I replaced the shoulder strap on my small Manfrotto shoulder bag with a neoprene one by OPTECH that I’ve had for some years. It’s proven to be much better for me in combatting my neck and shoulder pains. It really helps cushion the weight and it is anatomically shaped to fit into one’s collar bone/shoulder blade and, unlike the supplied strap with a shoulder pad it doesn’t slide up and down on the strap which I find a bit annoying.

I put my M.Zuiko 9-18mm and 35-100mm Lumix lenses in a couple of my small neoprene lens pouches. This gives them a bit of added protection from knocks and moisture whilst in the bag and I can also just remove them from the bag and pop them in jacket pockets to spread the weight around my body and get it off of my shoulder and upper torso.

I replaced the plastic petal type lens hoods on the two Lumix lenses with 46mm metal screw on ones for five reasons. Firstly I think that they offer better protection against knocks. Secondly, they’re a better shape/grip when attaching my camera rain cover. Thirdly, they have a 58mm filter thread on the end so I can attach a 58mm clear filter when using the rain cover and thus remove it and clean it easily if and when it gets wet. Fourthly, it reduces their diameter and thus permits them to fit into the neoprene lens pouches. Lastly it enables me to leave the hood permanently fitted and eliminates having to reverse it every time when transferring the camera with lens attached to and from the bag. I’ve also taken to using my Dymo label machine to add arrows to the lens caps which make it easier and faster to see the positions of the side-pinches with less fumbling about.

This will be the kit that I take with me on my trips to Cornwall and Prague.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

I’m looking forward to putting my new Lumix 45-150mm through its paces. Bought second-hand at a great price. Seen here with my other “holy trinity” lenses, my M.Zuiko 9-18mm and Lumix 12-60mm. The beauty of this lens is that it is actually a tad shorter than the 12-60mm and that lens will go into my small camera bag attached to the camera body as will the 9-18mm and thus so will the 45-150mm too. 🙂 . You’ve got to love the compactness of Micro Four Thirds gear!.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

Following on from my recent travel photography post I did a short video.

Best wishes,

Leigh

Hi everyone,

First to say that the following is entirely subjective and is my take on things given my personal photographic interests predominantly in landscapes and cityscapes. Over the years I’ve learned quite a few lessons some of which I’ve learned and, on occasions, re-learned the hard way.

I think that first of all one has to look long and hard at what one’s photographic interests are, where one is going to and what weight one is prepared to carry around all day and this to a large extent will determine what one packs before setting off on the trip. There’s a strong temptation, and I know from experience, to pack in one’s camera bag the “what if” items that just add weight to one’s bag and fatigue to ones’ body. I deliberately mentioned camera bag because I think that it’s not a bad approach and one that I’ve long adhered to to pick the smallest, lightest bag that one is comfortable with and then limit the gear to what will fit in rather than pick a big bag and take the metaphorical “kitchen sink” with one. However there’s nothing wrong with packing a few “what if” lenses etc. in one’s suitcase providing that they’re well protected from knocks. I have imposed a weight limit of 1Kg or 2lbs for my camera bag and contents and I stick to this habitually.

Regarding lenses in particular I’ve recently started to pick some of my favorite shots and have them printed and put in frames and, whilst looking at them I made a personally interesting observation. The majority of my shots are taken in the moderate wide angle to standard focal-length range, no surprise there but what did surprise me was about a quarter of my chosen shots were taken with my M.Zuiko 9-18mm ultra-wide angle zoom lens, a lens that I rarely use and therefore on that basis a prime candidate to get left on the shelf when choosing what and what not to pack based, in this case, on a false assumption.

A different example would be my Lumix 35-100mm short to medium telephoto lens. There’s little point in carrying this around in my bag all day as it rarely get used but, when travelling, one doesn’t know what one will find, a good example of that being the day I visited a Zoo in Portugal and could have well done with that lens. Now, if I’d had the foresight to pack it in my suitcase and, therefore have it with me and knowing that I was visiting the Zoo, transfer it over to my camera bag for the day, that would have been perfect. Or maybe one get’s somewhere and there’s lots of great street-performers or suchlike and one wished that one hadn’t left one of one’s longer lenses sitting at home, miles away. In short, you never know what you’ll find until you get there however much one thinks that one has checked things out in advance even if it’s somewhere where one has visited many times.

Other advantages of carrying a small bag include being able to put it on the floor between one’s feet on a plane, on a tray table on a train etc. and it doesn’t attract unwanted attention such as can be the case with a bigger bag. Other things that I’ve learned over the years include always take a rain cover for both one’s camera and camera bag, a pain to travel miles to have rain stop play or worse risk damaging one’s gear, even if it’s just a plastic bag and a rubber band to hold it on the lens. Yes I know that one can buy weather-sealed cameras and lenses but they come at a premium both in terms of weight and price. A small bag such as the one that I favor will squeeze in a hotel room safe which makes me feel easier when not out and about with my gear. I’ve also taken to decanting a lens or two from my camera bag when I’m tired and putting it in a jacket pocket to take some weight off of my upper torso and distribute the weight around my body.

So, to sum things up, for me, small and light is good, take other gear but, unless one’s built like Arnold  Schwarzenegger in his prime, remember that carrying around heavy kit all day that’s not being used much, if at all, is tiring and, in terms limiting one’s mobility can have a definite effect on one’s enthusiasm to move around and get the shot. I’ve certainly missed a few shots over the years by not having a certain lens with me but, to paraphrase Frank Sinatra, “regrets, I have a few but then again too few to mention” as I’ve got far more shots by doing it “My way”. 🙂 Lastly, my choice of the Micro Four Thirds camera system, with its associated small size and weight has been a great factor in helping me to get the travel shots that I want.

Kind regards

Leigh

Hi everyone,

A short video titled “I’ feelin’ good”

Kind regards

Leigh

Is it both!?

Hi everyone,

Using stuff that I had sitting around I combined my pistol grip and cable release with a Slik monopod with ball head and quick release plate. The grip can easily be detached from the monopod for transportation and for use on it’s own or quickly and easily re-attached and used together. I’ve decided to call it my “GrippyPod”, catchy title huh! 🙂

Kind regards,

Leigh

Hi everyone,

The title of the post refers to my fifty-plus year photographic journey which, I’ve been fortunate, has led me to some fabulous places. Over the last few months I’ve not been able to get out anywhere near as often as I have before. The steady and; most recently dramatic, onset of my osteoarthritis and the effect that it has had on my mobility and ability to get out and stay out has made it considerably difficult to get out and about and take pictures. This has had a detrimental effect on my morale as I’ve found it increasingly frustrating and annoying to the end that I’ve on more than one occasion considered selling my gear and calling it a day.

Of course this is probably something that I’ll never let happen as my love of photography has been a huge part of my life for so many years but nothing focuses the mind (pun intended) as being in near constant pain. For some while now I’ve been refining my choice of gear in a steady effort to reduce the weight that I carry, the long and the short of it is that whatever I take with me is going to hurt, it’s about finding the best solution. So I’ve decided that I’ll just take one camera and one lens. This isn’t so much about the one camera part, as I don’t habitually carry more than one camera body, but rather the one lens part.

My choice of camera body is easy as for the last couple of years or so I’ve taken the vast majority of my shots with my Olympus PEN-F camera which ticks all the boxes. The lens choice is, on face value, far more problematical but I’ve come to a conclusion. Framing-wise, as my mind’s-eyes see things, most of my shots are taken in a relatively narrow focal length range which, along with weight considerations, makes things easier when it comes to making a choice. So my lens has to be small, light, ideally weather-sealed and cover a sufficient focal length range. With all of this in mind I’ve decided that my lens for the foreseeable future will be my Lumix 12-60mm or in 35mm terms, 24-120mm. I used this lens almost exclusively a few years back during my trips to Bruges and Porto and it’s a nice compact, lightweight, lens.

A few of my shots taken with this lens.

Alongside the above I’ve been thinking about why it’s been an easier decision than I thought it would be not to pack an ultra-wide angle lens such as my M.Zuiko 9-18mm and, when I have chosen to do so, why it’s seen relatively little use. Again it’s a mind’s-eye thing but there’s another factor too. As someone who mostly photographs landscapes, there’s an urge of sorts, when confronted with a great landscape, to want to get as much in the frame as possible. People rarely buy large prints and by large I mean 20×16 inch or bigger as they’re expensive. If one has a small print, say 10×8 inches or thereabouts the detail is largely wasted and is barely visible and one is better off with tighter framing, “less is more”.

Thanks for bearing with me and continuing to follow my blog, I don’t know how things will pan out long-term and I have a major trip planned for the Summer to some beautiful landscape locations but this will ultimately depend on my health as, right now, the thought of walking around all day, every day for a fortnight with or without my gear, is not a happy prospect but a lot can happen between now and then and I’m hoping that I can find a long-term strategy for coping with the pain. One thing is for sure, I’m not going to let this damn thing beat me if humanly possible, I’m very tenacious, a trait that I share with my wife. 🙂

Kind regards,

Leigh