tiny people. Almost like giant's walking among us (shopping?)...


Project 52: Week 23

Summer festivals and events are just heating up in Toronto, and the Bubble Battle 2015 must have been one of the quirkiest ones yet. More like a picnic than a "battle", the highlight of the day was the guy making giant bubbles for the children to pop. 

funny enough, the Naked Bike Ride was happening just meters away at the same time. Not one conservative parent made a fuss about it, or covered their wee ones eyes. A testament of Toronto's inclusiveness and liberal mindset maybe, but I know this wouldn't happen in many cities around the world, and one of the reasons why I choose to live here.

Project 52: Week 22

Summer in Toronto wouldn't be the same without its many, many street festival. They are not only an excuse to stuff your face with more than food and drinks than you should be consmuing - they are also a great opportunity for street photography. 

At the Dundas Street Featival (where this week's pic was taken), I saw many photographers lugging they're massive Canon and Nikon DSLR's, with equally massive lenses, surely costing upwards several thousand dollars. I'm more and more impressed on how small and unobtrusive my little cheap-o Olympus E-Pm1 setup is, and how it never lets me miss a shot, all for less than 200 bucks. So much, that it's been my main shooter the whole weekend, and it would still be even if I wasn't doing this project. 

Simplicity is the key in street photography, and a camera so simple that doesn't even give you the option to waste time in zooming in or out, select aperture, focus, etc is the best camera to have. Just compose, point, and shoot.

Project 52: Week 21

It's hard enough for me to take photowalks during the week, and it doesn't help when it rains over the weekend. While I got some interesting shots with my weather-sealed Olympus E-M1, the E-Pm1 with the body cap lens didn't see much action. But I still managed to snag a shot in between downpours.


Project 52: Week 20

I wish I could put my cheap camera set up through more diverse types of photography other than street (which I've been shooting exclusively for weeks now), but street is just so much fun and accessible in the warmer months, I can't help myself. Eventually, I want to try my hand at some studio portraits and more planned shoots, but I guess I can always do that during the cold and rainy days...


Project 52: Week 19

This week's photo comes courtesy of me crashing a photo/video shoot in the middle of the Ryerson Univeristy grounds during a sunny Thursday morning walk (a perk of working nights and evenings at my new gig). I was lucky enough to get this shot in a split second, when the photo drone was out of the way.

Also, this was my one and only shot for week 19, which means a 100% success rate for this week :)

Project 52: Week 18

Full Disclaimer: This is not the picture I intended to take. I just pointed the camera to the big cherry tree in the background, when the glamour lady walked in to the frame.

One of the few benefits of the crappy 15mm body cap lens is that you set it to infinity, point, and shoot. The f8 aperture ensure most things in the frame are (relatively) sharp at a safe distance - about 1.5~2 meters.

On a side note, every year I tell myself I won't be back to see the cherry blossoms at High Park, and every year I still come back. It's just too crowded, and there are only a limited amount of pics you can take before they all start looking the same...but it is really a good photo op (both for the cherry and the people), especially on a warm spring day like it was last Saturday. We don't get many of those in Toronto, so might as well make the most of them.

Project 52: Week 16

I'm trying my hand at some street photography with the E-Pm1 setup this week. When I decided to start this project back in December last year, and settled on the 15mm Olympus body cap, I knew it had the most potential on the streets, with it's fixed f8 aperture and zon-focusing nature.


Project 52: Week 15

A super busy week with work, both full-time and freelance, meant I late posting for the first time since I started this project! Only for a day, but my clean record is broken...

 On a positive note, this is also the first time that I had more than one photo that I considered was worth posing. Especially interesting when considering that I'm shooting less frames with this camera, which means I'm getting more keepers from less photos! Either I'm getting better, or the warm(er) weather is bringing more photo opps. Whichever it is, I hope this trend continues.


Project 52: Week 14

Today was the first time since November last year that Torontonians were able to enjoy a nice, warm, sunny day.

I would normally venture to my favourite parts of the city, like Kensington Market or the Waterfront, but my wife had the brilliant idea of hiking through the beltline that runs along the DVP. This trail can take you from downtown, all the way up to St. Clair and it's a nice respite from the concrete, just a short walk from Yonge & Bloor.

Of course it lead to some awesome shutter therapy opportunities, and the pic of the week is of a rusty but still functional rail bridge, full of graffitis and empty beer cans. I have a feeling that this is were high school kids go drinking, smoking, and do other questionable activities on hot summer nights...

I also took my Yashica D with me, so shots from that camera will be posted soon, whenever I finish the roll. Which could be next winter, as the current pace (*sigh*)


Project 52: Week 13

One of the best things about a long term challenge (photography - or any kind really) is that it forces you to pay attention to things that you normally wouldn't. 

Anyone that's bee to the Toronto City Hall building has surely noticed that giant mural near the main entrance. I'ts not exactly conspicuous. It's striking and monumental, due to the sheer amount of nails that i's made of (lots).

So while at City Hall on Saturday waiting for the Toronto Pillowfight to start, I took shelter from the wretched Lake Ontario wind and snapped this pic. My personal philosophy with public works of art, whenever I'm photographing them, is to give proper credit when available. Today I learned that the mural is the work of British born sculptor David Partridge, and it's called Metropolis, and happy that I know a piece of Toronto trivia that had never bothered to learn in my 13 years here, thanks to this project.

Project 52: Week 12

 

Because of the limitations of my cheap camera setup, I find it difficult to capture moving subjects, sports, or anything that doesn't stay still for more than a few seconds. So this week, I'm taking a break from creepy mannequins and Japanese dolls to bring you some tried-and-true hard ligh shadows. Lazy, I know. 

Come summer, I hope to shoot more street and movement, but it's still ridiculously cold (for spring) in Toronto for anything interesting to be happening outdoors. At lest, that's my excuse...

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Project 52: Week 11

It wasn't until I bumped the contrast all the way up, when I noticed the somewhat haunting reflection of the houses on the right hand side, which kind of matched the skull motif. Something I definitely didn't notice when I was shooting. 

Project 52: Week 10

One of the best things about long-term photo challenges is the discipline and sense of responsibility you learn by bringing your camera everywhere and keeping an eye for that shot of the day/week. Also, it's a pain in the ass when you have too much shit going on, and you can't seem to manage to find the time or energy to shoot, not mentioning how much of a failure it makes you feel when it's day 7 and there is no "it" shot.

Week 10 photo comes after one of those moments, where I reluctantly brought along my E-pm1 (it's tiny, fits in my jacket pocket, but it's still annoying) while visiting a new pizza joint in the neighbourhood. Definitely not my best, but definitely my style, and that's the whole point of this project.

Photography is like pizza: Even when it's bad, it's good.


Project 52: Week 09

And just like that, the warm weather is back. I didn't realize how much I missed just walking around the city and shooting, without a set purpose, and be pleasantly surprised with the photos that come back.

This time of the year is fantastic for dramatic lighting, and Project 52 and my little Olympus PEN mini is just perfect to experiment with harsh shadows and highlights.

This week's shot is exactly one of those random moments, that I just happened to have a camera in hand to capture. It also happens to be the window front of one of my favourite diners in the city, The Lakeview in the west end. Three words: Apple Pie Shake.

On a side note, I can't explain how similar shooting with the E-Pm1 is to shooting with film. The only difference is that I have a preview of what I'm getting, but because of the nothing-to-write-home-about screen of this camera, what you see on the screen is rarely accurate to the actually photo recorded, in terms of colour and dynamic range. I hope to expand on this topic in following posts...


Project 52: Week 08

Shooting with an "sub-par" camera means being very resourceful in terms of finding an interesting subject and good light. But an often unmentioned fact, even in these days, is how much an image can benefit from post-processing. The right cropping, noise reduction, and exposure/colour adjustments can make all the difference when deciding which photo is a keeper and which one is not.

99% of the shots with my cheapo E-Pm1 setup are plain garbage. Even the ones I keep are far from stellar, but some Lightroom/Photoshop magic makes them publishable. Many photographers shun this. Get it right in camera, they say. That's what real photographers do, they say. I don't disagree, I actually try to capture as much as possible in camera first. But digital retouching is just another tool you have at your disposal to enhance your images―just like $6000 cameras are to some "real" photographers. 

This week, I'm also including the original unedited image, saved to JPG from the original RAW file. I have no shame in the digital retouching I do (most of my work has very minimal touch-up, in any case) and I don't think anyone should. Personally, it's just another skill/tool that takes time and patience to learn and perfect, and you should be proud to make good use―but not abuse―of them.

Here is the original....

Project 52: Week 07

As I was about to start this project, I knew this moment would come - a matter of 'when', not 'if'. Eventually, I wouldn't have one single photo worth of posting during the course of seven days. Which would mean using a 'keeper', a photo I took earlier and decided not to use.

The deciding factor? Human error. I had planned week six' pic to be one from the Yorkville Icefest, an annual tradition I never miss. I packed three cameras (Fuji X-T1, Panasonic GX7, and the Olympus E-Pm1), a spare battery for each, four lenses, and a clip-on flash for the Fuji. What did I forget? The clip-on flash for the E-Pm1. Pitch dark with an f8 lens and ISO that can't really go north of 1600 WITHOUT A FLASH, equals no usable pictures.

This goes to teach a priceless lesson: There is no such thing as making too sure you are packing all the gear needed. Had I not forgotten that one tiny, wimpy clip-on flash, meant the difference between getting the shot, and coming home empty handed. I also learned that Fuji's clip-on flashes don't work on Olympus cameras. Trust me, I tried.

So this one is a left over from week five, taken in the heart of University of Toronto's downtown campus. It was cold then, and it's even colder now in Toronto, with (at least) another two weeks to go of this arctic chill. I can't wait for the summer.

In case you're wondering, this is the photo I meant to take with the E-Pm1 - taken with the Panasonic GX7 instead (and the AMAZING Olympus 17mm f1.8 lens).