{"id":278,"date":"2018-07-10T04:54:42","date_gmt":"2018-07-10T04:54:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/?p=278"},"modified":"2018-07-10T07:33:58","modified_gmt":"2018-07-10T07:33:58","slug":"a-journey-in-photography","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/2018\/07\/a-journey-in-photography\/","title":{"rendered":"A journey in photography"},"content":{"rendered":"

Many years ago, I went to buy a hi fi system. I didn\u2019t want any cheap music box. I wanted to hear pure sound. The shop welcomed me with open arms \u2013 here was a genuine hi fi enthusiast. No fancy surround sound. Not six channels, just two. Plain and simple with a \u201csoundstage\u201d experience.<\/p>\n

I was hooked. And I remain so today. No wow & flutter<\/em>, no snap, crackle & pop<\/em>: just pure sound in fine detail.<\/p>\n

A great image is like great music. Listening to Wagner, absorbed in the fine detail of the performance through a high quality hi fi system. Exquisite.<\/p>\n

And it occurs to me that looking at a great photo is the same experience. Fine detail in the image, inviting closer inspection, detecting subtle nuances that the detail brings to the story. Colour or mono: different colours or shades, different emotions. Absorbing. Inviting.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Barwon River, Geelong Nokia Lumia 930<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But then the question that is always popping up\u2026 \u201cWhat am I going to do with my pics?\u201d<\/p>\n

Perhaps Instagram, Flickr, Facebook\u2026 24 hours of fame, if I\u2019m lucky, and my small circle of \u201cfriends\u201d likes what they see. Here was a culture of instant fame, instant gratification.<\/p>\n

I entered this world with high hopes of my photography being seen, applauded even. I became addicted to \u201clikes\u201d, to the #hashtag communities. I would rise in the morning and rush to see how many \u201clikes\u201d I had accumulated overnight (when the rest of the world was mostly awake) and OMG if someone had commented on a photo!!<\/p>\n

I would check out a particular #hashtag to see what others were posting and what level of \u201clikes\u201d and comments were out there \u2013 but not there for me! Mostly disappointment. And how on earth did this or that photo get noticed more than mine?<\/p>\n

But my expectations were always doomed to \u201cfailure\u201d because I should have realised that photos in Flickr and Instagram had the lifecycle of a gnat \u2013 once the image passes the viewer\u2019s narrow time slot it disappears into a black hole. Very unlikely to be viewed again.<\/p>\n

But they were drugs of dependence: \u201cfavourite\u201d you, \u201cfavourite\u201d me; follow you, follow me.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Weller Street, Geelong West Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

So, I started to question my motives and expectations and I escaped from Flickr and Instagram.<\/p>\n

I then started to question my kit.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Hoi Polloi, Townsville \u00a0Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

I read an article a short time ago about whether a smartphone was a camera. More specifically, can a phone camera be considered a \u201creal\u201d camera.<\/p>\n

The author discussed iPhone 7\/8 and the likes of Google Pixel 2 and the list could go on. He has come to the conclusion that his iPhone has become his secondary camera (\u201cmy other car is a Mercedes\u201d).<\/p>\n

He calls it \u201cPhone Photography\u201d and he is supportive, not negative (pun not intended but enjoyed nonetheless!).<\/p>\n

You can read the article by Terry Burnes here<\/a>. It is worth it.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Barwon River, Geelong \u00a0Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

But my point (in extended support of Burnes) is that the tool\/instrument in the hand is irrelevant. If it wasn\u2019t for EXIF data most photos would be anonymous, incognito, silent as to their source. The photo should be appreciated for itself, not its origins.<\/p>\n

And ultimately it should be appreciated by yourself. Therein lies your greatest critic. Mine anyway.<\/p>\n

So, I gave my Canon 5DIII and some excellent glass to my daughter. She is enjoying it and starting her own journey in photography. I\u2019m continuing with my Leica Q supplemented by an older Leica D-LUX.<\/p>\n

And, of course, my trusty iPhone 7 Plus.<\/p>\n

\"\"
Queenscliff \u00a0Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Townsville \u00a0Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Barwon River, Geelong Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
\"\"
Barwon River, early morning training Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n
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Barwon River, early morning training Apple iPhone 7 Plus<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Many years ago, I went to buy a hi fi system. I didn\u2019t want any cheap music box. I wanted to hear pure sound. The shop welcomed me with open arms \u2013 here was a genuine hi fi enthusiast. No fancy surround sound. Not six channels, just two. Plain and … <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":275,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[17,14,13],"class_list":["post-278","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-stories","tag-iphone","tag-leicaq","tag-photography"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=278"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":290,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/278\/revisions\/290"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/275"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=278"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=278"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.merindolhall.com\/adrian\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=278"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}