I've been pounding out work lately and I spent my morning retouching portraits. Yep. Sitting in front of the computer ironing out a few wrinkles, taming some fly-away hair and liquifying a few double chins. All part and parcel of the portrait photography trade. But after I uploaded the images, in various file sizes, and I put away all the cameras in the tool boxes I really felt the need to get outside and recalibrate the old eyes for infinity and beyond!
I wasn't too intent on taking photographs so I wanted to travel light, camera-wise. I sorted through the stack and found the best weight to IQ ratio and committed to it. The Panasonic G6 is lightweight but packed with just about everything I want. Mostly that's just a decent sensor and a nice electronic viewfinder. The lens that was on the front when I pulled if from the stack was the Panasonic/Leica 25mm f1.4 so I let the fates decide and left it on.
I stuck the camera in "A" mode and dialed in f5.6. with an ISO of 160. Worked for everything I wanted to shoot today. Bright sun to open shade. And I think the files out of the camera looked darling. Now, darling is not a term in common use at DXO but it refers to the well behaved and endearing nature of a lens and sensor combination. This one worked for me.
So, I make it a point never to tell people what to do with their lives but...wouldn't it be cool to leave the office a few hours early and walk down some of the streets in your town and just let your eyes soak up some infinity and some local color before heading home to the loved ones? Just a thought.
2 comments:
I'll enthusiastically second your choice of the G6 and the PL 50mmm. I've had mine since last summer and even though, like you, I have other camera choices, I often just grab this combo and head on out the door. I'm never disappointed by the gear....
Lately, I've definitely felt the need to decompress before arriving home from work. I only did that a few times last year, and remember that I was more relaxed when I greeted the family when I got home. I now resolve to do that much more often this year. I just have to plan a little ahead and submit my time off to leave early. A nice, slow, leisurely walk downtown, the shipping port, the bayou or the arboretum with either the Olympus or the Hasselblad -- shutter therapy (to borrow Robin Wong's term) -- I feel more relaxed already.
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