A Beautiful Day, But...

I kept my promise in some way. I went out to take photographs. But I woke up today feeling very antisocial.  A few minutes in the city center, amidst the sea of happy blonde people shopping to their heart's content, and I clicked. I had to get out.

So no city photographs today. The two hours I spent walking, I spent at the botanical gardens close to where I live. And there weren't many keepers today either, despite the nice weather. I wasn't really feeling inspired.

I was able to take one quasi-macro photograph today which I really like though, in fairness. I took 20 or more so photographs but I ended up deleting most of them. I am my own worst critic. Only the best, most visually compelling photographs will do.

The good news is that visually compelling photographs can be had from any camera, even a micro four thirds camera designed for newbies (the Panasonic GF3). Today though i felt that I was getting hindered by having only one lens to play with. I wanted to do macro photography but I couldn't focus on the tiny flowers and insects that caught my attention. There were birds perched on trees happily chirping about but the equivalent 84mm focal length on lens meant that I couldn't get close enough for a good shot.

I can imagine myself using the Panasonic GF3 when I am with my friends and I want to take snapshots. It DOES take manual work, but the lack of physical buttons make it a little bit more cumbersome than I am used to. But it is good training nonetheless. To save my back and my wallet I am going to invest in the more enthusiast oriented Panasonic GX1 and the best available lenses for the MFT system. But MFT cameras work very differently from the traditional DSLR. They are, to put it mildly, far less conservative in handling. I have to rethink the way how I compose images, and how I focus my shots. I also have to get used to the fact that not having you eye pressed against a viewfinder can actually be a good thing on most occasions.

I was able to take a trip to the camera shop and see the Panasonic GX1 for myself. I was surprised to see that it wasn't actually that much bigger than my GF3! But it was beefier, and the build quality was more reassuring. The myriad of physical controls available meant that changing settings are far less cumbersome. It was indeed created with a different type of photographer in mind! And the champagne silver finish of the metal body was really exquisite. It was screaming "buy me"!

In any case I have decided to wait a few days before parting with my hard earned cash. I could have bought the entire setup then and there, but I know the next two weeks prior to the handover of our project at work means that I will not have the time to do anything else. In May I will probably have enough time and energy to study my new equipment even more, and hopefully have time to be a little bit more creative with my photography as well, provided the upcoming birch pollination doesn't bog me down.