So, my PL3 is now gone and I have two days to wait until the new E-PL5 arrives. So, I'm sitting here reading some blog posts by a guy I discovered either through Google+ posts or on some other MFT blog, Robin Wong (http://robinwong.blogspot.com), an MFT shooter and blogger from Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. An engineer in his day job, Robin has a passion for photography and specializes in street photography. He writes a lot about his experiences and shares his images. OK, I do that too, but I just realized that, especially over the past two+ months since I got my first micro four thirds camera, I have been more enthralled and, thus, have written more about the gear and my infatuation with this new (to me) format than I have written about or shared my taking/making of photographs! That's sad. Oh, yes, I have addressed, occasionally, my use of the Monotone Picture Mode to shoot in black and white, but my main focus has really been on the MFT gear, the camera, the lenses I wanted or want, how my Canon lenses worked with the PL3. Apparently, this is interesting to many as the number of visitors jumped twentyfold when I wrote about that! Interesting... And, I think, those rising visitor numbers influenced what I wrote about and I continued to write more on those topics that seemed to attract visitors to my blog. Hey, we all have egos and, clearly, mine was tapped by this increase in interest in what I had to say.
Well, what I'm really about, besides my personal interest in making images, is helping others find satisfaction in their photography by helping them to take more control over their image making. That is, I am what I have been since my first real job in 1967, a teacher. (http://www.infotor.com/photoclasses) Then it was German, later it was technology in instruction, and now it's photography. Almost all of my posts on this blog and all of the posts on my other class-related blog, "Mastering Manual" (http://www.infotor.com/masteringmanual) are posts with tips and pointers to camera controls and how one can take more control of one's camera and flash. Some of those posts are, naturally, all about equipment, but the ultimate purpose was to make better images or, should I say, images that you, the photographer, felt were better. However, I now realize as I sat here reading Wong's blog, that since November 19, 2013, I have really only written about my new Olympus PEN E-PL3 camera!
So, I am now resolving to change that over the next several months. Yes, of course, I am excited for the arrival of my brand, spanking new Olympus PEN E-PL5 tomorrow and I will likely write about my ongoing experiences with it, but I plan to put more emphasis on the images I am able to get with the PL5 (and, let's not forget my trusty Canon 60D!) rather than on the PL5 camera itself! Hopefully, what I have to report will still be of interest to those who have discovered my blog because I was talking about using legacy Canon lenses with the PL3 or how I was customizing menus and button operations on my Olympus camera. Perhaps those folks will find some useful information to help them improve their shooting in my post series on camera control (http://www.infotor.com/blog/category/learning/cameracontrol/) and flash control (http://www.infotor.com/blog/category/learning/flashcontrol/) or they will follow the posts on Mastering Manual (http://www.infotor.com/masteringmanual) on shooting in Manual shooting mode on their respective cameras. I hope, if you found me because of MFT, you'll stick around and consume some of my old postings as well as my new ones!
However, most of all, this reflection made me realize that I need to practice what I preach: get out and take more pictures. Everyday. In all kinds of weather. Or, stay inside, but don't stop shooting. After all, it's about the image, NOT the gear! OK, I am now stepping down from my soapbox, taking my camera into my hand (the 60D for now), and going to make some images. Join me!
I will be offering a morning session of my “Mastering Manual: Taking Control of Your Camera” class at the end of March, beginning of April in Lynchburg and an evening session through Albemarle Open Doors in Charlottesville. In addition to these classes I am also available to do one-on-one tutoring or small group lessons designed to meet YOUR needs and what you want to learn in the area of photography, using flashes, or the use of Apple products and software. Give yourself the gift of learning: http://www.infotor.com/photoclasses! Check out my tutoring bundle: http://www.infotor.com/photoclasses/tutoringbundle.php as well.