Making a photograph is about freezing a moment, and fraction of a moment, in time that will never happen again. That moment should mean something if it, IMO, is to be a successful picture.
An image that tells a story or shows and emotion or time in history that can never be repeated with a beauty of its own is success. A slice of time.
On 15 October 2012, former Cambodian King and Prime Minister Norodom Sihanouk died at the age of 89, in Beijing, China, after suffering health issues. His death was announced by Deputy Prime Minister Nhek Bun Chhay. His body was brought back on 17 October 2012 by King Norodom Sihamoni and Prime Minister Hun Sen. State flags flew at half mast, and the government announced a 7-day mourning period for the former king.
Sihanouk had been receiving medical treatment in Beijing since January 2012 for a number of health problems, including colon cancer, diabetes, and hypertension. He died after a heart attack in Beijing on 15 October 2012, 1:20 a.m. Cambodian time, aged 89.
A state funeral was held on 17 October 2012 and the National Television of Kampuchea repeatedly screened a 30-minute documentary about his life. Sihanouk’s body then reposed in the Royal Palace until 1 February 2013 where it lay in state until 4 February 2013, when it was finally cremated. Sihanouk’s royal coffin was adorned with gold and draped with the Royal Standard of the King of Cambodia.
I spend a lot of time processing images, mainly in Light Room, so anything that saves me time is going to be a good thing. I really enjoy creating black and white images from my colour snaps and recently purchased a number of presets from called Silver 4 for LR/RAW-Adobe. Best 50 bucks I have spent in a long time.
There are over 100, customizable presets that are loaded directly in LR in my case (but can be used in the most recent versions of PS). The presets can be used on RAW or JPEG images, and each one can be tweaked to my your in seconds, rather than having to do every image from scratch.
Some may see this as cheating, not doing all the work yourself, personally I see it as just using another set of tools to get the job done, to my satisfaction without all the stress of having to build presets to my liking. As a usable tool, that I can control and adjust to what I like, then it certainly comes recommended. https://seimeffects.com/silver/
I just enjoy making pictures of my little adopted person. He really plays to the camera, which makes it fun. These taken with an Fuji X Pro2 + XF 50mm f2. He’s a beautiful kid but also a terrible 2 ….
The word Photography literally means ‘drawing with light’, which derives from the Greek photo, meaning light and graph, meaning to draw. Photography is the process of recording an image – a photograph – on light sensitive film or, in the case of digital photography, via a digital electronic or magnetic memory.
This ability to record, special events in my life drew me to photography. Photos of my children and family become very important to me. This early interest, with a specific goal, led me into photography as a hobby, making images of things that interested me, other than just family. My first venture into photography was of course in the film era, and my first camera, as I remember, was a Polaroid. The instant film was great for family pictures, but I soon found this to be very limiting. I bought my first ”REAL” camera after about six months of using the Polaroid. A little cheap and cheerful Chinon CS that cost me almost a week’s wages at the time. It was a great little fully manual camera with a 50mm lens, it got me into using 35mm film, both colour and black and white. This again led me to go further, developing and printing first my own black and white pictures and then advancing to colour. The mechanics of the process interested me, and I was hooked.
The interest I had developed quickly into an ALMOST obsession, I was out every opportunity making pictures and developing interests in things and places that were interesting to take pictures of.
Film and its development became a constant challenge to both afford and complete, it was certainly not a cheap hobby. The more I did it, the more I found I needed to invest to improve my ability to get the images I wanted. Newer cameras, better lenses or suddenly became a priority. Then a darkroom to get me out of the bathroom. A better enlarger and other kit.
I went through various incarnations, landscape, motor racing, bands, but never really found the things I most liked to shoot until I started to travel.
I recall the first time I travelled to Cambodia, still shooting film, carrying 100 roles of Fuji and Kodak slide film and 50 rolls of Kodak Tri X or Ilford HP5, shooting in this exotic location I found what I most enjoy making pictures of. PEOPLE in their everyday lives or STREET PHOTOGRAPHY.
I had decided after my trip to Cambodia that as soon as I was able that I wanted to move and live in Asia, and use Phnom Penh as a base to travel from and start to develop my interest in picture stories. I had several years to work and wait, and prepare for.
My first major trip after moving to Cambodia in 2009 was a venture in Laos, taking a boat trip down the NAM OU river to Luang Prabang (now impossible due to damns on that river)
I actually bought a new camera just for that trip, a Canon 1D Mk IV and also a Canon 70-200mm f2.8L lens both of which got very well-used and to a degree paid for themselves and the trip. By this time I had stopped using film and most of my Nikon and Canon film cameras were sold on.
I have continued since then to document the street and work with agencies that try to make positive changes for those people who have a difficult life. Photography is my way of telling a story, in one image or many.
I have seen many people, throughout the net, giving answer to this question and describing the contents of the bag they carry. I have two bags that contain different cameras for different jobs.
Tenba large black messenger bag. Bought used and is big enough and has enough space to carry my three street cameras (when I need them) and 3 prime lenses.
a. Fuji X Pro 2
Usually kept mounted with an XF 50mm f2
b. Fuji XE1
Usually kept mounted with an XF 16mm f2.8
c. Fuji XE2
Usually kept mounted with the fine XF 18mm f2
d. Lenses (spare)
All lightweight and easy to carry for when I may need them.
Batteries. I usually carry 5 or six spares. (but rarely need them)
Air Blower and cleaning cloths.
This is a pretty comprehensive kit for street work. Don’t carry it all the time, and sometimes just carry one camera (XE2 + XF18mm f2) and a couple of spare batteries in the pocket.
For my second kit of XT2 and XT3 I used an old TAMRAC pro bag that I have had for about 10 years, and it’s still going strong, and big enough to carry all I need, comfortably.
a. Fuji XT3 usually mounted with the XF 10-24mm f4 Zoom
The Fujifilm X-T3 is arguably the best stills/video camera on the market right now.(IMHO) More expensive full frame cameras will offer better still image quality and cameras with in-body image stabilization will be easier to shoot video with, but nothing offers this balance of image quality and movie capability in a single package.
b. Fuji XT2 usually mounted with an XF 56mm f1.2
One great camera
Both the XT2 and XT3 are fitted with the battery grip which give me more than enough battery power for any given day and I don’t need to carry any spares.
c. Fuji XF 55-200 f3.5 zoom OIS
The FUJINON XF55-200mm lens produces sharp images across its entire zoom range, well resolved corner-to-corner. The fast F3.5-4.8 lens facilitates image capture in scenes requiring a fast shutter speed. Its image stabilization function enables the use of shutter speeds 4.5 stops slower, preventing camera shake even when shooting hand-held in low-light, or at a stopped down aperture. Its a great (cheap) lens to have in the bag.
Cleaning supplies, as always, for when needed.
Trying to get out more, but some COVID-19 restrictions make certain areas inaccessible.
All the above images were taken with a Fujifilm X Pro2 mounted with a Fujicron XF 50mm f2
To me being able to catch fleeting signs of emotion in an image is usually what makes that image work, It ceases to be a flat 2 dimensional thing an breaths life into itself.
A simple change of facial expression can make all the difference between success and failure. This fleeting moment needs to be watched for and will disappear in a microsecond if you are not ready for it.
Come and visit and find some of my images and art works for sale.
The Alley one of a series. Digital Art by Ian Kydd Miller (fineartamerica.com)
a world without pictures is like coffee without cream and sugar, bitter 