I've been lazy...but getting back in photography shape again!

Lazy...or uninspired. Call it what you want. Slacking cannot be excused, especially when it comes to doing the thing that has helped me so much to cope during desperate times. I feel guilty to have not been going out to take more photographs. And even worse, I feel guilty for not having taken the photography course seriously during the final weeks leading to its conclusion. I have learned a lot, but I could have learned more. And I could have used it as an opportunity to become more creative.

Well I have had some ups and downs again (sound familiar, T.S.?). But I feel I am on the upswing again. I decide to follow my friend Trygve's advice, and invest in a system which will enable to to grow as a photographer, and not remain in the amateur circle. And what better time to do it than now, with my vacation money and tax refund in tow, I decided to think BIG. I decided to (sadly) bid farewell to my beloved, trusty, Pentax K-r. The money I made from it, plus the money I made from selling things I really didn't need (iPad? What for? A cool mobile? No one ever calls me!). I was able to push my limits. I will sacrifice a lot of things, but I know that this is a purchase which will make me grow as a photographer.

Drumroll please...

And here they are! My new arsenal of creative productivity. A Canon EOS 5D Mark II equipped with a hefty Canon EF 70-200 f4L USM lens. Together they tip the scales at almost 2kg! And a costly investment it was, costing nearly NOK 24.000 (PHP 220,000.00) for everything (camera, lens, card, bag). Why so expensive? Well this camera, unlike other dSLRs, has a full-frame sensor (meaning the sensor is the same size as a 35mm film, other cameras have cropped sensors, usually half the size of a full-frame one). It's packing a whopping 21 megapixel sensor, and great high ISO performance. This is the "cheapest" of the three Canon EOS dSLRs intended for professional use. And with great camera equipment comes another costly caveat. This camera will only yield it's true potential when used with the more expensive "L" series lenses from Canon, also intended for professional use. So, this investment broke the bank a bit. But I would rather invest in a good lens now, rather than use a cheap one and not get the results I desire to begin with.

And good results indeed. I hope the intermittent bad weather in Oslo ends soon, because I want to go out and shoot more with this beastly beauty! The colors, detail, the nicely blurred depth of field, are of an entirely different level than with my Pentax K-r (in fairness, I wasn't using the best lens that money can buy with the Pentax). This camera handles the "lushness" of my nature photographs better, with greens being nicely saturated, almost appearing 3D like, and not at all overly saturated (an effect I tend to get with the Pentax, but can be easily adjusted with some simple PP). I shoot entirely in RAW now, yet I'm finding I never have to do much PP since the photographs this camera produces are already spot on. The first day I went out with this camera, and looking and the ends results on my Mac was, well, exhilarating.

This is one of the shots I am most proud of (did you notice I watermark my images now?). I am still too much of an introvert to approach these two guys and ask if I can take their picture, so I did a little paparazzi and zoomed in and grabbed the shot. Nice colors! And nice bokeh! The camera focused on the subject without any problems and really brought out what I wanted in the picture. It is one of those moments where the heart, mind, eye and camera all connected to capture the perfect moment. Moments like these are still a bit rare for me, but will get better as I develop my photographic eye (I hope!).

So I tell myself: practice, practice, practice! I have set a goal of either selling a photograph, doing a photoshoot for a friend's special event, or getting a photograph recognized on a photography webiste here in Norway. It may seem like a long shot. Heck, it is, but now I have absolutely NO excuse to not give it a try. I have the tools I need. But photography, as always, is more about the person taking the picture, not the equipment which was used. Though using the best equipment does help!