Fuji X-E2 panoramic mode
I finally started carrying my camera everywhere with me a few years ago. I think of it like my watch. I can’t benefit from owning a look if I don’t wear it.
I am constantly looking for a camera solution I can use anytime. But, unfortunately, for the most part, my cameras have been more like a clock than a watch.
The more miniature camera is why I am now enjoying shooting with the Fujifilm X-E2. It is smaller and lighter than my Nikon D4, but at home, I keep the Nikon D4 because it serves a purpose for my commercial work.
Maybe you think I am like my dad, asking you to join the “Nut House” by carrying your camera.
Most people think of packing the camera for vacation, as I did to St. Thomas this summer with my family.
We now have photos of my wife and daughter on the same beach, Caneel Bay at St. Thomas, where my wife’s parents went for their honeymoon.
Why not just use your camera phone?
Today’s camera phones take beautiful photos, but there is a reason the pros aren’t shooting jobs with them. The images do look great under ideal light and on your phone. However, for me, a photo is not a photo unless you can make a large wall print of it, and that is where most smartphones fall apart.
I want to put a print on my wall at home, and I don’t want to miss out because I decided my camera phone will suffice.
We put our photos on our walls to enjoy them anytime and to help us remember the places we have been in our lifetime.
For our anniversary dinner, we took one of our daughters’ friends to Tokyo Boat for a Hibachi dinner. The girls ordered Ramune. Ramune is widely known for its distinctive bottle design, often called a Codd-neck bottle after its inventor, Hiram Codd. They are made of glass and sealed with marble; the codd head is held in place by the pressure of the carbonation in the drink. We are pushing the marble into the neck of the bottle, where it rattles around as we drink. Therefore, the glasses are sometimes called “marble soda” outside Japan.
Having my camera helped me capture the excitement of opening the girls’ bottles and treasure the moment forever.
I looked around the restaurant’s walls and realized they, too, celebrate the use of customer photographs. I like this more than the famous people who come to a restaurant and put up photos of themselves. A restaurant is a place that celebrates every person.
Of course, I captured the volcano created using an onion on the grill. We discovered this was our daughter’s friend’s first time eating Hibachi, and she was enjoying the show.
Isn’t all of life worth recording? So while we didn’t plan where to go for dinner all week, I got to capture slices of life with my camera at my side.
What all these snapshots of life do for me is keep my eye fresh. Of course, I don’t take much time when we are going somewhere to take photos, but by always shooting and reviewing my work, I am building a library in my mind.
What about each of these moments is nostalgic to me? Can these photos convey the same meaning to those who weren’t with me? If I were to go back, what would I do differently on a commercial job?
I love to play my trumpet, and I played in the band and orchestra for most of my school years. Then, when I went to East Carolina University, I played in the marching band and the Jazz Band.
I had a lot of talent, but never practiced enough to play professionally.
I work with Dan Cathy and love talking with him about the trumpet. Dan almost became a professional musician before joining the family business, Chick-fil-A. Here is a link to Dan playing.
Today, he is still playing for fun. Dan knows he cannot just leave the trumpet in the case when he decides to play; he pulls it out and plays. So Dan plays his trumpet every day for about thirty minutes to an hour.
You see, photography is very similar to music. Ansel Adams, a concert pianist, took photographs on the side, just as Dan Cathy played the trumpet while serving as CEO of Chick-fil-A. This discipline, which Ansel Adams brought to both, enabled him to excel. He explored Yosemite for years, shooting it over and over, before he finally had a breakthrough. He applied all the years of shooting to turning the corner and learning to capture what he’d envisioned rather than just what was in front of him.
Do you want to get better? If so, where is your camera? You need to shoot every day; just like a professional musician, you must practice so that when you perform, it is at your highest level of ability.
By the way, when you shoot daily, you now have something to share and connect with others through social media, newsletters, and blogs. So now you may know why you haven’t been successful on social media: you don’t have anything to photograph to share because you aren’t shooting regularly.