January 15th, 2013
I’ve had the Olympus OM-D E-M5
since November of last year, and it seemed time to do a review. Bought as a replacement for my old Fuji X-Pro1 – a camera that I had a passionate but stormy relationship with – I have to say the Oly is much easier to live with.
It focuses quickly, has great in-camera stabilisation, delivers quality images even at higher ISOs and has a wide selection of lenses. I’ve happily used it on a couple of paid shoots (in conjunction with my Canon DSLR gear), and it works very well for me as walkaround camera.
I got it with the 14-42 kit lens (on the basis that I’ll likely not be using it very much), and mainly use the Panasonic LUMIX G 20mm f/1.7
and the lovely Olympus M. Zuiko Digital ED 45mm f/1.8 
.
Other folks have said lots of nice and useful things about the camera, including Chase Jarvis’ staffer Erik, and Scott Bourne, so if you’re thinking about getting one, there’s lots of good information out there to help – and you can rent one from Borrowlenses.com if you want to try it out.
I hope you enjoy the review below, and let me know if you have any questions or comments.
December 17th, 2012
Sometimes it’s best if you just keep it simple. When I got a call from friends and previous clients Laura and Rick, asking if I could do a quick family portrait session for their holiday card, I of course said yes.
They were only looking for two or three shots, and were up against a deadline to get the cards made – through the great service Pinhole Press (as I recommended). So I invited them over to my house, knowing there’s some open space on an unbuilt lot next to us.
A picturesque setting can be nice, but it’s not always necessary. With a bit of creative thinking, and a knowledge of how your gear works and the look you’re after, you can make great images in the most unimpressive surroundings.
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December 4th, 2012
Just a quick note to say that I’ve expanded my listing on the local business review site Yelp – covering Santa Fe and Albuquerque. So if I’ve photographed yourself or your family before, I’d really appreciate if you’d head over and give me an honest review.
> You can find the Yelp listing here
With luck it will help more people find me and hire me for their children and family photography if I do the sort of work they’re looking for.
Thanks.
November 29th, 2012
Wrestling with whether to keep one expensive camera or buy a different one doesn’t rate on the scale of real problems, but I’ve been torn recently about whether or not to keep my Fuji X-Pro1. I’ve finally decided to sell it, and here’s why
The bottom line is that I just don’t like using it very much. The autofocus is frustratingly unpredictable, even with the latest firmware updates, and to me the camera feels unresponsive and a bit of a struggle. It’s a testament to the quality of the Fuji X-Pro1 that it’s been a hard choice, and it’s a testament to its quirks and frustrations that it had to go.
The image quality it delivers when everything clicks is undeniable, but if you don’t enjoy using the camera and feel you’re missing shots, then even capturing great ones some of the time doesn’t help much in the end.
I appreciate its retro design, the simplicity of its layout and the lack of extra bells and whistles, but I draw the line at dodgy focusing and an all-round laggy feeling.
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October 26th, 2012
Gear is a necessary and enjoyable part of the photography process. But sometimes we can spend way too long thinking about good gear, and not enough working to improve our photography.
In this guest post for Seshu’s Tiffinbox blog, I describe the problem of gear acquisition syndrome, and then outline some steps to cure it.
> Read the full post over here.
October 1st, 2012
This week a quick video on how setting a regular time for your own family photo session helps you create a lasting archive of your kids as they grow and change.
Music: “Evening Seaside” by Inspector 22
Do you have regular dates you make for your family photographs? Let me know in the comments below.
