Tag Archives: GRD 4

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

A Wouter Brandsma Stroll Day …. of a Different Kind.

August 6, 2013 streetshooter Leave a comment

Wouter is taking some time off and going thru some personal issues. That’s understandable if you follow his blog like I do. You do follow it right? I thought so….

Well, I’m a walker by nature, used to be a runner but too old and can’t make photos running thru the streets cause a cop will see you holding the camera in your hand and know that you stole it and need time in jail to readjust your sick mind.

We all know that already. What we didn’t know….oh yeah…don’t try that stuff around here…I’m not the only one knowing that Wouter is a stroller. He’s so much a stroller, I think he invented it. It’s being traced thru the historical documents because there’s another guy that is a stroller….Pictor The Strolling Shooter. There’s no clearly defined person that actually invented the Art of Photographic Strolling.

So beings the walker that I am, I asked the GR if she would like to take a walk and she happily replied yes. I think she knows that I’ve been spending a lot of time with the guys out there. What, oh sorry…the guys are the Sony Nex 6 and the Ricoh GXR M Mount. They get along fine and both share the same lenses. Not many squabbles but occasionally they argue over the resolution in the images.

So Tanya, you remember…the Ricoh GR is named Tanya and I headed out to center city….my favorite spot. She was hot today and I noticed a few cameras checking her out. She made me promise to spend more time with her in the next few weeks and I agreed.

So for a spell, the GR will get a workout again and can rest assured that she’s not being sold off. I like Wouter’s work both in photo and words. I guess as a younger shooter he will just keep a strolling along and I the elder will keep on walking….. and I’ll keep on doing that with camera in hand till I reach the end….

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

The Eye, Heart and Mind … a Recipe for the Streets

August 5, 2013 streetshooter Leave a comment

There comes a time when most photographers, especially street shooters, feel a connection to the images they are making. Ya know….it’s been said that one should try to connect to the subject matter. In a way I agree with that and in a bigger way I don’t. Let’s face it. You might, maybe, almost have a few seconds before you click the shutter. In those few seconds are we suppose to connect to our subject matter? Yeah right…it ain’t happening, well here in Philadelphia it ain’t. So here’s a way to do this.

Work and work hard. Edit your efforts and get a grouping of images you like and relate to. I know youse all do this all the time so why am I preaching again? Well, if you want to connect to what attracts you out there, first you have to see it in print or on your screen.

See, now that you have these images in front of you, it’s time to read what you saw when you made the photo. You have to find the path to your Eye, Heart and Mind. Seriously, you’ll never get connected to your work just looking for it out there. You must connect to it in front of your eyes. You now have the time to study your efforts, thoughts and even reactions to what you do.

So now go out and do this…I’ll wait here……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………Ok, glad your back.

There are triggers that get you to release the shuter and there are triggers or attractors that get you into the image. Once you are aware of these, when your out there on the street….it’s like markings on a map. You are never lost and if you feel the road is all to familiar, it’s easy to steer off into a new direction. The point is, to be aware of your Eye, Heart and Brain and your place in the here and now.

The Power Of Suggestion…..you figure it out….

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

The Voigtlander 21mm f/4 Skopar 7′ Rule for the Street

August 2, 2013 streetshooter 1 Comment

Here’s some good stuff for the real street shooters. I’m using the Nex 6 and soon to be GXR M Mount again on the street with Voigtlander lenses. Ok, no biggie everybody does that. So what’s up wit dat Shooter?

The 21mm f/4 Skopar on the APS-C cameras comes out to 31.5mm FOV. This appeals to me in a very special way. See, for many years I used 35mm FOV on my Leica’s and even Digital Cameras when I could. Then it happened that 28mm became more natural for Camera Makers to do so I was forced to change my Natural Field of View, 35mm to 28mm.

Years ago I actually got 2 M6’s because of the 28mm in the frame lines. I was excited, got the Elmarit and never used it much. Now I am at the point that I still love 35mm but I also love 28mm. Enter the Skopar. Converted to 31.5mm it’s kinda right in the middle.

Love working with it. One of the issues with manual focus lenses is just that, focus!

So here we are and we wannna shoot the street with the Skopar but how to do it fast. I mean real fast. Here’s what I do and why.

I set the lens to 7′. My shutter is usually around 1/400 +- depends on light. Here’s the inside scoop on this.

f/4 5 – 11′

f/5.6 4.5 – 15.3′

f/8 3.9 – 30′

f/11 3.3 – Infinity

f/16 2.7 – Infinity

f/22 2.2 – Infinity

It’s easy to see that the DOF carries very nice, even wide open. So now the Aperture plays more important than before. If you are in lower light, f/4 will get a nice image even up close, the blur will be very sexi. I work this lens all the time like this and it’s as fast as the GR on Snap mode. That’s what I need on the street….speed and accuracy. I find the frame just right because it’s right in the middle of my Natural Field of Views.

This is a very stimulating way to work. There’s no auto something. You set the exposure, set 7′ and frame the photo. The beautiful thing here is that if you need to change anything at all…it’s right there as fast as you can do it.

I’ll be posting more tips and tricks shortly. Until then, The Inspired Eye Magazine, Issue 3 is being published today.

I hope you read it and more importantly, I hope you enjoy it. It’s a great read…..

Later, enjoy the weekend if it’s that time in your corner of the world.

don

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The Ricoh GR …. Off Street …. A Great Camera For Lasting Memories

August 1, 2013 streetshooter Leave a comment

One of my favorite photographers from way back to 1973 is Emmet Gowin. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emmet_Gowin

The reason was that he photographed his wife’s family usually with a large format camera. I immediately connected with his vision because I was doing the same thing but differently. His photos of his wife Edith sent chills down my back and sent film to my cameras. It would energize me all the way to this morning’s walk with Tanya in the rain. I had an instant realization of how important the Family Album was and is.

Someday I hope my archive of negatives will be found by a family member and they can have the history of our family printed. I even have negatives my Grandmother gave me from the late 1880’s of as many family members that were photographed and the images survived. My generation is the next to exit and I hope that my family album survives me but because it’s many negatives, the younger members won’t know what the heck this stuff is.

The Ricoh GR …. A Great Camera for Lasting Memories.

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The Ricoh GR …. Freedom on the Street …. but a Camera Killer

July 30, 2013 streetshooter 6 Comments

I made a discovery some time ago that the Ricoh GRD4 was a camera killer. The reason I say this is because once I pickup the GRD4 and take it out, it’s days to say the least before I can even start to think about using any other camera on the shelf. Ya see, this camera is as close to perfection for a street camera as one can get.

The new Ricoh GR is a very close companion to the GRD4 but it maintains a few differences. I’m not getting into firmware wants/needs because that is outside my real use of the camera. Sure, I want some things addressed but I am a shooter first and a shooter second also. I must be able to use the camera the way it is and not dream of what it may become after a firmware update.

The camera does everything a concerned street shooter requires to be able to do the work. In fact, it may do things too well. The Ricoh GR has captured the KILLER Instinct of it’s mother, the GRD4. Yes, this camera has the ability to kill the desire to use any other camera on the shelf. This creates a real problem for me and maybe others. After a session with the GR and I mean just a day or two… I am hard pressed to pick up the Nex6 or GXR. This is the dilemma I created and now live in. Of course I visit this mad house regularly.

The break point for me is actually a simple but difficult thing called FOV. See, I use the Nex and GXR with MF lenses only. I am using the Voigtlander 21mm & 35mm. These give me a FOV of 31.5mm & 52.5mm. That may be the saving grace in this GR situation. The GR gives 28mm. See, there must be a justification for me to switch FOV other than just the availability.

I know many think I’m nutty and I probably am but I’m also a dead serious shooter. When I raise my camera, the image is already burned in my mind. I’m not struggling with distance, lenses, FOV etc….. I just SEE and Click.

Garden work today so I may be tied up for a day or so.

The Inspired Eye Issue 3 is just about ready to be published. Keep an eye out, it’s a doozey……..

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

The Streets With The Ricoh GR

July 28, 2013 streetshooter 1 Comment

Ok, ok…so I didn’t dump the GR. Ya know…there’s a time and place for all things on this green earth. Even if your place isn’t GREEN, in one way or another…there’s still a time and place.

I have been working hard with Olivier to get the Issue 3 ready to publish. I have to say, the kid, ya know that Olivier fella, he knows his dew dew. So the Gr has been sitting on the shelf and probably somewhat nervous about being sold off.

I was in LR5 and working on some presets. It was this time that the GR revelation hit me. I am doing a few new sets and in the B&W I’m working on a gritty look that I love. I tried this on the GR a month ago and the images were too sharp and contrasty. That’s good for most but I want to be able to produce a look regardless of the camera. The NEX 6 is no issue at all. The files are extremely elastic.

So I pulled a few images from a month ago thinking they were from the Nex and started to work the Preset.

All the sudden, I started to see some mojo start to happen. A tweak here, some hot water there, a fire over there and nex thing I knew….I had some really cool presets starting. I said to myself in my usual excited tone, self….let’s get this saved and try it on some other cameras. Well, self said back to me…yo stupid….this is made on the GR. WAT? dskfhfkflghkhgdsmh!!!!!?

I was very surprised and extremely pleased. Ya see, I made a stupid mistake that my self figured out and now I have to admit that my Shrink at the VA is right about me not being too crazy but let’s not get carried away Don your still from from normal…..

So Iam now keeping the GR around me at all times, even the times that I shouldn’t have it with me because the Ricoh GR is not waterproof in the shower.

See, the most important thing about Presets is and must be embraced. Not every Preset will work on every file. That for me, would be too generic. I’m not making these for generic shooters, I’m making them for my friends and they deserve the best that I can do.

So I am working on a few exciting things. The GR has it’s new shot at staying in my pocket and won’t be sold.

The Inspired Eye Issue #3 is almost finished.

The New Presets are almost done and will be a knockout for street shooters….either B&W or COLOR!

More tomorrow when I get back from the VA.

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Garden, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

The EYE, HEART & MIND …. Keeping Focused on INTENT.

July 25, 2013 streetshooter 5 Comments

The quest for me has always been to stay focused with my eye, heart and mind. I’ve managed to do so in spurts of time and energy and at the same time, get unfocused as well. I remember sitting against a tall oak tree with Minor White. The class was all about making photos that may or may not in time have or have not any value.

Minor related to me more so than the others because I was a combat vet from Nam and really because I was always asking him questions. He told me that the hardest part of living was not in finding subject matter to focus on but focusing on my inner self.

I came to understand what Minor meant but so far, I have failed to find the inner self and stay focused on it for a prolonged period of time. This is what he meant as explained to me. The words may not be exact anymore but the meaning lives in me and will forever.

The single word that maintains value above and beyond all others is...“INTENT’. So maybe I have photos of flowers as above. The thing is, to most they see pretty flowers. To me and other photo warriors, we see INTENT. I see that what I felt at the moment of exposure is realized in these images. No, it’s not The Decisive Moment. (I’m not a firm follower in that saying anymore. Besides there are about 3600 seconds in a moment here in Philly. YMMV. That’s not using any fraction of seconds. So, today shooters have destroyed the essence of what Bresson was talking about. I choose not to subscribe to that ruination.)

So, if one’s intent is intact, then whether another gets the photo or not doesn’t matter at all. Photography being a form of visual communication needs to communicate. But with whom? If the photo lacks intent, it’s just like writing hogwash with words. The words are there but there is no intent and thus no message.

Photographers are more prone to suffer a lack of communication than other communicative arts. You can buy all the cameras, lenses, darkrooms, lightrooms etc you can afford. Shoot countless hours, days, weeks months etc. Take as many workshops as you can all the while, what you need to succeed in your quest is just plain and simple…INTENT.

Intent is the focusing of your….Eye, Heart and Mind.

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The Ricoh GR Dances with that Streetshooter Fella in Philly.

July 3, 2013 streetshooter 4 Comments

Funny stuff here in Philly. I wrote the other day how I wasn’t going to do the low chest shots without seeing the screen. Ya know….problem is…I really enjoy that view sometimes for certain subjects. Problem again is that the GR, I’m not allowed to call her Tanya right now because she has an attitude. WTF! How to do an attitude adjustment procedure with a camera?… Right, …..!

So I told her to just work and we can play the silent game until she rethinks whatever is bugging her. I can wait and if she continues, I’ll pull the battery out and well…that’s a great way to silence a camera but my wife with the same name Tanya doesn’t have batteries cause if she did……he he he……..

Color works well with the GR and this is from a preset I whipped up in LR5. I don’t like color but the GR, (nameless at the moment) likes it. That’s why we are arguing so much. She wants to do color and I, well do B&W. She’s a smart camera also. he he he I told her that we do RAW and we could discuss the color b&w issue later in the LightRoom. She said that would not be correct because my INTENT would not be for color. hmmmm……….

So, this shot above is indicative of the Shooters Low Angle Shooting Procedure…….I bent down on one knee like I was tying my shoe. Then as they look at me….Pop goes the weasel. It appears that I may be in a submissive position but really it’s a very defensive position and I am better protected by any idiot that wants to kill or mame me but that doesn’t really happen because it just doesn’t but the GR doesn’t like this way of working but will adapt because I’m the boss because Da Wifey and Da Camera are bosses at home and I need to feel important sometimes but this ain’t it……but I’m still the boss on the street! whoooosh, that was a breath full…..

The point of all this is….when your working the street, you need to be able to improvise in any given situation at any given time. It’s a hard habit to break, this chest/hip shot thing. There are ways to satisfy the image view without falling prey to the lazy way of working. I say this for myself and not for any other shooter working the street.

It’s the 4th of July here in the American Colony. It’s a time for celebration and a joyous time to make memories.

Remenber, things always appear greener on the other side of the fence……..true….it’s because there’s more S**T there to fertilize it.

As you go through out your life, friends, whatever be your goal…….keep your eye upon the doughnut and not upon the hole.

in Fond Memory of Dr Murray Banks

Black & White, Color, Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Off Street, Photography, Street, Street Photography, Street Presets, Streetshooter, Uncategorized

All in a Dream …. It’s All Just a Dream ….

June 26, 2013 streetshooter 2 Comments

There was a time when I didn’t worry about cameras. I didn’t need a lightmeter because I could see and feel the exposure. I didn’t worry about FOV or focal lengths. I never thought about batteries, USB connections…..All I thought about was just making pictures with one of my M cameras and a 35mm lens. I never thought that I’d ever have to change my organzing of photos. I didn’t care about how heavy my Canon 5D with the 24-105 was.

Geeze, thank the Digital Yellow Mother that time is gone………!

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The Ricoh GR …. To Snap or not to Snap ….That is the Question

June 25, 2013 streetshooter 4 Comments

As most of youse shooters know, I’ve been having issues of sorts with the GR. I think the biggest issue is/was my own expectations. So I decided to abandon the pre-conceptions I have from the Ricoh GRD4 and re-think the Ricoh GR. Probably the biggest reason that shooters respond to the GRD series is the Snap Mode. Yes, the GR has it also.

I have been having issues with the ISO in TAv and this is directly causing a problem in Snap Mode.

So I normally put Fn1 button to toggle AF/Snap. Then Fn2 gets to set the Snap Distance. It’s a very fast way to work but maybe that’s the problem. Maybe just maybe I don’t need to work that fast anymore. I ain’t no rookie out there on the streets. I like to SEE what I’m working on to make a photo. I also want the option to work fast if I need to and also again I might like to hang the camera on a strap around my neck and do chest shots etc. This creates a conundrum of sorts because my mind works faster then the camera because I take meds and the camera doesn’t but should because I think the Ricoh GR has a split personality.

So here’s what I came up with. Now you must understand that if I can’t resolve the issues I have with the GR, it’s gone. Here’s how I am working to resolve some issues.

The camera works best (for me) on TAv mode. I get to set the aperture, to control DOF and the Shutter Speed to control the amount of movement/blur I want in the photo. The camera will choose the ISO out to 25600 but I also get to set EV comp which I hardly ever do but will do because it’s available and Ray and Wouter and Craig and Jorge and…… think it’s a good idea.

At this point I would normally set my f/stop to the desired number to get the DOF I want. Ah hah….here’s the problem. By toggling Fn1, I can use Snap or AF at will. Ok…..but this is a 2 press procedure. I have to press Fn1 to get where I want and then release.

I am now using AF mode with Full Press Snap on. With the GR, the AF is very fast and accurate and the Full Press Snap is also. The difference is….. if I’m using AF because I want to get things focused the way I want and then decide that I have to work fast… I just have to hit the release all the way and BANG…the world of the GR is a safe place again.

This may sound like the obvious solution but as a shooter, we need to find the path of discovery by ourselves. Yeah yeah….bulldinky shooter…get to the darn point again….sheeeesh!

The point is this. In order to use the AF you need to look at the screen. If your looking at the screen and framing the photo, well that’s a great way to work. It’s not the only way but it’s a great way. Many things can happen. You could even face confrontation but you have to deal with these things or you’ll stay on the computer and play video games….yuch!

So now the GR and I are learning to communicate with each other again. I think at some point I’ll feel like a real photographer again. Until that time, about 30 minutes from now, I’ll just keep working to understand myself and my relationship to Tanya….not the camera…my wife…..

It’s freakin’ hot here and I gotta get off the computer….

see ya’s all soon…..

…………………….end transmission……………………………………………………………..shooter out

Street Photography Chronicles by Don Springer