Friday 20 March 2015

For some time I have felt the loss of my photography mojo. During that time I have not lost interest in photography, just confidence in my own creativity and ability.

I had a big sort out of my camera gear which I felt was somewhat distracting me. Yes, GAS (gear acquisition syndrome) was getting in the way of getting out there and making pictures. This may seem a contradictory comment as one needs a camera to make a picture. However, the amassing of cameras can become a huge distraction. If only I had a faster lens... ; or if only I had that larger format ... etc etc.

So I had to rationalise. The Contax 645 and G systems are sacrosanct for their wonderful attributes. Apart from them I will keep an Olympus OM2n because I have a dedicated ring flash setup for certain specialised situations. Other than these, it is mechanical all the way. Hasselblad for medium format Contax S2 SLR with the magical Zeiss lenses, and for most of the time a Contax IIa and Leica M2 for every day.

OK so I am not slumming it but shooting manual exposure all the way is very liberating. At the same time I am teaching my daughter Amelie, how to be a photographer. Light, exposure, equipment, composition etc.

I've also gone back to the well for inspiration. One of the things that amused and encouraged me was a Podcast by fellow film enthusiasts. The FPP podcast. My passion for photography goes back to the latish 70s but in the last few years podcasts like this one added lots of fuel to my fire for the medium. I am currently listening again to their podcasts from episode one. I remember discovering them around the time of episode two. I loved their amateur approach; enthusiastic and contagious. Listening again, I can sometimes remember where I was when I listened to that episode for the first time several years ago. Wonderful.

So this post is dedicated to Mike, John and the crew at FPP podcast