The Digital Photo Experience

For serious photography, photography that matters, you need a serious camera, right? Don’t think about using anything except the latest high-megapixel wonder, and full-35mm-frame, too. Anything less and you are doing a dis-service to yourself, photography and the American way!

Okay, so I have overdone it a bit. But at times, haven’t you felt that way? I have. If my photos are to be “serious”, and for me, that often means using photos in a book or magazine, then I have to use my serious gear. I can’t afford to do less than that if I expect my work to be published. You may have other “if I expect my photos to …”, but it is all the same.

Truth is, that is a lot of nonsense and I have to fight it in myself all the time. Why? Because it restricts and limits my photography. Here are some reasons why:

• I don’t photograph. If I have to gather up my gear and take along a big pack of equipment, I often don’t, so no pictures are taken.
• I take my photography too seriously. If I am going to use my serious camera gear for serious photography, then I have to take it seriously. No frivolous images allowed!
• “Serious” cameras are big cameras. They can be challenging to use in simple, free ways that can open up creativity.
• I am reminded of all this because I recently had a chance to use a new Olympus Pen E-PL1. It was a blast to use. It is small and easy to take anywhere. But my serious mind started going:
• But it has no real viewfinder, just the LCD. I had to slap myself and say, So what? I am still having fun with it.
• But it is a small camera and can’t possibly give the results you expect. Wrong. It gave outstanding results, in part because the camera has a larger sensor than most cameras this size. Yet, even when I knew that, I still caught myself thinking, well, this small camera won’t give me serious quality. Yes, even when I had seen results and knew this wasn’t true, I still thought that! Stupid.

But when I relaxed, I really had fun with the camera. It is very easy to take such a camera with you anywhere, anytime. It even offers interchangeable lenses for even more potential in a package smaller than most DSLR bodies with one lens! (A note — Olympus has announced more lenses, but does not have a lot available yet. Panasonic Micro Four-Thirds lenses do fit the Olympus camera.)

I could take my “serious” pictures and I could take fun ones, too, with confidence that I could use any image as I needed. Little cameras encourage you to try different things. Handheld slow shutter speeds to get some motion blur yet keep a background sharp? Why not try it? The camera has image stabilization, but even so, why worry? It’s not a “serious” camera, anyway! The photos you see here are all with slow shutter speeds that blur either water or wind-blown flowers. So they aren’t masterpieces! So what! They are fun and I learned from shooting them.

I also own a Canon G-11. I love its tilting LCD (which the Pen E-PL1 does not have). That encourages me to put the camera in all sorts of places. Though truthfully, I feel perfectly fine putting any small camera high, low, inside things and so forth, just because it is so easy to do. I get more fun from my photography and it actually influences my work with my larger DSLRs.

I like the E-PL1 so much that I am going to buy one to keep for myself. I like the idea that I can take photography a little less seriously with it, yet the results are “serious” enough that I can rely on the camera for more than non-serious photography.

Quick note: I have just completed two DVD’s on my approach to Lightroom workflow. One is on Library, one is on Develop. The techniques in these DVDs are tested results from what really works for my photography as well as what I have seen working for students in Lightroom workshops I have led. You can find more information on my website, http://www.robsheppardphoto.com.