GX GARNERINGS

(All images taken with Sony A99 fitted with a Minolta 50mm/ f 1.7) The 50mm lens always holds a special place in my heart for it was the focal length with which I started photography.  This Minolta 50mm beauty is the first lens in my armory and especially turns me on.  I am glad that my new addition of the A99 gives a new lease of life to it which has otherwise been used with a crop-sensor camera. Without much of a convincing argument but purely by convention, the 50mm has long been considered a normal focal length.  It gives a field of vision which, as most old-school photographers have been taught to think, resembles how the human eyes see the world (no wonder most cameras came with a "kit" 50mm lens in the old days).  Undoubtedly, this claim doesn't hold up to any serious scrutiny.  You may as well fit almost just any lens on a camera and zoom with your feet.  The claim will become very pale and not be worthy of an argument.  I would rather...

This was one of the shot I got with the GR during my big loitering in Tasmania. Walking in the city where I was in an early morning I found myself at an empty corner in an empty street.  Suffice to say it that there are absolutely more sheep than human beings in Australia, let alone Tassie.  I scouted the location and had my mind fixated on my existence. Who am I? Where am I? Why am I here? The rather philosophical me got some abstract shots like this.

Photos with high grab quotient have an immediate appeal to viewers.  They arrest your attention right away but the more you look at them, their depth would become more shallow.  A sexist analogy may be that they are 15-second nymphs who grow wrinkles on their face, harvest fat in their tummy and droop from the shoulders the next second. There is no more room left for fancy. On the contrary, there are some photos that don't turn your head at first sight. But they grow on you over time and make you want to look at them again and again.   They appear richer every single time you revisit them. They  will eventually get into your heart and stay there, always providing new room for imagination when they meet your eyes.. If you ake time to muse about this mystery, you would probably find that this applies to all forms of art. To have an eye for this potentially rich works is important.  And in photography, such photographers are able to take mesmerising shots. T...

I fixated my gaze across the table onto where the shadows and light fell. Slowly and quietly as if I would disturb the sleep of the shadows in the empty room, I put up my Leica to my eye, meticulously framed the photo before pressing the shutter release fully.  It was the feel of the scene. Leica is so slow in operation, just perfect for sipping in the feel.