JANUARY, 2020 UPDATE
by ag
[NEWS FLASH] In the midst of writing this update, my camera died: the problem was a lens that wouldn’t retract or extend fully without pushing, pulling, rotating, or some combination thereof. Without anything to lose, I decided to take it apart and see if I could restore it to life. Thirty tiny screws later, I still couldn’t extract enough of the lens to examine it.
Below is a mashup of the deceased, taken with both the iPhone 7, and the 8 megapixel camera I started Pixetera with. Until I find a “real” camera upgrade that fits my specs, these will accompany me on my travels. From what I can see of the current market, it may be awhile :(
(Click on image to enlarge.)
It should be interesting: Any self-esteem I may have had as a long-term professional will, I expect, go down the tubes because of the total disdain I’ve had for smart phones as photographic instruments. Maybe I’ll discover a new way of working, however, and grow to embrace them. Greater miracles have occurred for sure.
• • • • •
When I started Pixetera as a photo/day project in 2012, I hadn’t done any personal work in almost 3 decades as a professional photographer. At the time, I didn’t give any thought to the future but when 2013 came and went, and 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017, 2018, and 2019 as well, I found myself still going strong. I sometimes think that I’ve been taking photos with a vengeance to make up for all the years that I missed out on doing my own.
Recently, I’ve noticed that I’ve become much more demanding about what I post. Pictures I would have been content with years ago now grow old in a desktop folder called “New”; others that I would have accepted straight out of the camera with only minor processing begin life instead as raw material to be sculpted or worked on (and on and on) until a more satisfying image results.
Last year I became enamored of the unusual color palettes that are sometimes produced with Photoshop’s Inversion option. It’s surprising because the original colors were often what attracted me in the first place. I also like Photoshop’s Oil Paint filter — in moderation — for replacing the sharp realism of photographs with something softer and more lyrical.
If I didn’t feel that I was still exploring the medium, or discovering new subject matter, I’d probably slow down or stop. It certainly helps to be living in a small-size city whose illustrious past and struggling present offer a seemingly inexhaustible bounty of photographic inspiration. Now that I’ve decided to get outside every day for fresh air and exercise, the images come on an almost daily basis.
In February, I began experimenting with the visual stories I call New Novellas, distant relatives, I like to think, of the graphic novel and Duane Michals’ sequences. Unlike those antecedents, however, the narratives always come after seeing the images themselves rather than vice-versa. The different personas I enjoy taking on as narrator are part of the fun.
Mashups, which I’ve been doing for at least five years, continue to be a never-ending source of discovery and pleasure.
I don’t do shows much, and when one of my photos was accepted for the Western Massachusetts 2019 Biennial exhibition (“From Seed To Fruition”), the experience confirmed why not: The recognition was hardly worth the time, energy, and cost involved in being a participant. I have no idea how others do it without being blessed with discretionary resources I lack.
Digital exhibition opportunities, on the other hand, are a different matter. A local gallery stages an open show in the fall and spring that displays images on a large video screen in addition to framed prints. I had 50 photos total in the last two shows I entered at a cost that was a fraction of what I spent for the biennial. Their reception was in inverse proportion to their expense.
Continuing in the same budget vein, I finally broke down — despite all my antipathy to Facebook — and opened an Instagram account at the beginning of the year. Can’t say I understand why it’s preferable to a blog where the artist has more control over the presentation of his or her work, but I’m old school. Unfortunately, I have yet to find a photographer whose Instagram images I feel like following, but the floor is certainly open to nominations :)
May next year at this time find us with a new American president and a Congress fully controlled by Democrats! It’s our democracy’s last best hope.
I’m sorry for your Loss, Alan. But I am becoming a fan of phone photos and you can too. My Moto is not nearly as nice as your iPhone but I can manage a decent image. I am recent to Instagram, too, and I try not to post the same images as the blog and I force myself to post one image per week (for now). It’s a lot to embrace and I struggle with it but I see light at the end of the tunnel and I’m sure you will, too. I’ve joined you on Instagram and I’m looking forward to more of your inspiring work. Good luck.
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Thanks Ken. One reason I was so concerned abut losing my camera is because I had volunteered to shoot a fundraiser three days afterwards. With next-to-zero experience using my iPhone for photography, I wasn’t sure it was up to the task.
Much to my surprise, however, it did a damn good job. Now, if it only gave a photographer the same control over settings that a regular camera does, and handled like one, I’d be a convert.
Too bad there isn’t a camera that makes phone calls :)
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You write, “The recognition was hardly worth the time, energy, and cost involved in being a participant.” Same decision I reached recently. It’s so nice to be able to blog electronic images and avoid shipping fees. Feedback from people with a good eye is still important to me, and I get a bit of that from Likes—even more from Comments. It’s not quite the same thing, but at this stage in my life, it may be enough. BTW, I like the inverse version of your camera, the glowing screws especially. Boo hoo, though. May your experiments with the iPhone and 8 megapixel camera lead to some new discoveries, and may the new DSLR or mirrorless camera of your dreams fall gently into your lap.
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Thanks for your good wishes Linda. Aside from shipping, framing has become so expensive that some photographers I know are dispensing with it altogether and displaying their prints using Command Strips and small magnets instead. It’s a nice look.
I’m afraid that the iPhone will be only a temporary solution for the reasons mentioned in my above comment to Ken. There are a number of DSLR and mirrorless cameras that match my specs but I’m actually more interested in an upgrade from the two compact cameras I’ve been using for Pixetera. The Sony RX 100VII is one possibility but its $1200 price tag is hard to justify.
I may have to compromise somewhere along the line, but for now, I’m OK with holding out.
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I myself have never been entirely happy with phone photography. I too find the lack of slr-type settings too frustrating. Although I have been forced into using my phone camera more for my job. I stupidly volunteered to provide photos for the restaurants instagram account.
Sorry for the loss of your camera. A well-used camera becomes like another limb. A comfortable extension of one’s self.
While never having pursued (as of yet–I’m not ruling it out) getting my images into a gallery, I have toyed with poetry publication and the two endeavors seem similar. Submitting poems can become a full time job with very questionable results. And for what? Recognition? At least for me it just boils down to ego. Any time I have “given up” the notion of publication or showing I have almost immediately felt a sense of relief or lightening.
I am becoming quite content to be simply a “blogger”, “blog poet” and/or “blog photographer”….(“blog artist”?) and give my work to the monster that is the internet….
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And let’s not forget the time and energy that goes into entering photo competitions without a positive ROI.
It’s really quite remarkable, isn’t it, what the web allows us to do.
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[…] one’s for Alan…who may have lost his train, but not his […]
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This is a first for me, Johnny, and very much appreciated. Thank you, thank you, thank you.
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I continue to enjoy your posts through WordPress and always enjoy seeing your work pop up in the ‘reader’.
Exhibitions are a funny business and despite lots of encouragement from friends I’ve never paid to exhibit anywhere. I can say that I had a couple of Photographs in the main art gallery in Sheffield and elsewhere but unless, as you say, you have loads of cash to blow on exhibiting work and it is maybe part of a professional pathway then I’m not sure why I would want to.
A few years ago I had a great idea for an exhibition in Sheffield and even talked to a friend about collaborating. I then asked myself important questions about my motivation and reasons for wanting to do the exhibition. I happily talked myself out of it and it made me consider the ‘value’ of exhibitions and what they are for or what they can say. I would need to feel very clear about both before working on an exhibition. I am not driven by ego so have no desire to simply show some nice pictures and I think asking questions of myself about entertaining the idea of an exhibition helped me think a lot about what photography means to me and that in itself was worthwhile!
Oh the perils of social media!!! – I will never go on Facebook and since Facebook own Instagram I’ll not be heading there any time soon. Instagram is no doubt a good idea for people with a business and who need to reach a particular audience. For the rest of us it is just another social media site that is increasing the speed at which this world spins. It’s a place saturated with images and often quite competitive. Everyone will enjoy photography differently but for me it’s about slowing down not speeding up. WordPress is the only place on the internet where anyone will find my images and I don’t promote my sites anywhere.
May your camera rest in peace – Sorry to hear that your camera died on you. We can get quite attached to bits of equipment and familiarity with what they can do and their limitations is important in taking good photographs.
I have a couple of mirrorless cameras but I seem to remember you really only want a small pocketable lightweight camera. As my pocket camera I have a Sony RX100 mk3 and it is a great little camera. It ives in a little shoulder pouch ready for action. I added the Sony stick on grip which I’d say is a must if you want to enjoy this camera at its best. Despite it’s size the camera has a bit of heft to it and the addition of the small grip makes handling so much easier. Sony still produce all versions of the RX100 and unless you need all the whizzbang of the very latest model then you can get a great camera with considerable savings by looking at the earlier versions. If memory serves me right I think the Mk3 was the first with a tilting screen which is always helpful. The RX100 series have a pop up viewfinder which can be missing from similar cameras of other makes. They also have a 1″ sensor which I’m sure you’d make good use of. Like any camera once you are familiar with it’s quirks it becomes more enjoyable to use and I definitely found this with the RX100.
Another camera which might be worth a look is the Fujifilm XF10. It is a pocketable camera with a crop sensor – ie the same size as most non full frame DSLRs! It has a lot of interesting features and looks like a great little camera. Do note that many of the reviews were written just after the camera was released and a few comment on slow focussing. I understand that this issue was resolved with a software upgrade but of course the reviews are never upgraded! In the UK the Fujifilm site sells new and more importantly refurbished cameras at a lower price point. They may also do this in the US.
My final thought on camera purchasing is be aware that all the camera manufacturers seem to offer seasonal discounts or cashback. Often the cashback coupled with a store discounted price can lead to making a camera affordable that otherwise might be out of reach. Sony particularly offer regular cashback deals on the RX100 series. Time your purchase and wait for a good price. I’m sure there will be some Spring offers popping up soon…
I’ve no doubt written more than you wish to read so I’ll leave you now with my best wishes
Mr C :-)
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Thanks Mr C for your very thoughtful response and helpful suggestions. Having never questioned the desirability of being in photo shows, it’s fascinating for me to see that not everyone buys into the hype. And how liberating that can be.
I’ll definitely keep my eye out for the manufacturer discounts you mentioned. The Sony RX100 cameras definitely come closest to matching my needs but they are pretty pricey: Even the earlier versions are more than I care to spend at this point. I didn’t know about the stick-on grip but I’ll be sure to get one if I finally succumb to the Sony sirens. (The Fujifilm XF10 is a really good-looking camera but its fixed wide-angle lens is a deal breaker for me.)
For now, as I wrote Linda G., I’m trying to make-do with the iPhone.
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I understand what you mean about the Fujifilm camera and the Sony does offer more flexibility (the Fuji doesn’t have a viewfinder either). At present the Cheapest the RX100 Mk3 is available for in the UK is £479 but I know that with discounts it has sold at £350 as recently as the start of the month and at times through December. Pre-owned MK3 can be had for between £200 and £300 and I imagine they sell for similar in the US.
In the UK we have a site called Camera Price Buster which tracks prices and lists loads of retailers and also flags up cash back offers etc. I imagine in the US there will be a similar site and it saves a lot of searching. If you want to see what I’m talking about take a look at: https://www.camerapricebuster.co.uk
I wish you success with your research and purchase. Keep us all posted when you finally decide what you go for…
Best wishes,
Mr C :-)
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Wow, that’s an amazing website. Anyone know of a US equivalent?
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Yes it’s a great site. I mention it to anyone in the U.K. Who might be looking for camera equipment. I think it’s just one chap behind it and he found an untapped niche which I hope will continue to help people. I’m not a fan of comparison sites in general but this is just providing straightforward information and price tracking. I felt sure someone would have made a similar site in the US but maybe not!
Good luck with your search 🙂👍
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