A new year has started, everyone my best wishes and the best of light for 2010. And the beginning of a new year is for me a good time to make some plans for the upcoming year. This year I really want to finish my first photo book, hopefully January or February (March). Secondly, I might want to join a local photography club to meet other photographers, sharing ideas and learning new stuff. Related to learning new stuff, I want to go old school again. I am seriously thinking about going to do film again and even thinking of developing it myself.
Why? I want to fully understand the differences of the different medium and become more thoughtful about my photography again. Nowadays many people are proud of taking more than 10,000 photographs a year, while Robert Capa for instance took something like 50,000 photographs in his entire career (which lasted 22 years). I know that learning to become a better photographer is all about practice, practice, but large quantities doesn’t necessarily improve the quality either. Thoughtfulness might be emphasize.
I not only want to use film with my Ricoh GR1, but also with some of my older cameras. These cameras are all about simplicity. No matrix or multi-pattern metering, but just good old center weighted. In fact, the sunny f/16 rule will often be enough too. Just ISO 400 B&W and nothing else. No screen for confirmation, no face detection, nothing of all the fancy stuff.
When I got my Ricoh GR1 in 1996 it was all about simplicity. Aperture mode, EV compensation when needed and that is it. The current line up of the Ricoh GR cameras are still great, but they have turned them into very specialist tools. It kind of looses the magic of the original GR1 for me. And yes, I liked using the Ricoh GXR, but while trying that camera I realized it has all become to advanced. It can manual focus, but trying to do without a focus limiter is a pain in the ass. Zone focusing can be done, but just isn’t as reliable I think with a lens that has a focus-by-wire system. When I focus my older legacy lenses for the 10D at 3 meters I know it will be 3 meters. So I can only hope some manufacturer understands that wish for simplicity without the price of a Leica M9. A simple Nikon FM with a full frame sensor would do the trick for me.
Joining a local photography club will also mean more printing again, which is I think a good thing too. Holding the print in the hand is still so much better. And joining a club will probably also force me to do more project-minded photography. I think you don’t need to travel to take the best photographs. Photographs are everywhere and projects will probably make me realize that even more.
So again best wishes for 2010 and many photography opportunities for all of you. And that everything might become more photography related instead of more feature packed stuff. And to put up the heat even more, all these photographs are just extracted jpegs from the RAW images and edited in Nik Silver Efex Pro. I kind of like the texture of these jpegs.
All photographs by Wouter Brandsma
Wouter Brandsma 
Actually, this simplicity, is the word for me in all things in 2010…
For photography, yes, too.
Less cameras (although i just added the dp2 for the 41mm lens), but I will try to use it as a rangefinder, manually, with all these options of nowadays camera turned off.
Maybe even one setting, neutral, less processing, no need to make the world/view better than it was?
The idea of joining a photoclub seems good, in the size your town there must be a good one?
Happy new year!
Not bad Ronald. DP2, optical viewfinder, ISO 400, and the screen off. It remains an interesting camera and I love to hear your thoughts about it.
In fact, there is a photoclub with some 60 members which is quite large.
This last week in Poland I only took the dp2 and love the view… I just posted a picture on Flickr (misiekbunnik). It seems that is meters light a bit better than my dp1??? Iso200 or 400 is indeed good and makes it a bit faster. Focussing in low light is bad, so manual or zone focussing is a must!
Overall the camera seems quicker though, startup, the new menu with a quick access button to several photographic functions is good. Oh, on the control wheel there is no “auto” anymore, only P. A, S and setup and so on. So sigma knows they are not selling this camera to ‘auto’ people 🙂
i want a 40mm viewfinder for sure, but the price is high. I might take a old 40mm camera apart and make a do it yourself one….
All sounds very good Ronald and your latest photograph has absolutely fantastic light.
Happy new year and best wishes for your projects!
It is very interesting to read about your next moves and I share some of your thoughts.
I find myself between two “extrem” positions: Finding&Using a best camera versus the joy of shooting (which includes a very simple and reliable camera). In 2008, I have replaced my P&S camera with a GX200. The joy of photoraphy came back. In 2009, I brought a Olympus E-420 with a single lens (28-108mm FF), because of some shortcomings of the GX200 (like speed, DR, noise). AND I brought a Pentax 67 (plus 4 lenses!) because I wanted slow down photography and to work more with my hands instead of sitting in front of my computer. I started to develop the films by myself (B&W, only Fuji Neopan 400, Rodinal). I really enjoy that side of photography. Maybe I will buy an enlarger, but I have to find and prepare a room for my printing.
In 2010, I plan to replace the E-420 with a another DSLR (Olympus?) which should have IS and a usable ISO 1600-3200 image quality. I’m still looking for the best camera 🙂
Regarding a photo club, I feel it would be nice and helpful to talk and discuss about photography. I think I will join the Munich photowalk group. The Munich photowalk organises a “photo safari” in Munich every month.
BTW, photo #2&4 are my favourites.
Cheers, Markus
Thanks for sharing Markus. I personally don’t find the 4/3 or m4/3 a major step forward from small sensors. Maybe they capture slightly more midtones, but still display the blown highlights phenomena. Still, an E-420 with an older Zuiko 24mm f/2.0 would be really nice set-up.
That must be really nice in Munich, a “photos safari”. You should really do it. Not only great to talk and discuss photography, but most importantly also to meet-up with people.
I am not yet sure about the film. What B&W film will be best for scanning? How are your experiences with Neopan 400?
Just checked your stream and I immediately saw the image of the Grosser Rettenstein which I climbed in 2001.
Well, I think the 4/3 format and the Olympus lens (setup) are a real plus. And I can put on very other SLR film lens with the right adapter. I’m thinking of my 200mm F4 Pentax 67 lens on a PK adapter on a PK-4/3 adapter. It would be an equivalent to 800 mm FF. 🙂
One of the main reasons to use Neopan 400 it is cheaper than Kodak and Ilford. I’m just starting with B&W film, therefore I don’t care for the different properties of the films. They all have their advantages and maybe I will change the film when I need a specific advantage. I don’t digitize the negavives with a scanner but take a photo of the negative with my E420 while the negativ is on a electroluminescent source (light emitting tablett). I can digetize fast (less than a 90 sec for each negative) and I had only brought the tablett. I have just uploaded to Flickr two photos of my latest Neopan for you.
Markus
Yeah, 4/3 is just as flexible as Canon when it comes to using different lens mounts.
I either am thinking of Neopan 400 or Ilford HP5, although I have seen excellent prices for Tri-X (and C41 processed XP2).
I have used similar technique too with my GX200 for photographing negatives and slides and will need to see how it works with my SLR. Thanks!
Some of your posts echo my thoughts exactly-
I want to shoot more B&W film with my Olympus OM-1 this year.
Regarding the choice of film/processing- I have been very happy with DR5. This lab can make B&W slides from most B&W films. The web site gives details for each film.
There are several things to like-
1) High quality
2) Easy scanning
3) You can see the image without scanning. This is an enjoyable process and it saves time because you only scan the images you like.
Cost is high enough to enforce a slower, more careful way of shooting.
DR5 lab is in Colorado, but it does business world-wide.
I checked there website and the examples of the different films were very interesting. I in particular liked the HP5 impressions. Prices were impressive too.
I have several options of scanning or even photographing the negatives, so I don’t worry about that.
An OM-1 would be a great camera. Prior to picking up my GR1 in ’96 I thought about the OM-system to replace my Nikon SLR system.
Wouter, you mentioned two things I can relate to.
Looking for more simplicity [for me this means working on a collection of lo-fi cellphone images] and shooting with projects in mind [that’s why I changed my ambiguous photoblog into a portfolio site = less pressure and more time for shooting/editing the stuff I really like].
I personally don’t feel any pressure with regard to regular posting to my blog. For me it is all about quality and not about quantity. I much rather do not post for a couple of weeks, then posting some worthless stuff. I still would also like to work on a portfolio site myself (good idea).
The pressure thing is personal, I know. I’m dealing with some worsening health issues, so things tend to be less easygoing than normal lately.
I recognize the health issues, Robert. It restricted me from photography quite some time too. So take good care of yourself.
Hello Wouter!
First I like to thank you for a nice site and for a great philosophy about photography and other thoughts as well. I took a lot of pictures private and even got paid for shooting weddings, back in the 80-90-ies while I was living in San Francisco with a heavy Minolta 9000 with all the works that I dragged around until I lost about 2 inches in length. Then all of a sudden, all my equipment and all my frames got stolen in a burglary which made me lose interest and sparks and made me not shoot a frame in 12 years. Finally, last year I got inspired to buy a digital camera again and runned into an artist/blogger named Tony Karp on the internet who uses a simple camera and had a interesting background and a good philosophy. (check him out) I bought the same camera he uses and had fun year taking pictures again. Well my camera has a reach from 27-430 mm and I have no problem with the quality of the pictures, but more so with my own vision. I require simplicity. One normal focal length. I bought a DP2+viewfinder used yesterday and hope I will have a blast shooting manually and slow, both here at home in the swedish countryside and when I travel I really hope that this will develop my “artisic eye”. You can value life in so many ways. “Modern life is rubbish! 😉
Happy new year / Micke
Happy New Year Micke. Make life simple. It is cool that you have found your joy again and enjoy your DP2.
I checked Karp’s blog and I like it that he is using a simple P&S, shoot jpeg, and is just having a lot of fun. That is also how I have set up my Ricoh GRDI. Just like my older analogue GR1. Screen off, in-camera B&W jpeg, ISO 400 and aperture mode and Nik SIlver Efex Pro for prepping the images.
Not that your normal posts are ‘shallow’ but this has been an even more thought provoking one than normal.
I’ve been taking photo’s for fun and because I wanted to record my honeymoon. Now I’m slowly thinking of a project that I could work towards. I think I will gain much more overall satifisation this way from my photo’s rather than getting an odd photo that I really love.
I don’t care about the technical side of photo’s. My camera is normally in auto or program mode and I always shoot jpeg’s over raw. What I do care about is the finished acticle or the story behind a photo or indeed why a photo was taken.
I think thats why I read your blog. Yes you know the technical in’s and out’s of your camera’s but you don’t go on about it too much or show graph’s etc like some sites do. You create beautiful images (love photo 1 and 6 today) and talk a little about why you have taken them or what thought’s are on your mind.
While I can understand why you want to join a photography club I hope they aren’t too gear obsessed and that filter’s into you and your work!
Good night 🙂
I don’t understand those graphs either. I don’t see how that can affect my photography. If that pleases other people, I’m fine with that.
Hope the GX200 works good for you.
Wouter:
The idea of taking 10,000 pictures a year is to me, an absurdity. Asked why he doesn’t bracket his (color) shots, William Eggleston, responded that it’s too difficult to chose the best shot afterwards. Anselm Adams stated that one is luck if one makes a handful of “good photographs” in a year.
On film and printing, I still thinks that it’s worthwhile for everyone to have the experience of photographing with B&W film and making darkroom prints, as I think it’s the best way to learn about the possibilities of a fine print in terms of contrast and tonal gradations. A good basic, two-week B&W darkroom workshop course is a good idea. Although, in my view, it’s not necessary to continue with film after that unless that is what one loves to do.
It’s also worthwhile to read Anselm Adams’ two books, “The Negative” and the “Print” and well as the following book, which shows a series of straight prints and the step-by-step contrast changes and selective dodging and burning that transform it into a fine print; although it’s based on the darkroom, it’s invaluable for digital post=processing as well.
http://www.amazon.com/Black-White-Photographic-Printing-Workshop/dp/1883403391/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&s=books&qid=1262560890&sr=1-2
On focusing the GXR/A12, I agree with what you say. For manual focusing, the MF scale on the LCD in manual focus mode is not precise enough. I find I alternate between using spot autofocus and manual focus. But keep in mu=ind that, for street photography, the ranger finder focusing of the Leica-M is not fast enough either, and that it’s often necessary to use zone focusing.
What do you mean by a “focus limiter”?
Finally, I’m rather skeptical about camera clubs.
—Mitch/Paknampram
Thank you for the info on the printing and the book. Very interesting. And regarding focusing rangefinders, I don’t know, but this is accurate focusing to me.
A focus limiter is an option to reduce the range that an AF lens uses to get focus when it struggles focusing. Normally a lens would go from the nearest focus point to the end of the range. A focus limiter will stop the begin point at something like 2 meters.
Wouter:
I forgot to add that I don’t at all see the value of turning off the LCD and not using it for exposure evaluation purposes on a digital camera — at least not on a camera with a high-resolution LCDs as good as those on the GRDIII and the GXR: with these camera I find that I prefer using manual spot exposure mode, in which you can press a button on the back of the camera to “center the needle” on the recommended exposure and then use the ADJ lever to move the shutter speed up or down, seeing on the LCD whether you have the highlights and the shadow areas looking the way you want. In my experience, this LCD view is actually a very good indication whether you’re getting what you want, even in very bright light.
—Mitch/Paknampran
Mitch, I love the surprise factor of photography and a LCD screen is not part of that for me. I just don’t take all the tools and features of digital photography as an advantage.
Simplicity. Perhaps that is why I’m enjoying shooting with my iPhone so much. That and the simplicity of the photo editing apps for the iPhone. None of this Photoshop or Lightroom stuff. Just point, compose, “click” and edit.
Photoshop or Lightroom or whatever is not the problem. It is all about consciousness I think.
Then there is my problem….I’m probably not conscious!
You’re probably more conscious then you realize. You enjoy the iPhone thing, pointing, composing, and pressing the shutter button. That is it. You don’t necessary need to be conscious about the composing. Feeling is important I think.
well I can understand your wish to do “real” B&W photography. It is a really special feeling working in the darkroom. It’s fun, fascinating and a whole new world of techniques. I loved TRI-X and rodinal (diluted 1+64, 1+100 or even 1+200) and heavy fiber oriental-seagull papers. You got a tonality that simply isn’t there in digital photography. You got toning and bleaching and… It was and is real fun. However at least I spent more time in the darkroom than being out actually taking photographs… it is very easy to get obsessed with the details and the darkroom technique. It takes time and it is very expensive.
I agree however with Jonathan. I really like your photography and your non technical approach to the picture taking. Keep up the good work.
cheers /michael
Thank you Michael. For me photography is about observing and making something special. The technical stuff is where I loose my creativity.
And I still need to figure out where I could create a darkroom inside my house. Every room has a window and there is no large closet unfortunately. Still think it is good fun and your comments makes me more excited.
Since October, I have been shooting with my grandma’s Leica M3 and a 50mm lens. As it’s near to impossible to have your own lab here, I have been shooting a (C41 process) B&W film from Kodak. The results still suck – in part due to the photographer, and also in part due to the lab, I’m afraid – but the process of taking pictures has become a lot of fun again. Also, Sunny 16 works great! 🙂
Simplicity in photography is one of my main goals to achieve. Forget all the complicated technique and gear discussions and just concentrate on making beautiful photos…
Oh Fabian, be glad you’re not working with positive film then. Accurate exposing is even more important with slides. Negatives can take some beating and in doubt it is often best to slightly overexpose.
The M3/50mm sounds like a wonderful combo. Maybe it holds also an emotional value that makes it even more precious.
Wouter, I have so enjoyed exploring your blog. I read some of your reviews on cameras and ended up here most of the day. Your photography is inspiring. I have been without a digital camera for too many months, but always find that I hate what digital has to offer. In the end, I’m simply disappointed that it’s not film. But, with 10 rolls of undeveloped in my fridge, I can’t deny the instant gratification of that LCD.
I think I’ve fallen in love with Ricoh, and as I can’t get my hands on one for a test drive, I’ll just have to make that leap. I found a used GRD on ebay, complete with the 21mm lens, adapter, viewfinder, and a few other accessories. I’m debating that for the same price I could have a GR III, but with no accessories, and I was wondering your opinion. I don’t think I could live without an optical viewfinder, and I hate to purchase that outright.
Thanks so much and great luck to you in 2010! I love the idea of more film and shared ideas.
Amanda
A tough call Amanda. Both cameras are fine tools, but the GRD is an older camera. LOL, I mean 2005 and unlike film cameras they don’t seem to last so long. Even though you can get all the goodies with the GRD I would personally go for the GRDIII. And in the meantime start saving some money on a 28mm optical viewfinder.
And think of your preferences. Do you like 4:3 or 3:2? When you like 4:3 then the Ricoh viewfinder are good options, but when you prefer 3:2 you might want to look at Voigtländer for instance.
Good luck deciding.
Wouter, your insight is much appreciated. It is amazing how quickly the digital cameras age! The GRD III will definitely be a good purchase. It is equally amazing to discover the menagerie of viewfinders available on the web. Many people have posted on flickr their different combinations, with some even dissecting old cameras to remove their glass. http://www.flickr.com/search/?w=all&q=ricoh+viewfinder&m=text
Cheers,
Amanda
The aging is horrific, but still not the best reason to replace a camera. If it works, it works. In this case I hope you enjoy using the GRDIII for many years to come, an amazing camera.
With the optical viewfinder I set my GRD up like the original GR1. I don’t use the LCD screen, set the image for B&W, file quality for RAW, aperture mode, prepare one of the function buttons for changing spot AF to snap and the zoom buttons for EV compensation. With the GRDIII I was very comfortable keeping it at ISO 200 or 400 for most of the situations.
Hello,
finding your approach interesting I wonder how you control your settings with the LCD screen turned off.
Or do you choose a fixed aperture (which one?) and let the camera care for the shutter speed?
Regards
Peter
I use the GRD in aperture mode and select the aperture (mostly f/3.2 and in the dark f/2.4). The camera will select the appropriate shutter speed. Just like the original GR1 cameras.
I found camera clubs to mostly concentrate on the single picture, the one shot that takes the prize. Out of the 4 camera clubs I tried in Sydney only one worked to actively promote project style photography, the rest had no idea what a project is about.
As far as I understood it, this photography club is more focused towards projects. I will see it 20 January for myself.
mooie woorden Wouter! Ik zie uit naar je boek! Aangaa nde trots op > 1000 foto’s per jaar! Ik moet zeggen het véél fotograferen en dus in mijn geval + 5000 foto’s betekende ook leren, ervaring opdoen, beter worden in gebruik van LICHT. Ik ben er nog lang niet – zeker niet nu mijn LCD Display van mij SOny A300 defect is! Ik moet wel bekennen dat ik dat display niet miste vanwege de techniek, maar wel om te zien welke functies aan of uit stonden, zo schoot ik fraaie foto’s dacht ik, maar was vergeten de ISO die ik de avond ervoor op 800 had staan terug te zetten en tja helaas kon ik ook niet meer zien wat de status van de batterij was! Kortom ik herken me zeker in je prachtige streven – laten we zien hoever we komen. Overigens de bovenstaande foto’s zijn echt UNIEK in zijn soort voor mij! Well done!
Cheers to 2010.
ps. fotoclub goed idee, printen idemdito…ben mijn tweede fotoboek aan het afronden…..let wel puur voor privé doeleinden 🙂
Hoi Dave,
Dat is balen met je camera. De 10D die ik gebruik, heeft nog zo’n klein en fijn schermpje met de basisinformatie. Alleen de A850 en de A900 hebben een klein schermpje bovenop.
En wat betreft foto’s. Je “Frozen” foto op flickr mag er anders ook zijn. Mooi perspectief en prachtig zwartwit.
Nice pictures Wouter. I really like the foot steps and the bicycle ones.
Happy 2010 Wouter (6 days into it)! Simplicity is also my goal for 2010, in many aspects of my life, not just photography. And I as well plan to print more. Just yesterday I ordered prints from a recent series, and this weekend I plan to refill the ink in my Epson at home. Interestingly, though I like many of my photos I’m much more particular when it comes to which ones I should print. That may be my best editing method!
I’m looking forward to another year of your wonderful and inspiring work.
Thank you Andrew and good luck and fun on the printing.
Yours is a voice of reason, Wouter, in an increasingly nonsensical world where a lot of people seem to be obsessed by owning the latest and greatest camera gear and somehow feel they are a better photographer because of the particular brand of camera they own.
Your photographs, time and again, confirm the truth of the adage that the person behind the camera is what really counts. It is always a joy to visit your site, where quality does indeed reign supreme.
Best wishes for 2010.
Best wishes too. As a photographer you can’t ignore the tool and the tool can make a difference, but the type of gear and the age of the gear should all make some common sense too. I personally believe it is stupid and useless to constantly replace and upgrade your gear. For instance the first carefully chosen camera is often something very special for the owner. Since you carefully picked up that camera it becomes your references of pleasure and fulfillment. When the manufacturer announces a follow up and you buy it, it will likely not give you the same satisfaction as the first one, since you expect and hope for that special feeling again. The improvements however are mostly just incremental and not earth shaking.
And don’t we all love to be fooled? The iPhone might be the ultimate gadget, but it won’t make your phone calls any better. That a Mac might be better for creatives is I think just placebo. But we make ourselves believe anything to just justify our sometimes unlogical expenses.
So inspired with your words I will try to keep focused on photography and photographs in particular.
Hi Wouter,
best wishes for 2010 from my side. You should definitely try analogue shooting – its great fun and you are really “making” pictures instead of shooting and “just put the bad ones to the trash”.
best wishes
Peter
http://thecandidrangefinder.wordpress.com
I know Peter. I have still an unprocessed film here from last year’s February. I will get myself a new battery for my GR1 and will look for some film and be very careful with those 36 exposures.
Having 36 exposures on a FF roll is a bit like shooting digital to me, because I’m not very disciplined and I’m misled to take photos which are not composed but simply snapshots. This is one my motivations to use MF instead FF. Most of the time I take 10 photos in 1-2 hours (I have rarely more time). When I go shooting film, I always carry my Ricoh GX200 with me for “action”, kids, and as a polaroid replacement.
Cheers, Markus
Happy New Year, how is the book coming along?
Caught up in my work. Thanks for reminding. Belate Happy New Year too Enche.
hope you’re passing some time in the darkroom while there’s no update 😉
i really appreciate the way you think about photography! since i got seriousely interested in photograpy like 2years ago, i shot most of the time with my dad’s good ol’ canan a-1 and two fixed lenses and i think that limitation helped me a lot to progress. kepp it simple!
christoph.
A darkroom it is, but it has unfortunately nothing to do with photography 😦 Very little time.
Wonderful that you got more seriously about photography. And the simplicity of the A-1 is all you need. You learn the basics and are not hindered by the technical barriers of current cameras. Keep up the good work!
I have the same feeling to go back to film. Most people now have pay too much attention on the equipment, but not how to photography. All the lastest technologies on the digital camera ‘HD movie, GPS…’ all those things distract us from taking photos, everytime before we push the shutter botton it always takes time on the camera setting. Just like you mention, people use their digital camera fire the shutter like using a machine gun, but at the end of the day how many picture satisfy you. I love film camera, you dont need to worring those setting all you need it is to search the subject and take the picture and wind the film get ready for the next shoot. It is not always about the expensive equipment, a single use disposeble camera can take great picture and inpress us as well. “simply the best”