(For this post I am lucky enough to be playing with a different little camera that has been loaned to me from Olympus.)
I never had a favourite toy when I was growing up. I liked some over others sure, but a favourite? Not really. I had books instead, and they were all my favourites- Every. Single. One. Of those pages.
One of my kids so far is taking after me in that regard. Reading all of those delicious pages. At each turn, a new story, a different tale, another adventure…a new favourite. I love the fact that this unlocks so much of his imagination.
While books are also firm favourites for my other boy child. I can see that he’s drawn in a different way. An energy, a call, a different direction. This is the boy who loves running, and drawing and jumping, (with more running.)
Then there is this one. The smallest of the pack. The feisty, wild cub, where everything is a favourite. A favourite with an intensity that only a two year old can show.
On instagram recently there was talk of favourite cameras and favourite lens. Alas, as a blogger and keen taker of pictures- this really is one of my favourite topics. (Along with the topics of real food, homebirth, sourdough baking and why I really would like to have some Scandinavian heritage.)
I still feel like I’m on the outer edge of the photography pool, I keep splashing on the edge but it’s the deep end I’m really after. Slinging metaphors aside, and it was back to the instagram conversation of lenses. From another blogger or instagrammers perspective this is fascinating stuff as this is how so many of us are telling our day to day digital stories and sharing it with the world. A camera of some sort is a necessary tool.
For me the dslr world opened nearly two years ago and I’ve loved every second within it. Then there is instagram and within that it feels like another whole world of picture-taking…. so many apps, so little time. (And then in walked the Olympus, and ooh aah indeed. This little camera seems to marry photography and social media platforms ridiculously easily with built in wifi…it still bends my mind a little.)
One of my favourite photography things to look at it is when people, give the photo specs of what they did in a particular shot. f stop, ISO, and whether they pressed the button with their nose or not. I love knowing it all, every little bit of it. ( And *ahem* yes, occasionally the nose is needed.)
14mm- 42mm ISO 400 f3.5 1/250
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THE GEEKY BITS
I have been loaned the Olympus OM-D E-M10 for a couple of months. It’s a rather nifty little camera that I’m just a little bit excited to be playing with. Below I’m going to add some of those nifty things that it does- As there is going to be at least one person out there reading who wants to invest in a camera, doesn’t know what to buy, and is slowly going cross eyed with reading online reviews.* While this is by no means a review, for this post and a further two more I’ll mention a few of the features.
Wifi- No adaptors, no cords, no dropbox, no emailing yourself a picture. It’s there to your phone. In a magical Wifi-the-Fairy type kinda way.
It’s little- Cute, petite, tiny and tres chic. Call it what you will, it’s not going to be breaking your back or neck like some hefty DSLR’s do.
Little means discreet- Street photography is something I’m slowly developing a bigger interest in. It scares the hell out of me, but I’m ok with that- It’s kind of good to do something that pushes me. Using a smaller camera but not compromising on the quality of the shots makes getting shots like these ones, a whole lot easier for me, (and a huge thank you to the kind young men for happily saying, yes.)
* And you should research these kind of things. That way you know what exactly you are getting and what you can do with it before you hand over your hard earned coins.
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Now indulge me in the comments… What lenses, apps or photography tricks do you use? What are your favourites? Go on, lets geek talk.
cityhippyfarmgirl 
Hi Brydie…love this! Great camera review, there is a whole world out there isn’t there? Since you asked I have a Canon 6D, I rarely take the 50mm lense off and I have been constantly using f1.8 but I have just flicked the switch to f2.8 & I am enjoying the change. I wish I could do a workshop or even an informal day of sharing thoughts with some fellow amateur phoyographers. No Instagram for me…too distracting although I am constantly tempted 🙂 x
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Jane, there is a whole other bready world to be had in instagram- amazing inspiration from bakers all around the world…you sure I can’t tempt you? 🙂
As for a nifty fifty, yep…love, love, love it.
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Hi Brydie!
Love your post! A keen fan of photography myself, I love reading your experiences. I haven’t been too active with my Canon7D lately (apart from the school concerts and attached with the 24-105mmL lens, not a big fan of prime lenses but who knows, your experiences might just push me to give it another try. With kids I just don’t find it useful and I like photographing people, not objects who stay nice and still. I like details and so I’m a fan of a zoom lens, always have been 😉 Right now we’re in Singapore and I’m using a little camera (Sony RX100) that is supposed to make pics that should have the same quality as the large heavy cameras such as the 7D which I don’t want to carry around whilst on holiday (or a trip to the local beach for that matter). It’s pretty good but I haven’t had it for long and am still trying to work out how to best use it …. fast. I’ll check out that olympus one on the web to see what you’re talking about. And eh… never been on Instagram, perhaps that too may change, my sister (now a professional photographer btw!!!!) started using it and likes it. So many things, so little time to cram it all in 😉
xx
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Too true Irene. Sooo many things to play with in a 24 hour day. Have a look at instagram, it’s fun in a quick connecting, visual way. It’s definitely my favourite social media platform (after my blog of course!)
And happy travels to you coming up, enjoy your lovely family time.
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Tony gave me a Canon EOS 1100D for my birthday last month. I haven’t had an SLR since film days and it’s really interesting to play with it and slowly get the feel. It has an automatic feature which I started with, now I’m branching out with the settings.
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It’s exciting branching out from the auto isn’t it. Lots of oooooh, look at that! Kind of moments 🙂
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I’m overseas at the moment using this exact camera and it is brilliant for travel. It’s so light and discreet and it’s quite strange to go back to a heavy DSLR!
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It’s a little bit awesome isn’t it Lorraine. What lens do you use for most of your pics? I’d love to play with some of the prime ones.
As for discreet, love that about it. I spent Saturday walking around with it round my neck and most of the time it was completely hidden.
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Thanks so much for this post and your thoughts on the Olympus! I either use a Nikon D90 with an 18 – 105mm lens – I rarely use it on anything but the auto setting, or my iPhone. I’ve been looking at the new ‘smart’ cameras for the reasons you mention; the weight and size of the DSLR; I want something a little more discreet and not so heavy. There are so many of these new little cameras on the market, it’s confusing when trying to compare all their different features. I was attracted to the Olympus range from the start, so will check this one out and look forward to your next couple of posts. I use Instagram and love it!
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Hello there from instagram! This camera would definitely work for you as it combines the photos in camera format but easily jumps them over to any social media via wifi. I have no idea how, but in all digital amazingness ways, it’s a mystery that I will probably never understand 🙂
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Hi, great post, I am paddling in the pool of photography so I also find it interesting to see what the specs are on photos. I was brought a Cannon Powershot G15 and have slowly moved from using auto to having some idea about settings and I love ‘playing’ and working out what makes a photo look good. My patient man has taught me a lot, though I use blogs and pintrest for info as well. I’m also an Instagrammer (is that what we’re called) but I usually post photos that are taken with my iPhone. Other photos go onto Flickr.
The cannon is a little (ish) camera but has a decent zoom but I love the close up stuff, it’s not that good at macro settings, but that could be me not the camera. It is very handy camera for travelling and taking out and about, I’d recommend it.
Having got the hang of the Cannon I have just become the proud owner of a Nikon 1 – a prize for coming second place in the Auckland Photo Day competition. Only arrived today so figuring out how on earth to work it. All very exciting.
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Oooh congratulations on your competition win, very exciting indeed! Now you’ll have two cameras to play with, well three with the iphone as well. The powershot G range was my first digital camera, way back, way back…and I think it was a 3 from memory.
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I love your enthusiasm for your ‘favourites’ 🙂 Photography is one of mine too, but I am on the edge of it with limited technological understanding or artistic talent. I admire, though…a lot.
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Just practise Kari. What’s the 10 000 hour rule? If you want to get to a mastery level of anything you have to clock up that many hours…*ahem* yep, and I’m nowhere near that one yet.
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I know exactly what you mean about scary street photography!! I get so intimidated when I attempt to ask people for their permission and then I start to think, ‘…maybe I will just shoot inanimate objects instead, like this nearby tree’. But it’s nowhere near as interesting. Ah dear! Love all of your shots here, particularly the silhouette and the street shot. You’re a natural Brydie. Thanks for the tips on the Olympus, lenses etc. I definitely agree re 50mm, it’s my favourite baby. How awesome is the Wifi feature on the Olympus!! So easy! xx
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super duper awesome Laura 🙂 So easy, and super quick too. I’m sure my sneezes are longer, (although I would NEVER sneeze on my camera.)
With street photography my tip is going in a group or at the very least one other person. Going solo seems to double the nerves for me and I very rarely take the plunge. Trees though, yep, all over them. Try it though, and see if you can get your confidence up.
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You take such beautiful photographs Brydie. I try to but I’m pretty hopeless and now I really only have my phone and iPad – iPads aren’t designed for discreet photography! Photography is one of the things on my bucket list – I’d like to be able to capture the little ‘vignettes’ of life that I see. I particularly like the photo of your little girl in conversation with the very patient little gnome, such a very sweet little back view the wee fellow has. I’ve always been a book worm and so much enjoyed reading to my girls and dramatising the stories. I was interested to find that when the films were made of The Lord of the Rings that they had made the same interpretations of voices that I had done – how very clever of them!!
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Ahh there is a lot that can be done with the wonders of a smart phone and an ipad though Jan. You can get some great apps that really bump them up too. Try Pro Camera 7 for the ipad or phone and there is a similar android version if you have an android phone. It will help with lighting, and other features that are more ‘camera’ like. Use what you have and master those ones I say.
As for Lord of the Rings, I do like it when movies get the voices or look of a character right. It would be terrible if you had been reading the stories for years and then in the film they got it all completely wrong.
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I’m sure if I had more hours in every day, I’d make a much better geek. I want to learn so much more about cameras and photography, it’s just everything else takes precedence. How fortunate to be loaned such a great camera xx
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I know! I’m very lucky indeed.
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This post came at a great time! I have a Canon EOS Rebel T2i with a 55 mm f5.6 lens. I’m pretty sure I want a 55 mm f1.8 lens, but then my husband asked if upgrading to a better camera would be the wiser choice. I think that just the lens would actually be better. I shoot in a lot of low light and I just can’t get the shots I want with the 5.6 – I need the wider aperture. What are your thoughts? And that is a great shot of those three guys – I would not have had the guts to ask them! My people photography is limited to my little babe and husband!
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Katie, open up another tap. Search for your nearest lens supplier and buy a 1.8 immediately. There is no comparison. Your photography would be super suited to it. They are pretty cheap, and then if you like it and want to go further then change your camera down the track, bringing your lens with you. (I do lots of low light as well.)
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Thanks for the input Brydie. I did a bit of research last night and definitely decided that buying the 1.8 is what I want to do. Now I have to hope on it quick before vacation! House on a lake in Maine, little babe in the water – I’m excited to play!
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What!?! A camera with wifi! I never even knew such a thing existed. Now that I know it does, it totally makes sense. . .
Love the pic of those three guys on the bench.
rachel xo
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I know, it’s pretty cool eh, this wifi business? 🙂
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I love the last photo Brydie. Street photography is something I’d like to do more of, but I am way too nervous. I also don’t know whether you ask permission or not? In that last photo they must have known you were taking the photo, but then if you ask people have a habit of posing.
I mainly shoot on Aperture model (agree f2.8 is the best) and occasionally full manual if I am seeking to get a particular effect. The feature I use the most on my camera is to pre-set the white balance. If I’m indoors I snap a picture of something white (a plate, a napkin etc…) and then I find the colour in my pictures is much better. I never do any post processing (apart from cropping) and find this really helps.
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I always ask permission first Richard, except if the person is completely unidentifiable due to shadows, angle whatever. (It’s infuriating from my point of view if someone takes a really obvious picture of me or my children and hasn’t asked first.)
For the last picture, I took a big breath and asked these young guys, of which they happily said yes, no problem- continuing on with their conversation.
If I’m by myself, way to scary. If I’m in a group or with at least one other person all toting cameras, it gives me a bit more courage. Go for it, the worst they can say is no 🙂
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Very cool post, I love photos, but don’t like having to carry around a big heavy camera with ALL the bells and whistles I just won’t use. Its great to hear your thoughts, I shall get to checking one out. 🙂
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I would really REALLY love to have some Scandinavian heritage as well. That way I might be 6ft plus tall and my bodily indiscretions would be more evenly distributed to go with my lovely Nordic blonde hair and huge blue eyes…You are bucket loads ahead of me with your gorgeous photography. Mine consists of “where is the camera Earl is in the bin!” and “Why isn’t the camera taking a picture?!” (Lens cap is on) and “Why is the camera yelling at me?!!!” (Lens cap is on) and “why is everything so fuzzy?!” (Combination of lens cap on and me accidently twiddling the knob on the top that does all of that manual stuff that makes me twitch…). As you can see I am obviously semi-professional.
Excellent shot of the kind young men by the way. You captured that nasal exhale perfectly 🙂
Sorry I can’t indulge you with geekitude about lenses etc. That’s Stevie-boys area of expertise. Mine is point, click, take the lens cap off, point, click, take the photo, look at the photo I just took, sigh, point and click again. Story of my photographic life 😉
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