camera playtime

In Conversation, Digital, Inspiration, Review
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I’ve been shooting with the same camera for a number of years now – after moving from my trusty old mirrorless Panasonic (the camera with which I fell in love with photography over 10 years ago),  I slowly took over my hubby’s Canon 5D Mark II when he started shooting film. It’s a bit of a camera round-robin around our house.

I still use my Panasonic to shoot small video projects and love the mirrorless format, so when Canon finally came out with their own version (EOS R), we decided to rent one and see how it compared.

I usually start using a new camera from the comfort of my couch, perusing the manual, playing with the controls, and shooting photos of my feet or whoever happens to be close by.

(Hi Dad)

After figuring out the basics, we ventured outdoors.

I live in Northern California where we are coping with the choking smoke from the wildfires a few hours from us, and we escaped to the coast hoping for clearer air.  No luck, but it presented an interesting challenge since the sun is filtered through haze and it was difficult to judge lighting in the moment and color correction once I uploaded the files to my laptop.  The chromatic aberration in particular was a bit of a puzzle. The images are a bit weird as a result, but I assure you this is what our air looks like … sort of Instagram-filter style.

Another element of fun was playing with a camera that has all the bells and whistles. Our 5D is too old to have any bluetooth/wifi functionality and transferring photos straight from the camera to my iPhone was a marvel. We shot both raw and jpeg images, and the jpegs were actually surprisingly well balanced.

The day had some extra adventure after our dog (#tobythemoseydoodle for those who follow him on Instagram) swam out beyond the breakers trying to keep up with my paddleboarding husband. I threw the camera at my Dad and waded in fully clothed to rescue him.

(Oh Toby)

Wet jeans, eerie light, wheezy breathing, annoying dog.  Balanced by sweet time with my folks and some fun with a new toy. Renting a camera is a great reminder to not only step outside my comfort zone, but build in time to take photos for the joy of it, rather than just as a means to an end.

Have fun out there!

cheers,
kim

6 Comments

  1. I had just read a review about this camera last night by a wedding photographer I follow, he loves this camera! The images are beautiful. I totally understand that joy part, I often forget! It’s weird the eerie quality ( has an almost old fashioned feel, I love to do it with fog) the smoky air gives to the photos. Are there lots of photographers making the best of a bad situation with using it for interesting photos?

  2. Into the water?!! Fully clothed?!! The things we do for our loved ones. Bravo to you for making the most out a smokey situation at the beach. The photos are lovely. xoxo Deb

  3. I love these photos, Kim. So soft with the eerie smokiness, but I especially love the one of Dad reading the paper X

    • Thank you Tahnee! My parents visit once a year and I usually have some sort of photo of him on my couch with the newspapers (and the dog). 🙂

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