Saturday, April 2, 2011

Buying cameras, reading about photography

I went for a long walk today, 1 1/2 hours in a forest, and although it was wet and slushy, I felt good. The new Sievi hiking shoes are proving themselves - they are sturdy, waterproof, and have a good grip. One should never underestimate shoes, where would we be without them?

It seems that photographers are getting new cameras. First Andreas Manessinger bought the Panasonic LX5, and has written interesting postings about it. And now Paul Lester bought the Leica M9, and seems to appreciate it.

And I'm still using the LX3. Not that I haven't been thinking about other cameras. On the other hand, there is still so much to learn about photography, and getting a new camera might be a distraction.

I'm currently reading The Complete Guide to Black & White Digital Photography by Michael Freeman. This is an excellent book - not only about black and white photography, but about photography in general.

Freeman gives an excellent overview of the history of photography, and the reasons for the complicated relation between b&w and color photography. And not only that, Freeman discusses photography as art, without being arrogant about it.

And best of all, Freeman gives plenty of examples where a b&w version of a photograph works better than in color - and also comparisons where b&w and color version are both good, only different. Highly recommended book!

However, I didn't take any b&w photographs today. It was clouded and wet, and so there was plenty of colors to look at.

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