diptych # 145 (kitchen sink / kitchen life) ~ made with my new OM-D E-M5

kitchen life ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen

I needed another camera like I need a hole in my head but here I am with another camera. However, true to my camera buying form, I only buy a camera well after its introductory date. The primary reason for that is due the fact that if, one waits for the next big thing to be introduced, the then "outdated" model can be had at or below bargain basement prices.

In the case of the OM-D-M5, the camera (body only) can be yours for close to half the price it sold for for most its run as a flagship model. While the new Mark II model does have some useful new features, the earlier model has everything I want - the same sensor as the Mark II (and my E-p5s). And, since I am strictly a manual control RAW picture maker, any of the new and improved features of the Mark II are of little interest to me. Just give me easy shutter and aperture controls and easy access to a control panel on which I can make easy adjustments to ISO, focus settings, and (occasionally WB settings), and I'm a very happy camper.

If there was a picture making reason for the purchase, it would be for the EVF which I will use when making pictures of Hugo playing hockey. In that same vein, the OM-D E-M5 hockey camera setup, utilizing a long-reach zoom lens, is such an incredible difference from the weary hauling around of my heavy and cumbersome Olympus E-5 DSLR. That camera seems destined for use as a very expensive paperweight.

After only a few days of use, I have come to conclusion that I will most likely make pictures using the LCD screen, the same as I do with my E-P5s, with the exception mentioned above.

diptych # 144 / civilized ku # 2922 / tourist polaroid / rain # 70 ~ an organizing principle

Yacht•Boat House / Episcopal Cathedral ~ 1000 Islands, NY / Buffalo, NY • click to embiggen
building mechanicals with flowers ~ Buffalo, NY • click to embiggen
polar bear / Kingston Brewing Co. ~ Kingston, Canada • click to embiggen
Canadian island ~ 1000 Islands, Canada • click to embiggen

I have figured out what to do / how to categorize those pictures which do not fall into any of my existing bodies of work. The answer is simple .... create another body of work labeled tourist pictures.

Despite the name, the pictures which will fall into that body of work will not necessarily be pictures made while on my various travels. The defining characteristic of tourist pictures will be those pictures made of people / places / things which are rather obvious referents which motivate most people to make pictures. That characteristic will stand in contrast to my other pictures which fall into one category or another of my existing bodies of work, virtually all of which are pictures of people / places / things which people see but most often overlook.

An obvious referent would be like the polar bear picture in this entry - if one is in the Kingston Brewing Co. pub, why wouldn't one make a picture of the polar bear? That picture stands in contrast to the building mechanicals with flowers picture wherein the question might be - why would one take a picture of that stuff*?

Just as my pictures of referents overlooked have a black border, the tourist pictures will all the presented as pseudo polaroids. And, just as my black border is a throwback to the days of analog printing to include film edges, the polaroid shtick is meant as a throwback to the days when a lot of tourist / casual pictures were made with polaroid cameras. In addition, the tourist pictures body of work will also allow me to create printed books with multiple pictures per page in order to present a look much like the family picture album of days gone by.

*ANSWER: It's not what you see, it's how you see it. And, I like making pictures of referents people see but most often overlook.

diptych # 143 / kitchen sink # 28 / tourist polaroid / life in pictures #19 ~ a picture making dilemma of sorts

graffiti ~ New York, NY • click to embiggen
hotdog debri ~ Au Sable Forks, NY - in the Adirondack PARK • click to embiggen
red umbrella / Hugo ~ 1000 Islands, NY • click to embiggen
Chanel N˚5 ~ New York, NY • click to embiggen

Over the past few weeks I have been moving about the landscape and have managed to make almost 100 pictures. As is my wont, those pictures are all over the landscape (metaphorically writing), referent wise. Some of the pictures fit into some of my various bodies of work but most do not.

Consequently, as I sit viewing all of the pictures - all open on my screen - I find myself ill at ease with the notion that I may be making too many pictures for my own good inasmuch as I don't know how to organize / categorize the ones which do not fit into one or the other of my existing bodies of work.

Some of the pictures suggest opportunities to create new bodies of work, assuming that I want to do so. While I have, in fact, been contemplating my next picture making thing, I am limited by my location in pursuing specific picture making opportunities. As an example, I live in a rather remote area so any thought of pursuing a body of work which requires regular access to big-city stuff - reference the graffiti pictures in this entry - is somewhat of a lost cause. So, looking the reality of the situation in the eye, I feel that I should (must?) find a new picture making thing which is within reach, literally and figuratively.

While I will never be able to rein in my picture making promiscuity, I do have the desire to sink my picture making teeth into a focused endeavor. Fortunately, thanks to a couple angst filled days of staring at my recent accumulation of pictures, I believe I have come up with an idea for my next picture making thing.