Tag Archives: Personal Work

Leica, Street Photography, Workshops

August 3rd, 2019 …Circumnavigating Photos and Then Some

11 Comments

Ya know one of the best things about getting old, ya can say crazy things and most will accept it from you. If you try it when you’re younger, well they have places for you where others say things like that and ya fit in. so Suzanne and I went to get sushi and talk photography. You know me, I’ mall in for being seen in public with her. Got Ding the Leica M9 on my neck and Suzanne on my arm. Dat’s right G, I be da man. So we walk and finally get to the sushi shop on Walnut near 7th. We go in and like 5 people come to her and say high in Japanese. Then they say hi to me in Philly English. I didn’t expect a group and she never mentioned this to me. So they all sit and I seat Suzanna and slide her and her chair to the table. A few of the ladies there looked with a kind longing approval. I mean obviously I’m the only gentleman in the group and unfortunately, probably all around. They all start talking Japanese and Suzanne puts her hands to her ears and says, Don. Now the language switches to English and I kind have that down some. maybe not perfect but good enough. I didn’t know why I was here and would have appreciated Suzanne letting me in on things  but I just went with the flow.

So Suzannz tells everyone to start asking questions. If it was anyone else, I would have been offended but Suzanne, I’d fight my way back from hell for her. So a guy ask me, “How do you maintain the visual quality and continuity in your photos thru all the years? The great thing about questions and answers especially is, not to have canned answers. I like to open me poor brain and my warriors heart sand construct an answer that fits me.

It’s not the easiest thing to do. You need to have the knowledge and the means of presentation to make it work. I like to get an answer started with a thought train and then quickly open the valve from the heart and then answer. In the old daze, we called it winging it but now I am much more sophisticated and more a proper adult so I like things to work for the questionnaire. So I started talking and first things first, I said. Plan your work and work your plan and don’t be afraid to improvise along the way. There are different starting points to a photo but mostly, all will go thru this cycle.

Example: An idea for a photo forms in your brain and or mind. You can kinda visualize it but no clarity. Then go out to make photos and breathe in the light and the scenes and people. Take them to your heart and mind. Keep reflecting on the image planted in your idea. Don’t be afraid to let someone or something distract you. Go for it but try to come back to your initial idea. Of course your camera is your partner and friend and you have no issues because you are on the same train together. In time hopefully you will see something that stirs up the thoughts, ideas, emotions of the idea and now you just frame and wait for the trigger. Then, CLICK.

Keep working but you will feel a kinda excitement because you know your satisfying the inner thoughts and idea of your photography. At this point it’s time to see what you captured. When you get into Lightroom, the image should spark excitement, questions and answers and generally you want to work on it. Start processing the photo and keep an open mind but recall the initial idea and emotions. You do not have to stick with that but you absolutely need to know where you started so you can venture into the unknown. Now you hopefully can look at the photo and have a mental map of where you started and now where you are.

This is circumnavigating a photo. We go around the world of the photo and then of course photography and always remember and apply, the heart as the compass. So the guy asked me, “do you do this all the time?” I answered, how else would I do this, I don’t know another way I can live with and there ain’t a better way to die.

They all but one had Leica’s. The one not Leica was a Fuji XT-30. So the questions turned to gear and settings and all the stuff that feeds the emptiness of creativity. We are drinking Saki @ 105f and sushi and maki, just a great meal. S Suzanne ask me, when do my private workshops start again? Yes, when they said. Hmmm me thinks, that M10p is looking real nice… nah not me at all. Anyway, they as a group want to do sessions. I really ain’t feeling it and the Suzanne says, “I will let you know when Don will start”. Wwe all get up and Suzanne and I leave and start walking uptown to Center City. The as she has our arms linked, says… I forgot here.. she hands me a white envelope and I look in it and there’s $500.00 cash. What’s this and she says, the first session. I told her I didn’t want the money and she said they would all be deeply offended and feel they are not worthy. They may all commit hari kari.  Ya know, I adore this woman but sometimes she’s full of craap and this is one of those times.

So I will start a series of sessions and Suzanne will be my trusty assistant. The sushi and saki were great, The company of her 5 friends was enlightening. Suzanne has my heart and is my angel of love and mercy and acceptance of an old warrior.

ya know, the $500.00 was a welcome gift I never thought about. Be blessed all and remember this….. wait.. dang it… I forgot

Inspired Eye, Philosophy of Street, Street Photography

June 27th, 2019 … Stop Running Away … From Being You

9 Comments

I remember back in 1975 I wanted a blad like crazy. Once I had the camera I was all proud and happy. I’d go to openings with my un-named blad on my shoulder, knowing I was someone. One day my friend Paul told me I wear the Blad like jewelry and don’t make photos with it. The truth was he was right. I had it at last but really didn’t use it. I was a street shooter and not a Blad dude. I felt that the camera would give me a signature or tone and it didn’t. I was really heartbroken.

Ya know, we can run like crazy from our gear, our PC’s, our thoughts and ideas but the important part is, you can’t run from yourself. It’s easy to think we can, just by ignoring the signals that come to us and yes, from us but the truth is, ya ain’t going nowhere. I remember the night I got my stage name. I was playing a gig at Cliff’s and we were heating it up. The audience was 90% black, don’t matter to me but I was the only white guy on stage. We cutting blues and everyone is really digging us. A woman halfway back in the seats stands up and says… that’s the Snowman, I know him he’s the Snowman. Gotta tell ya, I was on cloud 9. I mean people dancing and having a good time and I was driving them with my ax. I was the Snowman and would be forevermore. But, I was feeling things I wanted to say with my Strat that I didn’t know how to do it. Even tho the crowd was excited and loved us playing, I thought, there are 550 people out there loving all this, why can’t I love myself?

I had an opening at a MainStream Gallery in New Jersey. I had 50 prints of various sizes on the wall. As the evening progressed, may people cam to see the show. I was flattered that prints sold and was happy. It wasn’t about acceptance cause in photography, I am. We have like 60 people and the gallery director announces that I will be having a chat and question and answer in 10 min. Thanks for telling me. Her name is Diana and she’s an elderly lady with the elegance of a queen. Stunning and I am a working guy with a camera. She pulled me aside and in very clear words… Don, I adore you and I breathe your photos as well as but them. You must do this chat and do it well. I looked her in the eyes and I said, Diana, I got this, relax. I really was not uptight at all. I have my TONE intact and I can do this because I was placed on the earth to be a photographer. (if ya don’t pump yourself up, who will?)  There were many questions and even some discussions about gear. The press core was there and they threw a  question or 2 at me. I could look past the people and I saw Diana standing by herself in the white silk blouse. She had her hands clenched against her breast and I just looked at her and realized, she sees me clearer than I see myself. I answered many questions and explained many things the way I saw and felt them. I was not nervous not even 1 iota. For the first time in my life, I felt at one with myself. Ding had introduced me to Diana years before and now that his time had passed, I realized that Diana was my unspoken mentor and supporter.

Even today, when I visit Diana, she will take my face in her hands and kiss my eyes and tell me, the gift of humanity dwells inside you. Maybe she’s right, I mean I can’t understand all that I am or could be, no one can, right. It takes a gentle soul and a kindred spirit to recognize one another.

The key issue is to attempt at all cost to recognize oneself. It’s nice and even stimulating to be accepted into a community or group of other photographers. It’s flattering to know you are respected. There are keys to unlock those doors of acceptance. Such as Leica, many will acknowledge you because you have a Leica. Maybe it’s a Fuji or Nikon or Ricoh group. Maybe you are accepted because you shoot film and work in an analog manner. The list goes on and on. Let me tell you something. You can run away from many things in life, even death but you can never ever run away from yourself.

Time to man/woman up and face the facts, you are who you are and need to accept and love that person. If not, one day you’ll be playing a strat on stage and feel empty even as the crowd stands and calls your name.

 

Inspired Eye, Photography

June 24th, 2019 … Finding Your Way Thru The Mist of Your Creativity… Pt1

2 Comments

Did ya’s ever kinda sorta, maybe feel like your out of place? You don’t have to say anything. We can keep it a secret. Myself, I been feeling like that for as long as I can remember and I’m sure it goes back further than that. There’s not much ado to make yourself feel more at ease so, just accept it and get on with things. That’s what I try to do. Ya know, this will apply to your photos also. I know it seems hard to believe, but ye olde shooter knows something about this. What ya can’t do is surrender. There’s an energy that we can tap into that gives us stamina during the down times and we need to feed on that.

To be honest, I never ever felt lost, or even a lack of energy to work. That’s not the point. The point is I know many who have been in this situation or are even in it now. The best advice I could give is to, close the box with your photos or just don’t look at any photos you made. Just don’t keep any images available for viewing. Of course, if your really a shooter, those photos are in your head anyway. Just don’t think of them. It’s not like you can have a fresh start but you can have a start that’s not jaded with your photos.

We are creatures of habit. We get very comfy doing things that work over and over. I have talked about trigger mechanisms many times and If you think about this, your photos are trigger mechanisms. Yeah sure. See, you have these photos you really like and they become platforms for your creative mind. The photos of the past will drive the photos yet to be borne from you.

This is not like breaking a barrier. It’s more like being comfy on this side of the fence and wondering what’s on the other side. Don’t get me wrong. I am not an optimist. Many have told me thru the years that the grass is greener on the other side. Oh yeah, ya know why… cause there more BS there to fertilize. I’m talking about finding your way thru the mist of images you already have and trying to find the ones out there you haven’t discovered yet. Maybe this doesn’t seem important to you. Dunno but sure is to me and many I know.

I’ll do a series of articles and am open to offer my opinion on the comments page. Each post will address a certain are of creativity and the Dreaded BLOCK. Be blessed all and have a sweet photographic experience that lasts your lifetime.

Garden, Ricoh GR III

April 14, 2019 … Ricoh GR III … Some Macro Mode Shots

6 Comments

 

So, it’s Sunday and I can’t get out too much because I have bites all over my right leg. Time for Neosporin. This also means that Tanmya is watching me like a hawk. I put Andre’ the Ricoh GR III in Macro mode. He focuses close in normal mode, that macro is out of focus because I am not close enough. Amazing. I don’t want to be that close but Andre’ insisted I either move him closer or back out and use regular focus mode. There is or should be an emotional impact on images. I mean that we sometimes use the magic of photography in a manner that gives more of a feel from the photo instead of the technical aspects. The flower above is straight from the DNG. The color trips me out. The softness, as if a woman, just is lovely. Nuff said.

 

The Ricoh GR III is made and designed to be an all-around companion. I am wearing a pocket tee shirt. Andre’ fits in the pocket safely. The GR II also fits in a tee shirt pocket but sticks out some and kinda nervous as it might fall out. The point is one could carry the GHR III in any pocket and it fits comfy. I know many of you don’t name your camera and I do feel bad for you. Photography for me is about love. I can’t seem to grasp making love with a woman and calling her it. Hmmm, I suppose not a good idea and certainly, disrespectful. Anyway, your choice but I will say the Ricoh cameras like to work with the shooter and having a name draws the entire process together. The shot above is DNG run thru Silver Efex. I use my presets there a lot.

 

All of these photos were shot in standard AF mode. I thought to try macro but can’t find anything that small that interest me enough to make a photo. I will venture into this deeper during the week. I love this camera as I love all my Ricoh’s. This one has mojo already for me and I don’t go too far without it with me. Tanya still will not have Andre’ the Ricoh GR III in bed with us.

Anyway, just a short post cause I love the garden photos I will make with Andre’.

Be Blessed on your Journey……..

 

Dreamcatcher, Philosophy of Street

April 12th, 2019 … Some Thoughts and Findings … Andre’ The Ricoh GR III

4 Comments

First off I need to answer a few questions about the Ricoh GR III. I got 2 batteries from eBay and they are as fine as the OEM. I paid $9.00 for both with free shipping. I have a Tamrac 5217 case that holds the camera, lens pen, and 2 batteries. It sells for around $10.00 or so on the bay. I have 2 and I bought them years ago. I have a wrist strap that is from the bay also. It’s a Sony Wii strap and sells for $1,00. I have 20. I have an ACMAXX screen protector on and I highly recommend these. I don’t use the touch screen but the protector works.

Andre’ the Ricoh GR III is loaded with MOJO. That is not available from dealers or stores. You have to find your own with the camera and make it your own. There are some negative remarks about the GR III. I prolly never pay attention to them unless it’s an obvious crucial issue. The AF seems to bug some people. I think it’s acceptable in normal lighting but as others mentioned, low light is not as good as anticipated. Usually outdoors or in normal light, I am at 5.6 or 8,0.

Most of the time I’m in snap focus mode anyway. More than enough FOF at 5.6 or 8.0 and I can get close enough to hold focus. so the left button on the wheel is set to Snap/AF. I think everyone familiar with Ricoh cameras does that. If not, how come? The right button on the wheel is set to Snap Focus Distance. This differs from the GR II. The same function, different location. I mention this because if you’re coming from the GR II, some things are different. I call it anti-intuitive. See, we all know how the GR and GR II were so easy to get to an intuitive state.  So here ya are out on the street with the GR III and you kinda feel at home but it’s not the time for that yet. There are enough things that are similar between both cameras but the little things will bite ya in the…. well, you’ll see.

The key features for the street are, Auto ISO, AF, and Snap, Aperture, and FStop. The GR III sets up quickly and those elements become intuitive very naturally. I couldn’t think of a good utility for the Fn button.  So after some consideration, I set it for Picture Effects. The jpeg’s from the GR III are spectacular, pity I never use them, but I sure like them.  The Bleached Bypass is not as nice as the GR or GR II.

Alrighty, all youse EV Haters, have I got something for you.  Ricoh has given birth to a group of wandering thumb shooters. Ricoh knows that we all hate the up/down button on the GR II. Oh yeah, they know. See, with the GR II your thumb gets tired of just holding the camera and then starts the wandering thumb procedure. Oh yeah, What happens, is that the thumb hits the up/down button and without telling you, changes EV setting. The issue besides exposure is, the wandering thumb will become intuitive. For real, it’s thought to be an accidental process but it in time becomes natural. Dangerous and more frustrating than I can say. Don’t believe me, ask Giovanni. He is living testament of the Wandering thumb Procedure.

So, Ricoh cares about their customers and they didn’t let us down.  Ok, I’m 69yo and sometimes a cocky bloke. I had and have excellent cameras. I have many Ricoh’s in the cabinet. When I got the GR III, I felt a loss of the wandering thumb procedure. I looked and low and behold, no rocker switch. I smiled inside because I finally knew that the rocker will no longer mess with me. Yay, I thought, FREEDOM, FREEDOM.

Ricoh makes great cameras. We all know that. Little did we all know, the Ricoh engineers have a sense of humor. Yeah, not kiddin’. I figure that they all sat back and drank Budweiser and ate string cheese when they invented the wandering thumb. Ok, in the USA in many states, hooch is legal. The engineers must be celebrating their humor and the movement of the wandering thumb and smoking lots of hooch.

Now I ain’t one to spread rumors and I’ll deny that youse got this from me…..The thumb now finds the rear wheel and at times, it will change EV and or the movement of the AF Focus Point. I have not found a stable lock. You can change EV by moving the wheel. You also can move the AF Focus Point by moving the wheel. It is said in the annals of Ricoh Engineering that if you hold the OK button in, then the point will center.

If there was a lock you wouldn’t need to do that anyway. I guess it’s an anal thing and I don’t understand.

Philosophy of Street, Street Photography, Streetshooter

March 30th, 2019 … From The Streets of Philadelphia … Ricoh GR III

2 Comments

There are times in our life that we must surrender to the forces of perfection. This is one of those times.

Andre’ the Ricoh GR III has been on the scene for about a week. I do mean my scene as your scenes may vary timewise. I struggled at first with finding the intuitive way to be together.  I suppose that any means to get intuitive would require an acquired approach. In my mind, I kept comparing the GR III with GR II. Maybe that mindset was holding me back some and I finally surrendered to the GR II and it’s differences to the GR II. So I set sail with the Ricoh GR III and we decided to form a bond and to get acquired information to become intuitive. It’s a fine replacement to the GR II. I can not overemphasize how perfect the SR = Shake Reduction actually is.  I don’t know for sure how Ricoh thinks about the camera but the camera itself is proof that thought went into it. The missing Flash is for sure a conversation many will linger on. I see it this way. If I can hand hold the camera and get a very usable photo at 1/5 sec, why need a flash. See, the majority of street shooters kind wanna be discreet. Not all but the majority. If your out shooting with a flash, your not discreet at all. So I figure Ricoh thought that way also and made the camera very capable of low light shooting. It is!

 

The way I like to use the GR series is like this. I set the exposure for 1/125 f5.6 This a good shade setting and if you like low ISO. I do sometimes especially on bonding with a camera. I set snap focus distance to 2.5m.  My fav is 1/250 f8. Anyway, I work like this until I want to switch to AF. Switching to AF I still work the same exposure because I use Auto ISO. What ya don’t want to do but certainly can change the f-stop. If you decide to go back to snap focus, you are already at the right f-stop for the set Snap Distance. The AF on the GR III is very snappy except if you’re in l o w  l i g h t and then it hunts for good contrast. I don’t use the touch screen and haven’t in any other camera either. My cameras are my family and not tools so no need to be critical or anal about that stuff.

 

So Suzanne asked me why I am posting these 3 photos. Good question. I feel that Andre’ the Ricoh GR III is now a part of my camera family. We have bonded and continue to do so in a rapid and efficient way. The first 3 days together and I was ready to send him packing. Then one night as I lay in bed relaxing, I got a telepathic message from Andre’. He said, ” look, shooter, I will do all that you ask of me within my abilities. In return you need to accept me as a partner and not a slave to your whims. I will adapt to you without fail but you, in turn, must adapt to me. Together we will achieve the ZEN we both seek”.

I thought that Andre’ was being damn ballsy and insistent about a 2-way relationship. I drifted off to sleep and visions of Andre floated around my tired brain.  I ran down to the kitchen and made a fresh cup of Kona. Back up to the office and I looked at Andre’ the Ricoh GR III. Ok, maybe I am exaggerating some but he had a smile on his uuum….lens face. The I knew at once it was time for us to leave the Grasshopper Office. Andre’ was right. I accepted his strengths and weaknesses as my own and we instantly had an intuitive relationship. All the I thought was wrong, (actually 1 single flaw) was in clarity and I am now at one again.

Andre’ told me that we are both responsible for this synergism we have created but…. if the photos suck, it’s my fault, not his….ever.

Inspired Eye, Street Photography, Streetshooter

March 28th, 2019 … Ricoh GR III … JPEG Comparison

Leave a comment

 

 

Just got back from my Doctor. She asked me what’s wrong and I looked around and whispered…. this is shot indoors, ISO 100 f2.8 and ummm… worried the funny guys will try to catch me…. it’s ummmm…. 1/5sec doc… it’s sharp and you know I have tremors but Andre’ the Ricoh GR III tells me not to worry.  Doc sits on her chair and leans back, I see Mr. Springer. She puts her hand to her chin and says, what else can this Ricoh camera things do?

Macro Mode  1/100  f2.8  ISO 100

So I started to tell Doc that I did a test and here are the first results. She looks at me….hmmm she says, please continue. So I looked at her cause’s my Doc and altho she takes care of my health issue, I was a seasoned shooter have the responsibility to show her some photos as a test.

From DNG  1/200  f5.6 ISO 100

JPEG  Standard Same Exposure as above

Monotone

Soft Monotone

Hard Monotone

Hi-Contrast B&W

Positive Film

Bleach Bypass

Retro

HDR Tone

All the outdoor photos are in the same settings. What changed is the JPEG in the camera. I won’t be using any of these not because I don’t like them but because I use DNG. I will have Standard color or Monotone B&W on the camera because I like to get a feel for the image I am making. I alter a lot in LightRoom because I want to feel my photos and not be responsible to answer to anyone.   If for no other reason than the Shake Reduction, it’s the best camera. I mean the sofa shot is in LOOOOOW light and I did it at 1/5 sec handheld and it’s very passable.  I have tremors and am confident that they no longer pose a threat to my work because of this camera.

The first few days I struggled with the EV and AF Focus box. I’m not entirely relieved of this but it’s now my fault if they activate or at least a shared mess up. Ricoh did a lot of work on the GR and produced a very fine camera. I’ll have more thoughts and findings over the weekend.

Be blessed all……

Inspired Eye, Street

March 24th, 2019 … Ricoh GR III … Gaining an Understanding

6 Comments

ISO 250   1/125  f2.8

While I may not be the most scientific person around, what I am is a Lifer in Photography.  When  I get a new camera, before it is accepted into my workflow or camera family, I need to understand it. The GR III is of course grandfathered in because of its heritage with me.

There are a few things I’ll write about in this post. First off, the EV is adjusted by the rear 4-way wheel. I have tremors and even if I didn’t, the thumb will sometimes hit the wheel. When that happens, the EV changes. I don’t like or need or want EV on my cameras. The only person that needs EV adjustment is Ray Sachs. Ray showed me how he used it and I also did for a day. Then I wanted to be rid of it. The GR III seems to have some silly fixes that I can’t find. There must be a way to lock EV where you desire it to be locked. If this is on the camera, I can’s find it. If it’s not, a firmware is absolutely essential to address this issue.

The second thing and it’s directly related to the rear wheel is, the wheel controls the movement of the AF Target Box. If you are in the shooting window, If you press the OK button you are able to move the box. Press again and it locks the position. The issue is, that if you accidentally press the OK button, then the AF Target Box can move unexpectedly. So there must be a Lock like in other cameras, I will not name them but you all know about them.

These are not major issues and certainly no reason to not get the camera. My intention is to just show things that bug me and it’s only these 2, so… order it now. I gotta tell ya, the stabilization system is the finest I’ve ever used in any camera. When I was younger I used Leica’s and could hand hold at 1/15 sec and have a very useable image. I’m not that young anymore and I have essential tremors. That means even at 1/125 sec I could have camera movement. To the GR III. I have SR = Shake Reduction on always. I now can get photos at almost any speed and be satisfied.

1/10  f4.0 ISO 2000

Much to my delighted surprise, Andre’ the Ricoh GR III did an excellent job at a 1/10 and ISO 2000. I could feel the camera stabilizing in my hand. I couldn’s hear it but sure can feel it working.

1/4  f4.0 ISO 600

Here’s where GR III blew me away. I was holding him and can feel my tremor kinda stabilize and even when I pressed the shutter, there was minimal camera shake. This is handheld at a 1/4 sec. Unreal Ricoh, by Jove you’ve done it!  I can only write about what I believe is the truth as I live and believe it. So Andre the Ricoh GR III said, let’s get outside for a few shots. I may work differently than most others. I try to find photos out there and get my interpretation of them to where I can live them. Ok, here’s some more….

1/30  f5.0 ISO 6400

I don’t think I need to say too much here. I remember years ago, maybe many years ago a dream was to have ISO 1600. When I was a Super Moderator at the Ricoh forum, we had a vision of ISO 3200. We felt that in time that would get working. Well, it’s around on other cameras but ISO 6400, is more than we even thought about. Now Ricoh has surpassed themselves and made ISO 6400 not possible but standard for High ISO.  Photography is about a personal journey to find photos that are waiting for you. The camera and everything in your process become very personal. So, this shot for me exceeds anything I want from high ISO. Maybe for you, it doesn’t but you have to accept the fact that it’s pretty dang good.

1/30  f8.0 ISO 6400

This is probably a standard night setting for me. I will say that in B&W it’s outstanding. That’s where I’m at anyway. Plenty of details, no breakup or real pixelation, no falloff at the edges. Just a pleasure….. Oh wait, wait…..

1/30  f16  ISO 65535

Ok, well, I don’t even recognize the ISO number. I think it comes from Planet Ricoh and I am seeing it for the first time, but not the last. Notice the noise. Of course, ya have to have it but they seemed to get is very much acceptable. very small cute dots. Well, I’ll write more in a day or so but…. looks around… Doc says I am not allowed to get to ISO 512000 or something. She says for me, it would keep me in my shrink’s office a long time. My old brain can’t accept that. So I depend on you youngin’s to work the real high ISO but don’t tell me.

A few personal using thoughts. I need to get the EV and AF box set. I know it’s in the camera but I haven’t found it. The GR III is sweet, kinda smaller than the gR II but not enough to bother anyone. We waited a long time for this upgrade from Ricoh. It’s well worth the wait as there are many features that just get right to the heart of things. Tomorrow I’m on the streets and will post something.

 

Be blessed all,. oh and… if you get the camera, get an extra battery.

PS… Giovanni, these are right from the camera

Street, Street Photography

March 23rd, 2019 … Observations and Finding … Ricoh GR III

7 Comments

First off, I am not reviewing the Ricoh GR III. What I am doing is posting my observations and findings.  There are many others around that will post thoughts and photos and dissections of the camera. I can’t be bothered and so, will just post about how the camera works in the field. The first thing for me is…., no not the Unboxing Procedure, but naming the camera. The camera inherits the name, Andre’.

So now the camera is Andre’ the Ricoh GR III.  Now that that’s out of the way, let me explain how I do things. I like to have an intuitive synergism with all my cameras. That means Andre’ the Ricoh GR III at the moment.  This brings to the table the manual and setup. Ricoh provides a battery charger that is a USB to camera type. Of course with me, that won’t be a long lasting procedure. I did use it and it had Andre’ at full charge in less than an hour. I have some aftermarket chargers that are multi and I used that also. The charge rate and strength of charge were identical. So what is the difference? Well, figure you are in your place and the camera is on the USB charger. Then Penelope Cruia comes to see you for a few seconds and she’s in a nice bikini. Penelope says… make a photo of me master photographer. Well, of course, that may happen to you all the time but for most of us, not so. It’s a once in a lifetime happening. OMG! You can’t make the photo because your camera is tethered to the USB Charger. When Penelope comes to visit me, I will have access to Andre’ because I use an independent charger.

OOC

The camera is very intuitive, What exactly does that mean? Well, if you’re a Ricohphile, you have an understanding of how Ricoh’s work. I) like to lear6n the camera from the camera. To make a camera intuitive means that things are working out of habit. I mean, you learn the camera by using it and discovering the menus and features. It becomes intuitive because you went thru the menus and discovered and implemented the findings. That’s an intuitive way to work. When your out in the field and something happens, generally speaking, you can figure it out because you learned from the camera.

OOC

Now, the other way to work. I think of the manual as a spare tire.  Your cruising along making photos and something happens, you open the manual and figure out the solution. You probably don’t have the solution memorized because you don’t have to. You rely on the spare tire to get you back on the road. I’m not saying there’s anything wrong depending on the manual, just saying what becomes intuitive, is opening the manual and not the solution. Ricoh has and always had a very fast learning curve with their cameras, GR III is no exception.

OOC

I wrote that because I charged the battery and sat for about 15 minutes doing the menu and was ready to make my photos. There are more settings than I need. It’s nice to have them but I want the camera to work together with me and not for me or me for it. I made an initial setup and felt comfy. The GR II is a good way to move up although not the only way. If you have an idea about how you need the camera to perform, the GR III will offer you any personalization you could desire. While I was on the first walkabout with Andre’ the Ricoh GR III, I noticed that he was set on +.07 EV. Something like that. Truthfully, I don’t give a hoot about EV on any camera. Once I got home, I pulled out the spare tire and found EV settings and that ended that once it was set to 0EV.

OOC

There’s a lot more to explore on the camera but a basic setup is easy to achieve in a few minutes. The switch from AF to Snap is nice. Same as I have on the II. I have the Snap Distance opposite the Snap switch. See, the left button ISO is set to Snap. The right button Drive is set to Snap Distance. How sweet it is.

The raw files and the JPEGs are excellent. Color is outstanding. The B&W setting I use is Mono Hard. The lens is no doubt an act of love by its makers and is extremely addictive. I mean all of my Ricoh’s are called camera killers. I say that because when you start to work with a Ricoh, it kills the need and desire to use another camera. I switch off only our of guilt. The Ricoh GR III is considerably smaller than it’s parent. What’s nice is, it can stay on your palm and never be seen until you are ready to make a photo. Many want to know if it’s worth upgrading. I must admit, I absolutely say it is. The 24 MP files are nothing short of outstanding. For me, the finest camera making 24MP photos is hands down, the Leica M series. The Ricoh GR III equals if not surpass them easily. I’m not putting down the Leica, just stating that the Ricoh compares to the Leica. That’s a bold statement but truth.

I’ll have more soon but I’m still in the Ricoh GR III dream.

 

Dreamcatcher, Inspired Eye, Street, Street Photography

March, 21st, 2019 … Spring Hath Sprung … Ricoh GR III Arrives today

7 Comments

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

I will be soooo glad when Spring arrives in town. Well, today is March 20th, 2019 and here in Philly, it’s the first day of Springer…oppps, Spring.

 

The Ricoh GR III arrives by USPS today. I am excited as Ricoh makes a camera the way I think and feel. Anyway, I’m not writing too much cause I need to save the words for posting about the GR III.

If Tanya sees that photo above, all bets are off and I’ll be homeless like people I help on the streets I guess tomorrow starts the GR III posting.

Be blessed