Revisiting an Important Place and the Important Thing

(Leica X1)

The author took a re-visit with the Leica X1 to the scene of the winning shot which was achieved after some 10 minutes' wait. The waiting didn't pay off this time. It is always skills and luck that matter for a photographer at the end of the day.

This begs the question of why so many photographers spend so much time arguing about and comparing the good and bad of cameras per se. There are certainly many aspects in a camera which a photographer should consider before shelling out the money for it. But the most important thing is whether it suits one's shooting style (Shooting on the street? Having a penchant for manual everything? etc.) and preferences (taste of image character, brand philosophy etc). It is not just the better IQ or a larger sensor (well, discounting the sensors of P&Ss) or a retro design which most users are so obsessed with that measure the star-rating of a camera. The often animatedly debated image quality should be, paradoxically, given lesser importance in real life shooting situations unless the photographer mostly makes large prints (This is not to say that IQ is not important, mark you). Instead, if a camera urges one to use it and grow in creativity with it, it could reflect that the camera suits one's shooting style and preferences. That'll pretty much make the right choice. The author always makes an effort to, and hopefully successfully so, align with this belief when doing and reading a camera review.

Back to the now closed international photography contest, the finalists' shots can be viewed here. My shot taken with the Ricoh GX200 has probably the worst image quality in comparison.

Some asked on the Facebook page if the organiser (Swire Hotels) would have any similar contests in future. Well, understandably, the reply is an equivocally not-yes-or-no. You may bookmark the organiser's blog and check it out every now and then just to be sure to not miss any chance.

Comments

A Real Hero

(Grip On Reality: This photo was taken on my way to work. I was walking past trucks parking on a cul-de-sac when the ropes caught my attention. The light was right, the colour was right and the criss-crossing pattern was perfect and I held up my GX200. People passing by checked me out and wondered what could be made out of such a boring scene. To me, the fun in photography is that the photographer makes something interesting out of what is not obvious to most at the scene. The ropes tied in knots somehow reminded people I know who are in the grip of the recession) You must have also known a friend or two, or even yourself, being baffled by the spiral downturn of the economy. Bank went bankrupt and the rich was faced with a shrinking wealth. A friend of mine has just had his salary cut by over 10% and some of his colleagues started to be shed. But, wait. Was this done really for the sake of continuing the business? Or is there a factor or greed in it? I wonder whether the

New Low Prices

The window shopping some hours ago has almost provoked my AgIDS illness. Just in case you’re in Hong Kong or are coming here, and have the money to burn (All in HK$/ body only): GX200 = $3,280 GRD2 = $3,380 LX3 = $3,180 G10 = $3,280 Prices are available form a gear shop on the 1st floor of the Mongkok Computer Centre. Besides these new low prices, I found that Wing Shing Photo (55-57Sai Yeung Choi St., MK Tel: 2396 6886/ 91-95 Fa Yuen St., MK Tel: 2396 6885) is offering a Sony A700 + Carl Zeiss Lens package for HK$9,980 (hopefully, a bargain will make it some hundreds cheaper).

Eye Contact

(Leica D-lux 5) The digital era may make it easier to end up with fave shots. Even lousy photos may be turned likable after a few clicks in the post-processing workflow. But if digital advancement or amendments have any bearing on the cultivation of personal style, no photographers will need to discover his or her own photographer’s eye. Undoutedly, this is out of the question. Only with a trained photographer’s eye can we give a thinking gaze and capture an eternal moment, in our unique style. Style is the soul of a great photo. A few posts have been written in GXG to touch on the topic of photographer’s eye. Instead of finding an answer, which would require academic discussions, the posts are intended to give my general reflections and spark interests in moving towards further exploration of the topic. The posts can be viewed after the links: 1) Photographer's Eye: Storytelling 2) Photographer's Eye: Little Show of Observing 3) Photographer's Eye: Sight-Worthy 4

GX GARNERINGS

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