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How to express yourself through photography? A possible answer to Eric Kim’s question.
At the Fotografie’21 camera show by Foto Marlin I had the chance not only to see but also to touch and try the latest photo cameras and lenses. Fantastic.
I had a hands-on touch-and-try of the latest Sonys, Fujifilms, Nikons and Leicas; unfortunately RICOH was not represented at the show.
The show was a true paradise for technology geeks, but not for me. The more bodies and lenses I looked at the more I was sure I already have the almost perfect camera.
Actually I wanted to find the «next level perfect» camera for my style of photography. But at the end I was a little disillusioned and disappointed - most of the new cameras and lenses may be faster but not better for my purpose.
At least Fujifilms slogan «Make More with Less» gives some hope, but the same company’s slogan «The Solution is Resolution. Focus. Sharpness. Edge to Edge.» lets me doubt again if they (or at least the appropriate film makers) have the slightest idea of art.
In my opinion photography and art go far beyond purely technical aspects. At the camera show nobody cared about this point of view, it was all about technology and nothing else. But let's be realistic - what else would you expect at a camera show?
Although I highly appreciated the event I was equally happy to leave again after almost two hours.
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Guess what I did right after I left? - Yes, you're right.
I took my camera and photographed the play of lights and shadows on the wall opposite, next to the Elisabethenkirche. Sometimes I feel like «the old man and his camera» using my RICOH, some kind of Ernest Hemingways «the old man and the sea».
It was such a relief to have made my decision to not purchase «anything like these new technological masterpieces fully packed with 1000 features I will never use».
I should rather continue to follow my minimalist
line and the «Wabi-Sabi» philosophy and keep my good old RICOH, it’s so close to perfection! Maybe the Fujifilm X cameras would also be suitable. - And now leave these endless technical discussions to others.
Can you see my relief in this image? Can you see the «let’s move, go ahead»-spirit? I love the lights and shadows on the wall and the whistling wind! - btw: there was no wind at all! Go on, move!
Maybe the above image could be one of the answers to the interesting question of Eric Kim: How to Express Yourself Through Photography.
- highly recommended, a must read!
Sitting high on cloud nine later on - in an intact world again - I spotted a fascinating scaffolding full of light and beautifully modulated subtle shades of shade in the surroundings, next to the church, at the Centre Square. The subject reminded me at the movie Da Vinci Code and the Louvre Museum in Paris.
With these «Louvre (but made of concrete) like» images I am really happy. The images are SOOC (straight out of camera) using the built-in image profiles, without any further editing. Keep it as simple as possible.
At the end of they day on my way back home I asked myself:
Am I somebody with no idea of art?
Maybe. But I do not care.