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Interview: Photographer Cath Simard talks about developing your own unique style

10 Aug

Introduction

Above: El Chaltén, located in the Argentine side of Patagonia, is known as the National Capital of trekking.

I first stumbled across Cath Simard’s work on Instagram and was instantly mesmerized by its beauty. Not only does the Canadian photographer capture stunning and unsullied locations around the globe, she’s developed a distinctive style. Every photographer serious about making a living with their work especially needs to focus on creating an aesthetic that makes them instantly recognizable.

Simard’s humble, down-to-earth demeanor and grace dealing with the occasional critic is also refreshing. I got a chance to catch up with the former model and find out how she got into photography, why she’s passionate about teaching others her methods, and how traveling solo altered her outlook.

What inspired you to get into photography?

Above: This campsite, located at an altitude well above 4,000 meters, was the perfect site to capture the night sky against the Andes Mountains in Peru.

I started in the creative industry as a model when I was 15 years old. I modeled for ten years and worked as an Art Director and fashion stylist for four years. I’ve always been attracted to the visual arts but I would have never thought I’d be a photographer one day. Then, back in 2014, I got tired of the fashion industry. I decided to sell all my belongings and buy a one-way ticket to Australia with very little money in the bank.

I did farm work for two years over there, documenting my journey with my iPhone. I was approached by an Australian bandana company to take photos of their products. I said yes, immediately, even if I had no experience using a camera or in professional shooting. I decided to purchase a Sony a6000 with a 35mm F1.8 lens and started photographing people wearing bandanas doing outdoor activities.

Why did you gravitate toward nature?

Above: After a long evening hike, the best was made of a foggy morning in the mountains of Peru.

After completing my farm work, I decided to go on a three-month solo trip covering Indonesia, Hawaii, and Western Canada. Never before had I seen such huge mountains as when arriving in Alberta. The feeling I got when I saw them for the first time is indescribable. It was in Alberta I discovered my passion for hiking and I was introduced to scrambling, which allowed me to access more remote areas and reach viewpoints that have never been photographed before.

I started to document my adventures and fell in love with photographing the mountains, specifically. It was the first time in my life I found something that made me feel whole and brought me so much joy and energy.

How were you inspired to grow into offering workshops?

Above: Here are the Cerro Yerupajá and Siula Grande mountains, in Peru, amongst other giants, captured between 2:00 and 3:00 am.

Three years ago, a company from Quebec (my hometown) asked me if I would be interested in teaching photography to a group of 10 people for one day. It was something I have never done before and I was curious to find out if it is something I’d enjoy, so I said ‘yes.’ That day was quite a revelation for me – the amount of excitement, satisfaction, and the feeling of accomplishment I got from teaching each student was indescribable. A new passion was born.

After this experience, I decided to combine my passion for teaching, hiking and traveling into unique international photography workshops for people to learn photography while completely immersing themselves in nature. I highly enjoy spending time with people that have similar interests, sharing my knowledge, and giving as much insight as possible so they can return home with images they are proud of.

Which photo are you most proud of and why?

Above: My favorite photo to date was captured at Jasper National Park in the Alberta province of Canada.

I don’t have one in particular but, in general, the images I’m the proudest of are the ones where I followed my own personal creative vision. They often involve a lot of physical work and perseverance. Being unique is also something I value and prioritize a lot, so I’d say that my favorite images usually have a unique and original compositional component or mood along with a great story behind them.

What gear are you using lately?

Above: I wanted to capture this ice cave in Iceland at night. Although I didn’t get Northern Lights when I took this particular image, I decided to composite it with a night sky I captured a couple of days before.

I use the Sony a7R III + 16-34mm F2.8 lens for 80% of my images. I also love the Sony 100-400mm F4.5-5.8 lens for tighter shots of mountain peaks and compression.

What is your favorite photo editing software?

Above: This image was taken with a drone at El Chaltén National Park. It’s important to note that you need a permit to fly inside the borders of a National Park, or you need to take off outside the border.

I used to say Lightroom Classic CC, but I’ve been experimenting much more with Photoshop over the last year. I like to combine both software programs for my editing.

You’ve traveled extensively. Do you have a favorite place? If so, why?

Above: My favorite image from 2019 was taken at Torres del Paine National Park in Chile’s Patagonia region.

I simply cannot choose between Patagonia and Peru. I love the variety in landscape and wilderness that Patagonia offers and the remoteness and untouched beauty of Peru. Both places demand that you put work into creating great images – especially Peru, since you need to trek in high altitude for many days to reach interesting viewpoints.

Any destinations you wish to visit?

Above: Also captured in El Chaltén, I challenged myself to get out of my comfort zone by creating something interesting out of an average foreground and backdrop.

I would love to explore Alaska – especially its giant snow-covered peaks, glaciers, lakes, and ice caves. It seems this part of the world has it all!

What grounds you and keeps you inspired?

Above: I spent all night photographing the Andes Mountains in Peru. Obviously the Milky Way doesn’t bend in an arch but I had some fun with compositing to create this effect.

Traveling solo multiple times allowed me to do discover hidden parts of myself through self-reflection and introspection. I think that introspection is essential for becoming a better person and it is the single most powerful tool for internal self-awareness and how to find true happiness.

When you take the time to become an expert, you make better decisions, you are more confident, you learn to respect your limits which all brings you closer to live the life you want. You worry less about what other people think of you, you become more empathic to others, and have a more positive attitude towards life.

This is definitely easier said than done. You need to find a time and space for this, and to me this happens whenever I’m alone hiking in the mountains. It’s like a meditation that grounds me and helps me get back to what’s important in life.

Other tools that help are self improvement books such as How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie and What to Say When You Talk to Yourself by Dr. Shad Helmstetter, to name a few.

What advice do you have for someone looking to develop their own style?

Above: A final perspective of El Chaltén, located in Patagonia.

Pick three photographers that inspire you and analyze their images. Why do they speak to you? Try to identify the elements that you like in their photos and look for them when you are shooting or editing. I do believe that imitating – not copying – is a great way to learn and find your own personal style.

Another thing is to listen and trust your creative instinct. For example, I started creating composites at a very early stage of my learning process. Compositing has always been a creative way for me to express myself but it has always attracted negative comments. I’ve often been told that my images were too contrasting, too blue or too Photoshopped.

If I would have left these comments get to me and influence the way I create, I would never be where I am today as an artist. The moral of the story for me is to ignore negative comments and only take constructive criticism from people you trust and who you know truly believe in you.

Lastly, developing your style takes time. A lot of a time. So be patient, learn new techniques and practice as much as you can.

Catherine Simard is a Canadian-born self-taught travel/landscape photographer and digital artist with a passion for the outdoors and the wilderness. She is a Sony Artisan of Imagery. Simard will be resuming workshops at various international destinations in 2021.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Cinema5D’s real-world experience raises concerns about EOS R6 overheating

25 Jul

Canon has made it known that heating issues place limitations on video recording with its new EOS R5 and R6. However, as Johnnie Behiri of Cinema5D has pointed out in his new ‘First Look’ video, the practical impact is ‘completely different’ than you might expect, from seeing an estimated capture time on paper.

To test out his pre-production EOS R6 camera, Behiri shot a mini-documentary in Japan titled ‘Never Say No.’ While the mini-doc, which is sandwiched inside the ‘First Look’ video, looks fantastic, capturing it wasn’t nearly as great an experience as Behiri was hoping.

A screenshot from the video showing what the camera’s display looks like after the unit overheats.

Behiri starts the video by saying that he had hoped to report back on the in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and autofocus capabilities of the EOS R6, but that those features ended up taking a backseat to the limitations created by overheating while shooting.

‘When you see [the time limitations] on paper and experience it in the field, it’s completely different,’ says Behiri. While he shot most of the mini-doc at 4K/24p, he at times had to resort to shooting footage at 1080/24p so he could get the footage he needed after his EOS R6 unit overheated. He even went so far as having to use fans and bags of ice to cool his camera down.

A still image Behiri shares in the video showing his attempt to cool off the camera using a household fan.

Wrapping up his experience with the pre-production EOS R6, Behiri says ’It’s a tool [and] on one hand it has a lot of useful features and really nice features [but] on the other hand, [those features are] a bit meaningless because you can’t work with the camera and execute what you want.’ He effectively summarizes his experience with the camera saying that ‘instead of controlling the camera […] the camera controls you.’ He says ‘it will overheat badly and you don’t know how long it will be until you can shoot again.’

‘Instead of controlling the camera […] the camera controls you.’

Behiri shared an accompanying blog post on Cinema5D that further dives into his experience with the camera. While he was happy to report that its autofocus ‘worked like a treat’ most of the time and he appreciated the camera’s articulating screen, that’s where the positives end. He notes rolling shutter was ‘horrendous’ during his time filming and ultimately concludes that the camera is ‘not working for [him].’

Even a bag of ice (which we don’t suggest you use on your unit) failed to keep the camera shooting, even at 4K/24p.

While this was a pre-production unit, Behiri notes Canon representatives told him it was ‘almost final.’ He was also shooting pretty much the exact type of assignment you’d expect the EOS R6 to be perfect for and the weather in Japan, although warm at around 82 degrees F, was far from extreme.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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‘We’re confident that they can deliver’: We talk to AP’s Director of Photography about switch to Sony

24 Jul

J. David Ake, Director of Photography at The Associated Press.

One of the world’s largest and oldest news agencies, The Associated Press, has just announced that it is switching to Sony for all of its photography and videography equipment. We spoke to AP’s Director of Photography, J. David Ake, about why the agency decided to make the switch, why it chose Sony, and what it means for AP staff photographers and videographers.

The following interview has been edited lightly for clarity and flow.

Thanks for joining us, David – what do you do at AP?

I’m the Director of Photography at The Associated Press, I’m responsible for stills photo reporting worldwide. That’s a team of a few hundred staff photographers, fifty or so photo editors, and we produce about 3,000 images a day from around the globe. I’ve been at the AP for 20 years, and previously I was a photographer for UPI, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters.

Is it a coincidence that this announcement coincides with what would have been the opening week of the planned 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo?

Actually, yes, this just happened to be when we could get the dotted line signed! COVID-19 slowed things down a little bit, we were actually hoping to do this a little bit earlier.

How long have you been working with Sony on this project?

The AP has been thinking about switching to mirrorless on the stills side for a couple of years. We like the advantages [like silent shooting] which means we can be whisper-quiet in places where a DSLR shutter sound is disturbing. We like the super-fast autofocus and we like the light weight of the cameras.

We tested cameras from several manufacturers in really harsh zones from the Arctic to the rainforest, to hostile environments, to hurricanes. The overwhelming response from the photographers was that they really liked the Sony equipment: the way it worked, the way it felt, and the image quality.

The Sony Alpha a9 Mark II is a camera that Sony says was made specifically to meet the needs of professional photographers in demanding environments, and at major sporting events. The relatively few major hardware updates from the a9 were almost all intended to cater to this demographic.

Then we started talking to our video colleagues who were about ready to do a change-up of their gear too, and we started thinking “well if we went to Sony for video and stills, what would that do for our visual storytelling?” We liked the idea of having the color quality and the image quality being close to the same between stills and video equipment. So if a stills photographer helped out a video colleague with a little filming, or B-roll, it would fit in the edit. And if we were to pull a frame grab from a 4K video camera it would have the same basic feel as a photograph from a stills camera.

And the lens mounts are the same, so if a videographer was working with a stills photographer, he or she could borrow a 600mm f4, or a stills photographer could try a cine lens to get a certain look. It just gives us some unique opportunities.

Up to now, has AP been using a mixture of different platforms, from different manufacturers?

Yes, we have. We used one manufacturer for stills, and a different manufacturer for video. And we’ve been happy with those brands, we’ve used them for years, and they’ve supported us with their equipment. It was really the thought that we wanted to go mirrorless that took us down this path, and then we found that the synergy between video and stills could be really good, and Sony could support both of those at the level that we needed. And maybe that could open up some opportunities for visual storytelling in future that we hadn’t previously recognized.

It’s probably going to take us a little over a year to complete this switch

I’m excited, because both teams now can really work together well.

How many photographers and videographers will start using Sony equipment?

We have a few hundred staff photographers around the world, and about that many video cameras [in our equipment pool]. And probably into the thousands of freelancers, regular and occasional. This switch to Sony applies only to the staff photographers and videographers.

The freelancers are independent contractors, what they use is up to them.

Can you give us an idea of the scale of this investment, in terms of camera bodies and lenses?

Well if we’re kitting each photographer and videographer out with four or five lenses and a couple of camera bodies, that’s a large investment. It’s probably going to take us a little over a year, maybe a year and a half, to complete this switch worldwide. We’ve got photographers in some places that are very difficult to get gear to!

Sony is currently the only manufacturer to offer native mirrorless long-telephoto prime lenses. Lenses of this kind are a prerequisite for professional sports, although Canon and Nikon’s latest mirrorless cameras can accept EF and F-mount lenses via adapters.

Do you have a sense of the ratio of a9-series to a7-series cameras that you’re going to be onboarding?

The vast majority of the stills photographers will get a9 Mark IIs. We will get some a7R IVs for the videographers, and a couple for some of our entertainment shooters who do a lot of portraits. But the standard kit will be an a9 Mark II.

On the video side there are six different cameras that might become part of the kit, from broadcast cine cameras all the way down to small palm-sized cameras, depending on the assignment. But we have six cameras spec’d-out on the video side.

What convinced you that Sony could provide that level of support your photographers and videographers might need at major events?

Well Sony has committed to us that it will. And we have done some tests, we’ve done events where they did provide the level of support that we needed. This is not new for Sony. On the video side, Sony has been supporting its cameras in the field for a really long time. They’ve shown us that they’re committed to doing it, and so far we’ve been happy with the level of commitment.

The proof is in the pudding of course, once we’ve got this all rolled-out, but we’re confident that they can deliver.

Tokyo 2020 never happened, but by this time next year, AP photographers and videographers in Japan will be shooting the proceedings on Sony equipment.

You mentioned the logistical challenge of replacing all of your stills and video equipment, are you planning to introduce a training program for your staff?

Yes. Our goal is to get photographers together, collect their old gear, issue them with new gear, and give them a day or so with Sony technicians to run through the menus, how to clean the sensors, how the cameras work and so on, before we put them out in the field.

What are the first big events that you expect AP photographers will be covering with Sony equipment?

The US elections in November, followed by the Olympic Games.

What’s the biggest shift you’ve seen during your career in photography?

For me personally it was film to digital. I got one of the very first digital cameras in 1995. It was a huge shift, and very enlightening – there was a sense of freedom. It changed the world for photojournalism. And I think mirrorless is going to turn out to be a really big change, too. The fact that these cameras are very fast, very quiet and very light will allow us to go places and do things that we haven’t done before.

Editors’ note: Barnaby Britton

The news that The Associated Press – one of the world’s oldest and best well-known news agencies – is switching to Sony is highly significant.

For decades, whether or not a brand could be considered ‘professional’ has been defined in part by whether organizations like AP purchased its cameras and lenses for their staff photographers. While the number of salaried photojournalists working in agencies around the world today is relatively small, it’s hard to overstate the PR value for any brand of having its cameras and lenses appear in the hands of pros on the sidelines at events like The Olympic Games, watched by millions of people all over the world.

For at least forty years, Canon and Nikon have owned the sidelines, and along the way, both companies have developed a sophisticated systems to support professional photographers at major sporting events. Can Sony compete with these well-established companies when it comes to service and pro support (not to mention reliability)? Apparently AP is pretty confident in Sony’s (and its gear’s) performance so far, but as Mr Ake says, ‘the proof is in the pudding’.

Sony is still the only company to offer both a truly photojournalism-oriented mirrorless camera and a range of native mirrorless fast telephoto prime lenses

There is no doubt, however, that Sony is very serious about competing in the professional market. The a9 Mark II is arguably the best sports camera in the world right now, and two years after Canon and Nikon joined the full-frame mirrorless party, Sony is still the only company to offer both a truly photojournalism-oriented mirrorless camera and a range of native mirrorless fast telephoto prime lenses. Apparently, for AP, the cross-compatibility of E-mount lenses between a large number of Sony’s stills and video cameras was another point in the company’s favor.

From a sales and revenue standpoint, the fact that Sony just sold a few hundred cameras and lenses is probably not all that significant. But the AP contract is a huge vote of confidence in the brand from an agency synonymous with professional photojournalism, and one that Sony has been working for years to earn. Canon and Nikon just got put on notice.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Ricoh shares additional information about its upcoming APS-C DSLR, lenses

24 Jul

In a video shared to YouTube yesterday, Ricoh offered more information on its upcoming Pentax APS-C DSLR. The video, embedded above, is the latest in a series that Ricoh is creating ‘to reinforce its commitment to DSLR photography.’

The 24-minute video, which offers embedded translated subtitles in English, is a dialogue between professional photographer Keita Sasaki and Wakashiro Shigeru of Ricoh’s Product Planning department.

The pair give a little hands-on with the new camera and lenses and discuss many facets of the upcoming Pentax APS-C DSLR. Here are a few of the highlights from the conversation:

The new optical viewfinder will be brighter and clearer than the one found in the Pentax KP; it uses a new high-refraction glass pentaprism first developed back in 2017.
It will be compact and offer a new grip for ‘increased comfort.’
The camera will have a joystick on the back (for autofocus and more) and use larger buttons for better tactile feedback
The shutter release will use the same ‘leaf switch’ mechanism found in the Pentax 645Z and Z-1.
The rear LCD display will be ‘extra large’ (no specific size is shared, however).
The new sensor will be improved across the board, at lower and higher sensitivities

Shigeru also reveals the camera will come in silver (alongside the standard black version) and have a set of silver lenses to match (a 70–210mm F2.8, 50mm F1.4 and 85mm F1.4). A silver version of the K-1 Mark II will also be released in the near future alongside the silver D FA 21mm lens announced back in May.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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What you need to know about the new Nikon Z5

23 Jul

What you need to know about the new Nikon Z5

The Nikon Z5 is an entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera that looks a lot like the Z6, handles a lot like the Z6, and offers a lot of the same features. So what makes it different, and why is it cheaper? Read on to find out more.

All images provided by Nikon USA and used with permission.

24MP CMOS sensor (not BSI)

The Nikon Z5 uses a 24MP CMOS sensor, paired with an Expeed 6 processor, but it is not the same BSI-CMOS chip that we’ve seen in the Z6 (and likely also the Sony a7 III). The Z5’s sensor is probably closely related to the last-generation sensors in the likes of the Nikon D750. For practical purposes, this means that image quality in a normal ISO sensitivity span is likely to be excellent, but the Z6 will probably have the edge at very high ISOs.

1/8000sec min shutter and ‘silent’ shooting

Despite its entry-level positioning, the Z5 offers a minimum exposure time of 1/8000sec, which enables wide-aperture shooting in bright conditions. As well as mechanical and electronic first-curtain modes, a ‘silent’ shooting mode is also available. In ‘silent’ mode the shutter is fully electronic and – literally – silent.

Because there is no mechanical action associated with fully-electronic exposures, this is potentially also a good option for highly critical macro and extreme telephoto work, where you need to minimize vibrations. The downside is an increased likelihood of distortion when shooting moving subjects.

273-point PDAF and 4.5fps continuous shooting

The Z5’s autofocus system appears at least very similar if not exactly the same as that found in the Z6 and Z7, and benefits from the feature additions that Nikon has made to those models via firmware. As such, you get human and animal eye-detection, and a tracking mode which operates a little more like 3D AF Tracking in Nikon’s DSLRs. Coverage from the Z5’s 273 autofocus points is 90% vertically and horizontally.

The Z5’s maximum continuous shooting rate of 4.5fps is OK for this class, but probably not fast enough for serious sports or action photography.

5-axis in-body stabilization

Unlike Nikon’s entry-level (and currently sole) DX-format Z-series model the Z50, the Z5 offers 5-axis in-body stabilization. This system is rated for up to five stops of correction, which (again) is comparable to the Z6 and Z7.

5-axis in-body stabilization

With a VR-enabled F-mount lens mounted via the FTZ adapter, or a Z-series lens like the forthcoming Z 70-200mm F2.8 S, the system becomes 3-axis, handing off pitch and yaw correction to the lens, with the body dealing with roll. The stabilization rating with a VR lens increases slightly, to 5.5EV (per CIPA) but as always with such things, you might get greater or less benefit depending on the situation (and focal length).

Same size and weight, similar ergonomics to Z6

The Z5 is an unusual entry-level model in being exactly the same size and weight as the model above it in the lineup. We’re told that this was a deliberate decision to make manufacturing more economical. The only major ergonomic change to the Z5, compared to the Z6, is the migration of an exposure mode dial to the right of the viewfinder, in place of the small status LCD which sits on top of the higher-end model.

Same size and weight, similar ergonomics to Z6

The 3.2″, 1.04M-dot LCD on the rear of the Z5 is the same size as that found in the Z6 and Z7 (but lower-resolution), and like those models it is also touch-sensitive and can be tilted for waist-level shooting and video work.

Whereas the Z6 and Z7 use an almost all magnesium-alloy body chassis, the Z5 economizes slightly with plastic on the back and the base of the camera. We’re told that despite the different construction, the Z5 is sealed to the same extent as the Z6/7 against dust and moisture. From what we know about the build quality of those models, this is really good news.

3.6M-dot Quad VGA EVF

Also good news is that the Z5 shares the same electronic viewfinder as the Z6/7. While we’ve seen the 3.6M-dot Quad VGA EVF out-resolved recently, it remains one of our favorite finders, offering fine, crisp detail and excellent contrast, without offering the 100fps+ feed of some competitive models. The EVF assembly features an automatic switch, to de/activate the viewfinder when your eye modes between finder and rear screen.

The image above shows an EVF module from the Z6/7 being inspected at Nikon’s factory in Sendai. Read the full factory tour here.

Dual UHS-II SD cards

Before the Z6 and Z7 were announced, whoever would have thought that card slots could cause such controversy? The Z5 splits from its higher-end stablemates by offering two card slots, both of which support the cheaper and more readily available SD format, up to UHS-II.

Video

When the Z5 is compared against the Z6 on specs, the main area of differentiation is in video. Nikon has moulded the Z6 into its current top-end video camera, but the Z5’s video feature set is much more pared-down. Although you can shoot 4K footage at up to 30p, there’s a 1.7X crop.

Overall the Z5 offers a solid feature set for its price, without being class-leading. Full HD video can be recorded without a crop (at up to 60p) but you won’t find a lot of the Z6’s more pro-oriented features, such as N-Log recording and output that can be encoded as Pro-Res Raw. The Z5 does offer focus peaking though, and zebra stripes. It also has sockets for a microphone and headphones.

New EN-EL15C battery

The Z5 ships with a new ‘c’ variant of the venerable EN-EL15 battery, but it remains compatible with previous versions, provided you don’t need in-camera charging (only offered by ‘b’ and ‘c’ variants). The new ‘c’ type battery offers a modest increase in capacity, giving an overall rating (per CIPA) of 470 shots using the rear monitor, and 390 shots using the EVF. It also supports USB power, via the optional optional UC-E25 cable.

New 24-50mm F4-6.3 kit lens

The Z5 might have basically the same body as the Z6 and Z7, but you can keep its overall size and weight down with the new 24-50mm kit zoom. The 24-50mm measures just 51mm (2″) long when retracted and weighs only 195g (0.43lb). The tradeoffs for such a small, lightweight lens are its relatively limited focal length range, and slow maximum aperture, but if it’s as sharp as previous Z-series zooms, this might be a worthwhile compromise for casual everyday photography.

New 24-50mm F4-6.3 kit lens

Nikon describes the lens as ‘dust and drip resistant,’ though not fully weather-sealed. The 24-50mm F4-6.3 will be available in a kit with the Z5 for $ 1699, or on its own for $ 399.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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What you need to know about the new Leica M10-R

18 Jul

What you need to know about the new Leica M10-R

Leica has just released a major update to the M10-series, with a big leap in resolution over the original M10 models. The new M10-R features a variant of the 40MP sensor found in the more recent ‘Monochrom’ version, and includes a couple of the nice extras introduced in the older ‘P’ model. Read on to learn more.

New 40MP CMOS sensor

Externally, the only difference between the M10 and M10-R is the addition of an ‘R’ to the engraving on the hotshoe.

Internally, it’s a different story. The M10-R offers a big jump in pixel count, from 24MP to 40MP. For anyone who was expecting the next-generation M to feature the 47MP sensor from the SL2 and Q2, we’re told that the reason Leica opted for a ‘color’ version of the M10 Monochrom’s 40MP sensor is simply size. The 40MP sensor is thinner, and better optimized for use in the compact body of the stills-only M10-series cameras.

Like the original M10, there’s no option to shoot video. There’s also no low-pass filter on the sensor, to really make the most out of all those pixels. The downside to that is that moiré can be an issue in some situations (especially when shooting fabrics).

Same processor, better high ISO and dynamic range

The M10-R’s processor is the same Leica Maestro II that we’ve seen in previous M10-series models, but Leica claims that thanks to the new sensor, dynamic range has been substantially improved in Raw mode. Despite the significant increase in the size of its files, the M10-R’s continuous shooting rate is 4.5 fps – barely slower than the original M10’s 4.8 fps.

Like the original M10/P, native ISO sensitivity spans 100-50,000 (everything above 6400 is accessed via the ‘M’ setting on the ISO dial shown here) and the maximum exposure time has been extended to 16 minutes (from 4 minutes on the M10/M10-P).

Raw files are recorded in the DNG format, in 14-bit, with lossless compression.

Rangefinder focus system

Leica aficionados can skip this section, but for the uninitiated, the Leica M10-R is a rangefinder-type camera. It has an optical viewfinder, offering a comfortable field-of-view of approximately 28mm.

A series of prisms and mirrors under the top-plate (linked to a cam which connects to the lens) project two overlapping images into a small patch in the middle of the finder which, when they line up, indicate accurate focus. This was considered high technology in the 1920s, and still works well 100 years later, once you’ve got the hang of it.

Focus accuracy

One of the first questions I asked Leica representatives when they showed us the M10-R was whether the focusing system had been revisited to increase its accuracy, given the demands of a new 40MP sensor.

The answer I received was ‘no’. The system was overhauled and improved for the original M10, and has not been tweaked since. From my shooting on the M10-R so far, focus accuracy is about what I’d expect from shooting with the original M10. When working wide-open, it’s sensible (if you can) to focus bracket a little bit, but with practice, it’s not too hard to get focus where you want it, in most situations – despite the higher pixel count. For critical work, the optional Typ 020 viewfinder (shown above on an M10) allows for precise manual focus.

Framelines

The approximate field of view your lens is indicated in the viewfinder using projected frame lines. You can preview the field-of-view provided different lenses (from 28mm to 135mm) by moving the lever below the viewfinder window (shown in the previous section of this article).

When you mount a different lens, the frame lines will automatically adjust accordingly. To accurately frame shots using lenses wider than 28mm, you’ll need to attach an optical finder to the M10-R’s hotshoe. This image shows how much the 75mm Summilux intrudes into the view, but it’s an exception: most M-mount lenses don’t take up this much visual real estate.

3″, 1.04M-dot touchscreen

The M10-R borrows from the M10-P in a couple of key respects, one being its touch-sensitive rear LCD. The touch functionality is well-implemented, to the extent that it doesn’t get out of the way of the shooting experience. It’s useful mostly for flipping through images in playback mode mode, and pinch-to-zoom to check focus. And you can tap as hard as you like – the screen is protected by Gorilla glass.

Touch-screen

It’s a bit disappointing that there’s no option to customize the touch function. It would be nice, for example, to be able to rate images by touch or use the screen as a focus point positioning pad with your eye to the (optional) EVF.

On the plus side, navigating through captured images and zooming in/out is very fast, with virtually no ‘lag’ despite the large file sizes. Please note that the image above shows the M10-P, and was taken at a time when we could still get friends to hold cameras for us from less than 6 feet away.

‘Silent’ shutter

The M10-R’s ‘silent’ shutter is actually nothing of the sort, but rather the nicely-damped, very discreet mechanical shutter from the M10-P. While not silent, it is less obtrusive than the shutter sound of the original M10. There is no truly silent, fully electronic shutter mode available, in either normal or ‘EVF’ (live view) shooting.

Same old battery and memory card bay

No surprise here – the M10-R’s battery and memory card are still accessed via a latched door on the base of the camera. Leica will tell you this is to help keep the camera sealed against dust and moisture (which is it, by the way) but we suspect that tradition plays a big part.

Having to remove the base of the camera to swap out a battery or SD card isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it does make using the M10-R on a tripod (or even just in a soft case) more awkward than it probably needs to be. We had hoped for USB charging on this model, via a more-accessible port somewhere on the body but alas, tradition won the day, yet again. There’s no official word on battery life, but we’d expect the M10-R to offer basically the same stamina as the M10 Monochrom (350-400 shots per charge).

The M10-R supports SD cards up to the SDXC standard. In other words, there’s no benefit from using UHS-II cards in this camera. You can do it (and they’re mechanically perfectly compatible), you just don’t gain anything.

Leica FOTOS app

The M10-R is fully compatible with the FOTOS app, allowing for remote capture, image review and file transfer to a smart device. A fully-featured ‘Pro’ version of FOTUS is also available for iPad, for an annual fee. The app is shown here running alongside the weird and wonderful M10-D (which as you can see, doesn’t have an LCD of its own).

The Leica M10-R is available in ‘black chrome’ and ‘silver chrome’, for an MSRP of $ 8,295 (the same price as the M10 Monochrom).

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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7 Things Van Gogh Can Teach Us About Photography

14 Jul

The post 7 Things Van Gogh Can Teach Us About Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anthony Epes.

In keeping myself motivated as a photographer, I love to look for inspiration from all across the creative spectrum. Today I want to share some ideas with you from the painter Van Gogh that I hope will bring some exciting new ideas for your photography.

I love who I am when I am taking photos. It is one of my favourite things, and I would imagine it’s the same for you.

7 Things Van Gogh Can Teach Us About Photography

To have my camera in my hand, exploring, finding beautiful light, and capturing interesting people I meet along the way, is immensely satisfying and massively fun.

However, life often gets in the way (who’d have thought it!), and I get distracted and lose my creative energy.

For example, I have too many conversations with my accountant, or I am doing a lot of admin or rushing around doing the tasks that are super important to make my life function but aren’t conducive to creativity.

I have been a photographer for over two decades, and I know that making time for being creative is really good for me. Of course, it’s good for my career as a whole, but more than anything, it makes me happy!

And don’t we always need more things to be happy about?

These ideas are timeless because they remind us what we love to do, and why – take photos, be creative, and make things.

I’ve also included some ideas that are reassuring – offering guidance on some of the common challenges that we all face as creative people.

So let’s get started!

1. “I am always doing what I cannot do yet, in order to learn how to do it.” Vincent Van Gogh

One thing I regularly hear from people when they arrive on my photography workshops is how they can’t do things.

It could be: I can’t be creative! Or I can’t shoot on manual, it’s impossible for me!

To me, this is just a habitual way of thinking that is not based on facts. Just because we can’t do something now, does not mean we will never be able to.

It is therefore an uncomfortable and unfamiliar feeling for us to be faced with things that we don’t understand, and so we really struggle with learning.

Photography almost always shows us the things we have struggled in the past to do. Because photography is a unity of skills – the ethereal concept of creativity and the highly technical world of cameras, computers, and post-processing software.

Many of my students fall into two camps: those who are comfortable with the technical, but not the ‘arty/creative’ side of photography. Or the reverse: very intimidated by tech, gear, etc but very comfortable with the idea of being creative.

If, though, we want to get really confident in photography (and we should because otherwise, why would you be drawn to this medium?), we have to overcome the discomfort and look to learn about these things we struggle with.

Here I can offer some inspiration. It is possible for anyone to learn anything. No one is too far gone, too un-creative or un-technical. It just comes down to belief. Can you believe you can find ways to learn what you need to learn to become comfortable and confident shooting?

If you say yes, you are halfway there. Saying yes to learning is the first step.

“Men often become what they believe themselves to be. If I believe I cannot do something, it makes me incapable of doing it. When I believe I can, I acquire the ability to do it even if I didn’t have it in the beginning.” Mahatma Gandhi

And how about we just decide to be people who are learning new things? Be like Van Gogh and always be doing things we don’t know how to do.

2. “Seek only light and freedom and do not immerse yourself too deeply in the worldly mire.” Vincent Van Gogh

This talks about how much we need to detach ourselves from normal life, and the endless tasks of our lives in order to create. Being creative connects us to the world in a completely different way to how we normally live.

In ‘normal’ life, we are living on the surface. We are doing a lot, we are being busy, we are jumping from task to task. We are responding. And that’s all totally necessary to take care of our lives.

But it is not the only way to live. It’s the least enriching, and least satisfying way to live.

And it’s definitely not the mode to be in when you’re being creative.

When you are out shooting, when you are creating something, it has to come from a different part of you. Because taking photos is the work of the soul, not the mind.

It’s diving deep into yourself and using everything you are, everything that you’ve experienced, known and loved, and bringing that out in your images.

But real life knocks very loudly and getting yourself into your creative flow state can be challenging. Even I, a professional photographer who shoots all the time, find it hard sometimes to switch off my mind when it starts reminding me about my mundane daily tasks.

So what I do when I am finding it hard to connect to my inner creative spirit, the inspiration I seek when I am out shooting is finding other ways to stoke my creativity.

That either involves going out into nature, searching for beautiful light or looking at other artists and what they have created.

I also love to read about what my favourite artists have said about making things, because it helps inspire me and helps me leap into a state of wanting to go out and create beautiful photos.

When Van Gogh said “The only time I feel alive is when I’m painting,” feels mostly very true to me.

We are rarely totally living in the moment, totally alive to everything that is around us, connecting to the world that we see.

Totally normal of course, we all do it. But I also think it’s important to carve out time to have those moments of deep fulfillment, of connection, deep beauty, and joy. This is what photography brings into my life. The chance to slow down, to see and be present for what life is.

3. “If you hear a voice within you say ‘you cannot paint,’ then by all means paint, and that voice will be silenced.” Vincent Van Gogh

Photography is an inner game.

Taking good photos has nothing to do with your current skills or your ability to nail sharpness or your exposure. It’s everything to do with what you believe about yourself and what you believe is possible for you.

If you start with this idea of not being able to do something, you won’t be able to do it. You have to overcome that mind of yours that loves to remind you of your inadequacies.

But it is also to say that all people who create, have fear. You are not alone when your mind tells you you’re not much of a photographer, or you might as well as give up because your photos are boring.

Your job is to ignore whatever rubbish your mind is saying about your photography, as Van Gogh says, and silence your mind by doing.

Creativity comes from such a magical and mysterious place– you can’t just find it anywhere. You can’t quantify it or set an exam for it. The fact that there is often no way to quantify if your photos are any good can create some anxiety.

The way to overcome this is to just get started. Just go out and shoot. Don’t worry if it’s going to come out well or not. Don’t pre-analyze what you may or may not achieve or what you are or are not.

The mind is clearly an incredible organ, but it’s not always on your side. It can dissuade you from doing things you love before you’ve even got started, so regardless of the outcome, go out and shoot and love the experience.

4. “Be clearly aware of the stars and infinity on high. Then life seems almost enchanted after all.” Vincent Van Gogh

It’s really easy to get so familiar with our world that we stop seeing what is beautiful and awe-inspiring in the world around us. It’s normal to see your everyday environment and not be inspired by what’s there. Our eyes get dulled to the familiar world around us.

That’s often why we travel or go to new places, to see new things.

But here is a big change we can make right here and now in our photography. When we are prepared to really find the magical and beautiful in life, wherever we are; when we can learn to be impressed and excited about what is, we will see more and more opportunities for photos.

We don’t need to travel or find new things to be inspired to shoot, we just need to connect with what is enchanting in this crazy, wild, and incredible world.

5. “Painting is a faith, and it imposes the duty to disregard public opinion.” Vincent Van Gogh

In many ways, I think learning photography now is harder than in the past. And that’s not because there are so many photographers, or because of smartphones, etc. Instead, it’s because of the amount of information out there, and the multitude of opinions.

The internet has given us so much incredible access to information and to communities and groups where we can share our photos. But often, instead of it being an empowering experience, it can become disheartening. You can get into the habit of judging your photos on how many ‘likes’ they receive.

When you post your photos online, you can get a whole raft of opinion back that is often useless for your photography.

People who aren’t necessarily any more experienced than you will share their random thoughts. (And I can guarantee there are very few professional photographers hanging out online doing constructive criticism on photos.) It’s also so easy to get dissuaded by what other people say about your images.

To make something unique and interesting, and to shoot with creative freedom, you need to be very careful about where you get feedback and who is giving it. You need to give most of your time creating images. Then find people you really trust – whose photography you admire – and seek feedback from them.

That’s how you can learn to grow and get better as a photographer.

6. “It is looking at things for a long time that ripens you and gives you a deeper meaning.” Vincent Van Gogh

Photography often becomes viewed as a series of technical tasks that need to be learned. To learn the way of the camera is to unlock all the gifts of photography.

For me that couldn’t be further from the truth.

The camera is merely the tool to execute your vision. That’s not to say the tool doesn’t have lots of cool and exciting features. I mean, I love tech, and I love what it can do. However, all of that gear is not going to get you great shots if you don’t know how to see, use your imagination, and bring feeling to your photos.

The key to accessing amazing photos all around you is to start to really learn to see.

You might say – but of course, I can see what’s around me! But you would be wrong. There is so much visual information around us, that our brain blocks out most of what is there. What we end up seeing is a mere fraction (less than one percent) of what is going on around us.

What is even more surreal is that because of how our brains like to make our lives as easy and simple as possible and to create habits in how we think and do things, we often see the same things over and over. We don’t notice the different things in our environment.

If you think about a street you’ve maybe walked down hundreds of times and all of sudden you have the urge to look up to the tops of the buildings. And it’s like – wow, I don’t remember seeing that.

This happens all the time with everything in our world.

Therefore, it is a good job as a photographer, to learn to open our awareness. Learn to see beyond what our brains feed us. Learn to look for a long time, and pay attention to what is around us.

This helps to develop our patience too. Developing patience in looking for shots is a great skill to nurture as a photographer. I find people are usually too quick to move on from a scene or a subject.

When we are patient and take that extra time working on a scene or subject, we often find more qualities of the subject are revealed. More ideas spring to mind too. Perhaps things in the moment change; like the light or things moving around the subject, thus, changing the possibilities of the photo.

Learn to really look at the world and it will open up so many incredible facets to your photography.

7. “If you truly love nature, you will find beauty everywhere.” Vincent Van Gogh

Completely.

I don’t just mean nature in a traditional sense – the beautiful flowers, people, or landscapes. It’s when we bring the idea of beauty into our photography that we see that we can capture what is beautiful to us, in any guise.

For me, it’s often the interplay of cities and nature. The smash of orange fruit on the tarmac. The gorgeous colors of the sunrise above a housing complex. Or the dramatic, metallic grey of a sky before a storm.

I would actually expand this idea to say there is beauty in all things, you just need to develop your ability to see and find it all around you.

Conclusion

I hope you found these ideas from Van Gogh useful for your photography. I would love to know what you thought, and if any of these ideas felt like they inspired or taught you something valuable. Please let me know in the comments below. Thanks for reading!

The post 7 Things Van Gogh Can Teach Us About Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anthony Epes.

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DPReview TV: Eight things you may have missed about the Canon EOS R5 and R6

12 Jul

Think you’ve read everything there is to know about the new Canon cameras? Chris and Jordan share eight important things you may have missed from today’s Canon EOS R5 and R6 announcements.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.

Intro
Battery life
Video stabilization
Different top plates
4K video crop
Dual pixel autofocus
Video compression
R5 dual pixel Raw mode
HDMI ports
More to come!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Slideshow: Winners of All About Photo Awards, the Mind’s Eye, 2020

06 May

Winners of All About Photo Awards, the Mind’s Eye, 2020

The 5th Annual Mind’s Eye competition from All About Photo attracted submissions from all over the world. Even though a majority of the entries were color photographs, 4 out of the 5 top category winners are black and white and came from women. The Photographer of the Year 2020 was awarded to Monica Denevan (United States) for her image ‘Across the River, Burma’ from the series ‘Songs of the River: Portraits from Burma.’ She received a $ 5,000 cash prize.

A panel of 7 jurors selected the 40 winning and finalist images. Compared to previous years, they were more inclined to choose calming images compared to those depicting unsettling or violent situations. ‘Perhaps a subconscious need has arisen in each one of us to escape the terrible events that are happening in the world right now,’ reads the official press release.

In a field dominated by men, women received a majority of the top honors in this competition. Elena Paraskeva was recognized in the Particular Merit Mention category for her image ‘The Lost Swimmer.’

Winners will be showcased on the daily fine art photography site Lenscratch, art streaming platform Daylighted, All About Photo’s online gallery, and in the print edition of AAP Magazine. All About Photo hosts a variety of competitions, year round, that can be found on their ‘Photo Contests’ page.

1st Place Photographer of the Year: ‘Across the River, Burma’ by Monica Denevan (United States)

Artist Statement: From the series ‘Songs of the River: Portraits from Burma.’

2nd Place Winner: ‘Florida’ by Gabriele Galimberti (Italy)

Artist Statement: Avery Skipalis (33) – Tampa, Florida / THE AMERIGUNS – In the States there are more guns than people. ‘120.5 registered firearms for every 100 residents’ and the statistic doesn’t count ‘not-registers firearms.’ As a European, I started wondering if owning many weapons by a single person or family is a common habit in the US. I traveled across the US and created a series of 45 portrait of families or single individuals, including all races and beliefs, together with their firearms.

3rd Place Winner: ‘Philomena’ by Rebecca Moseman (United States)

Artist Statement: A little Irish Traveler girl looks out of her family car before going home to her family’s Illegal encampment.

4th Place Winner: ‘Sustenance 4’ by Nadia De Lange (Switzerland)

Artist Statement: Desert: ‘a waterless, desolate area of land with little or no vegetation, typically one covered with sand.’ And yet, there is life in the desert. More than most people realize. In the Namib this is thanks to the wonderful miracle of fog – the clouds that roll in from the Atlantic Ocean bring with them moisture that sustain the fauna and flora living in this beautiful, harsh landscape.

5th Place Winner: ‘Jump of the Wildebeest’ by Nicole Cambre (Belgium)

Artist Statement: Annual migration of the wildebeest at Northern Serengeti, Tanzania. This wildebeest did not wait for its turn and jumped on top of the others.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Polarbearpet’ by Marcel Van Balken (Netherlands)

Artist Statement: Climate change, and the loss of sea ice habitat, is the greatest threat to polar bears. More and more polar bears are being forced ashore, away from their sea-ice hunting grounds. But it does not make sense to make your home (or bathroom) available as a haven for the polar bear. It’s better to spread awareness about the real and pressing threat of climate change.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Untitled’ by Kosuke Kitajima (Japan)

Artist Statement: A monkey entering a Japanese hot spring. Had various expressions like a person.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Break Away’ by Tony Law (Australia)

Artist Statement: A man falling off a bull in a rodeo event held in Taralga, Australia.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Untitled’ by Yoni Blau (Israel)

Artist Statement: This image was taken while on a trip to the Suri tribe in the Omo Valley in Southern Ethiopia.
The model was not dressed, simply recorded as is. No artificial lighting was used.
The picture was taken within a dark tent with the light coming in from the entrance of the tent.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Woman Mursi’ by Svetlin Yosifov (Bulgaria)

Artist Statement: The Mursi tribe are an African tribe from the isolated Omo valley in Southern Ethiopia near the border with Sudan.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Eye Sea’ by Anuar Patjane (Mexico)

Artist Statement: A school of Bigeye trevaly and divers at Cabo Pulmo National Park, Mexico.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Beyond the Wall’ by Francesco Pace Rizzi (Italy)

Artist Statement: Sometimes a shot cannot contain emotions, memories, moods…you need more … you have to ‘chisel’ the image to make that evolutionary-creative leap necessary to reach the right size.

This photo is intended as a small tribute to a great Master: Henri Cartier Bresson, the one who first knew how to show me the reality of ever with new eyes: more human, artistic, poetic. His photos taken between the 1950s and 1970s in Basilicata (my homeland) and around the world have changed the perspective of things in me, creating a fantastic ‘imprinting’ and becoming a source of great inspiration.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Untitled’ by Chin Leong Teo (Japan)

Artist Statement: The Wallace’s Flying Frog is a moss frog found in Malaysia and western Indonesia. It is generally quite photogenic given its large size, brilliant colors and calm temperament. This is a shot taken of a specimen swimming in water, with full extension of its beautiful long legs.

Particular Merit Mention: ‘Step by Step’ by Mustafa AbdulHadi (Bahrain)

Artist Statement: Impression Lijiang is a cultural show which demonstrates the traditions and lifestyle of local Naxi, Yi, and Bai ethnics of the area. It is the second outdoor production of famous film director, Zhang Yimou, which debuts an open-air performance at the foot of Yulong Xueshan (Jade Dragon Snow Mountain) about 3,500 meters above sea level. The performance stage is specially designed to showcase the mountain as the best backdrop of the show. More than 500 local people from ten ethnic groups (participate).

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Watch ‘My Friends Were Mountaineers’, a film about photographer Dee Molenaar

30 Apr

Dee Molenaar, an icon in the Pacific Northwest mountaineering community passed away recently at the age of 101. Filmmaker Eric Becker, a long time collaborator of DPReview was lucky enough to spend some time with Dee around his 100th birthday. What resulted was a short film produced by Eric in collaboration with DPReview about Dee’s life, his love of the mountain climbing community and his prolific work as a visual artist.

The film takes a look into Dee’s expansive archive of paintings, hand drawn maps, 8mm film footage and a treasure trove of archival slide photographs. You can watch the final piece above, and read on for a personal account, from Eric, of the background behind the film.

Eric Becker – director

In 2018 I was finishing up my feature documentary Return to Mount Kennedy, which centers around the first ascent in 1965 of a remote mountain in the Yukon – Mount Kennedy – then newly named after assassinated president John F. Kennedy. Climber Jim Whittaker lead the expedition, which included JFK’s brother, Bobby Kennedy.

Dee Molenaar was one of the photographers in the group. I originally connected with his family to track down some of his original images, but in talking to Dee’s son Peter I learned that there was a lot more to his life and work than just that one trip, back in 1965. Peter invited me to come and go through his father’s photos, and it occurred to me that this might make for an interesting short film on its own.

When I arrived at Peter’s house to take a look through his father’s archives, I was shocked. There were just so many boxes of slides, reels of footage, and beautiful paintings that Dee had created during his life. Peter mentioned that Dee’s 100th birthday was coming up in June and that the family was planning to take him to Mt. Rainier to visit his favorite place on earth. At this point, I knew there was a story.

There was a bittersweet element to the trip which gave it an emotional thrust – the unspoken sense that this would probably be Dee’s last opportunity to see the place

Good stories need some key ingredients. First off, there needs to be visual material to work with, which we had in volumes, in the form of Dee’s photographs and paintings. Second, you need strong characters. Peter was totally comfortable being filmed, and the love and admiration he had for his father came through when he spoke. The same was true of his sister Karen, and his brother David.

The third ingredient is action. In this case it was the simple act of taking a 100 year-old man to see his beloved mountain. There was a bittersweet element to the trip which gave it an emotional thrust – the unspoken sense that this would probably be Dee’s last opportunity to see the place.

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During the making of this film we digitized about 40 reels of 8mm film footage and found some absolutely beautiful imagery of the Pacific Northwest in the 1940, 50’s and 60’s. I also read Dee’s autobiography and did as much research as I could to get some background on his life and work. We filmed interviews with the Molenaar family, and we joined Dee on the trip to Mount Rainier.

My favorite moment was when I showed Dee some of his films that we had digitized. He watched them on an iPad for about 45 minutes and was totally tuned in, even talking about some of the people and places.

This was a very archive-heavy project, and the bulk of the editing for this short film happened in early 2019 once we had collected all of the pieces. Editing is both my favorite and least favorite part of the process, but it’s where the magic happens. Whenever young filmmakers ask for advice, I tell them to learn the tools, including editing. The reality is that cameras and computers are so inexpensive and user-friendly these days that the way to distinguish yourself from the crowd is to focus on the craft of it all. And getting good at editing, as anxiety-ridden as the process can be, is one of the easiest ways to advance your craft as a storyteller.

Getting good at editing, as anxiety-ridden as the process can be, is one of the easiest ways to advance your craft as a storyteller

We made the film using the Fujifilm X-H1, some of it handheld shooting internal 4K but mostly paired with an Atomos Shogun, with Senheiser wireless lavs for sound. We have a simple rig that holds everything. Aside from the camera (which changes from shoot to shoot) this is the same basic setup we use for all of the DPReview long-form videos. Everything was shot in 24p, except for some 60p footage that we captured for slow motion. We used the Fujifilm Eterna profile, and I cut the piece in Adobe Premier Pro.

With this video and with all of the other pieces in the long-form series that we’ve shot with DPReview, I hope we’ve succeeded in inspiring people to get out and shoot. I’d like to think that Dee would approve.

Read Dee Molenaar’s obituary at mountaineers.org

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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