Finding Photography

Photography is a hobby that I developed relatively late in life. I have had, and still do, many hobby’s and passions in my life. For most of my youth it was sports. Baseball was my passion. It’s what I loved to do and I was good at it.

But sports in general were what I was really knowedgeble and passionate about. I grew up in a family of basketball players and athletes. We watched and discussed sports like many do politics or art.

However, the playing of sports always has a certain time limit. After college there was no further path for me to follow in that regard. To be honest, I was also exhausted by the time and effort I had put into playing the sport for so long in my life.

So while I continued to watch and be interested in sports, my attention and passion started to shift. When I met my wife, travel and food started to become increasingly what I was passionate about.

I had always been interested in foreign countries, different cultures and history. Being able to experience those things for myself is something that I would not trade for anything at this point. Travel really does open your eyes to the world.

I’ve learned to appreciate and celebrate the differences of each culture while coming to realize that so much more about every person in every country despite their differences is very much the same. Far much more about us is similar than it is different. We all generally want the same things. The things where we differ really are generally small and insignificant in comparison.

This love of travel is where I really started to get into photography. Ever since we started to travel, I have carried a camera. At first it was a little point and shoot. Soon I realized I loved to look back at those images and relive the trip through them.

Each picture transports me back to that time and place. But after visiting several beautiful locations, I started to realize that I wanted better performance out of my camera. The pictures left me wanting in terms of quality and variablity.

So I ventured into my first SLR, a Canon Rebel. Obviously an entry level camera but it was a good place to start. I learned the language of photography. I learned what settings worked for me and how to use the camera to create the pictures that I wanted.

Of course GAS kicked in and it wasn’t long before I upgraded my camera to a 5d Mark II. This is the camera that I would use to really get a feeling for what I liked and didn’t when it comes to photography. I aquired a collection of lenses, starting with a 17-40mm L zoom lens.

At that time, I was primarily shooting landscapes and buildings in cities on our travels. Wide angle appealed to me because I could capture more of a scene. This worked for me for a few years. Before I decided that 24 was probably wide enough for me and I switched to the 24-105 L lens.

This offered me a much wider range of shots to work with when we were traveling in a realtively small body. I also had a 70-300 that I used for very specific use cases, but my primary companion was the 24-105. It was a good lens and never let me down but I still wasn’t entirely happy.

Then I started trying prime lenses. I had purchased a few early on at a reasonable price but always was drawn to the accessability of zooms. However, once I realized what primes offered me over zooms in terms of image quality, speed, price and most importantly size, I was hooked.

For me, the smaller form factor and weight was a huge motivation. My wife (to this day even) never really loved that I had a big camera with me. With the zooms it was particularly bulky and stood out more than she wanted. I shared these concerns to a certain degree and especially when it came to packing them and the backpack that was required to carry around what I needed.

With the primes, that shrunk significantly. I could then carry a much smaller backpack or in some cases nothing at all besides an extra battery. I loved the image quality and the speed that the lenses offered me and also the challenge of getting the picture that you wanted when you might not have the focal length that you desired on your camera.

This setup served me well for many years. I did upgrade from the 5d Mark II to the 5d Mark IV when it was released. That camera offered me nearly everything I could ask for in a DSLR. To this day, I genuinely like that camera and think it is a great tool.

However, I started to change again. In 2018 I decided to pick up a Fujifilm X100F. This camera and the quality it produced changed what I wanted in a camera. The fact that I could literally put this camera in a pocket and get images better than my 5d Mark II and not much below the 5d Mark IV changed my perspective.

I had already grown to love the 35mm focal length as I found it the most versital for travel but this small form factor meant I could literally take nothing but the camera and a few batteries out with me when traveling. It didn’t draw attention from people because of its looks and small form factor. It literally changed how I felt and photographed.

So as you might expect, I started to grow further and further away from my 5d, however I still had a need for more variability than what the X100F provided me. For instance in 2019 we traveled to Iceland for a weekend. While I took and used the X100F for a lot of my more usual travel photos, it would not have been ideal for taking to photograph the Aurora. In fact, the lack of weather proofing and limited focal length made it less than idea for a lot of the outdoor activities we had planned.

So in 2020 I made a decision to switch out of the full frame Canons that I had used for so long and into a mirrorless Fujifilm X-T4. This camera and system reduced the size and weight of my equipment significantly while providing me with nearly all the benefits of the 5d.

It’s a system that I will likely stay in and keep for a long time to use in the capcity described above. It is perfect for certain photographic situations that I will have throughout my life. The lens quality and range has everything I might want or need. I love the quality and film simulations that they offer making the jpeg files usable out of camera.

However, I still had an itch. I have to say that ever since I had tried that X100F, my desire for a Leica grew enormously. The small form factor combined with a full frame sensor, superior optics and fantastic overall performance appealed to me on a deep level.

I will absolutely admit that a part of this is irrational. It’s GAS in the extreme. It’s about the prestige of having a Leica. But it really is more than that despite what some will say.

I had used some Leica and Zeiss lenses in the past and really came to appreciate the quality of the glass that was used. Luckily for me, I found what I considered a reasonably good deal and opportunity to own a Leica M-10 in 2022 and had the funds to do it.

The minute I received that camera I was in love. It is of course challenging to use. A manual focus rangefinder camera is unlike anything else. I’m still very much learning how to use it. But I also love the experience and quality of the camera.

Those reasons for liking it I mentioned before (small size, full frame, build and image quality) live up to everything I could have hoped for. It is my dream camera and baring a financial situation where I need to sell out of it, I can’t imagine ever switching again.

As I mentioned before, it’s not perfect for every siutation. I will keep and continue to use my Fuji cameras. The weather sealing, autofocus and lens options offer something the Leica simply can’t. There are situations where I will absolutely want and need to use the X-T4. However, the Leica has become and will remain my everyday carry.

However, that is just my growth and quasi-destination. I think every camera I have ever owned had it’s place. It offered something different that I think could appeal to many different people depending on use and desire.

My Leica for instance would be unappealing to many for a lot of reasons including price, lack of AF, limited lens offerings, lack of weather proofing, etc. Honestly prior to 5 years ago, I don’t think I would have even wanted to own a Lecia. I wasn’t using my camera in a way at that time that made sense for that camera at that price.

Experimenting and finding what works for you is really the best way to figure out what you need though. For some it will be a DSLR and the tech and glass that is offered. For some it will be a small mirrorless that provides a lot of what the DSLR’s do but with far less weight and bulk. For some it will be a simple point and shoot where they don’t have to worry about settings and the tech.

I think most of all what I have learned through my photography journey is that each tool can be used to create beautiful images and memories. These days everything from your phone or cheapest point and shoot can create great photos, it’s really just a matter of what gives you joy, inspires you and helps you to achieve the vision that you have.