Thursday, January 13, 2011

Lock, blur and stream - taking 150,000 photographs with the LX3


Lock, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Fir, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Pine, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

Stream, originally uploaded by jiihaa.

I wasn't sure whether I should note the 150,000 photograph milestone at all, but then I remembered TOP's posting about resolutions, which is worth quoting once again: "I have a small bit of modest advice. Set mechanical goals. That is, goals of time, number, frequency, or duration. Photography is a game of doing, and things get done only when you get going and do them."

So, I thought I should note that my LX3 has now passed the milestone of 150,000 photographs taken. If you are wondering what is the situation with your LX3, there is a way of displaying the camera info, of which I wrote earlier. Here is how the camera info looks now:



It has been an interesting time with the LX3, and I have taken 20-30 times more photographs with it than with my previous cameras combined. Of course, when I was using film, the cost of photography was such that it would have been impossible to take so many photographs. Digital changed that.

And what is best about photography? That you can focus on something and get a thing captured.

4 comments:

Sven W said...

Since going digital in 2007, I take around 200 images per month (I carry my camera once maybe twice a week). Perhaps not a lot of images but I've certainly improved in that time.

Juha, after 150,000 photos you've probably identified some favourite genres but what about a "style" (equipment, technique, viewpoint)? Or do you think a style should be avoided in favour of each image standing on its own merits?

Juha Haataja said...

A hard question, which I need to think about for a while.

One triviality (?) though. I really like the way of shooting which the LCD makes possible - from the hip, from down ground level, from above. Even though the LCD is not articulating on the LX3, it works quite well. The "pro look" of having the camera agains your face is not for me. I'm quite happy to use the LCD and look amateurish.

I'm being tempted by the Olympus XZ-1 lens, which is brighter and longer in the tele end than the LX3. However, even the LX3 wasn't such a big leap from the Digital Ixus 400 - some of the images taken with the Ixus are really quite good. Of course, in dim light you could do much with the Ixus.

As for viewpoint etc. - I like for my photography to be work in progress, showing everyday things, not something "special".

And most of all I appreciate my family photographs. Some of them feel like I was close to getting "it" right.

Sven W said...

Like you, I also use my photography as an "auto-biographical tool", documenting activities with friends and occasionally family.

Rather than one-off images, I like to create a short visual story of what happened. I also think this is a good way to "stay in the moment".

My camera technique and post-processing are very "neutral" -- the image is intended to look real. In hindsight, this approach allows me to focus on content and composition*. I also think that capturing an interesting visual in a straight-forward way maintains the "integrity" of the original scene.

* I say "composition" but perhaps a more accurate term is "seeing". And I guess what we are looking for -- hoping to see -- is a "decisive moment".

Juha Haataja said...

@Sven: Looking real, that is rather challenging. One always selects - viewpoint, composition, moment. But I guess you have to focus on something to make a picture.