DSLR Photography Forum

A story in four brief chapters:

Frustration:

I got really bored with photography. Specifically, the process of taking and making pictures. My wife, mother-in-law, et al., - the same voices that regularly complained about my once-ever-present camera - were now pestering me to take more photos, and I just didn't feel like it. And they wanted old ones reprinted. Oh, and don't forget to order some wallet sizes to hand out. And hey bring your camera to this birthday party and this and that event. And why don't you volunteer to shoot at church.

It became a chore. I let my photo mag subscriptions expire. I put my gear in my bag in the closet in the basement and didn't take it out. I'd "forget" to bring it on trips. Sorry, babe.


Desolation:

Recently I did a headshot for work (new employee), so I got my gear out of the closet and lugged it in. DSLR body. Prime lens. Flashes. IR trigger. Umbrellas and stands and backdrop. Pain in the butt!

I thought about going out shooting and maybe picking up the bug again, but I couldn't get excited about it. The thought of carrying around all that kit turned me off. Wide angle lens. Long zoom lens. Filters. Tripod. Backpack.

Then there's the processing. RAW conversion. Shadow/highlight adjustments. Blah blah blah.

I thought seriously about selling it all.

And then...


Revelation:

My wife was looking for a particular old photo of one of my daughters. One with her ragged blanket she's had since birth (she's 8 now.) We spent quite a while browsing through our photo albums. It was probably early 2001 when I bought my first digicam, a Canon G1, and looking through those photos made me remember exactly why I got into it: family, the children, tracking their growth over the years, recording memories, stopping time, in addition to the more fundamental capture of shadow and light. It's the things, the people, that the shadows and light kiss, that make the image, not the shadows and light themselves. Little revelations, all of them.


Contemplation:

So I need to simplify my gear and processing. Clean house, start fresh.

Pretty sure I'm going to get the new Fuji S100FS when it comes out, based on images I've seen. (No, not the ones on the Fuji site; those are useless. Real-world shots. VERY impressive dynamic range and noise control for a non-DSLR camera. Plus image stabilization and a 28-400mm zoom!)

Motivation!

Oh, and hello, amigos!

Hello,

How nice to know about you!!

Great story.... I am very happy that now that you have this motivation, you remembered your amigos!!
You were missed!

G just bought a G9 exactly because he wanted to have something light to carry around all the time. He is very happy.

Look forward to seeing your pictures from your new camera...

Welcome back...

Great to "see" you around again.

Look forward to your thoughts on the Fuji.

Hey Mitch, thanks for being honest, and I'm sure we can all certainly identify with that feeling...

Let us know how the Fuji goes... I had a Fuji S5000 before my DSLR, and it was very compact and convenient - no backpack of lenses to carry! The only thing I didn't like was the speed of handling / zooming / taking photos, but the S100FS looks like a different kettle of fish altogether. Hope it goes well!

Good to see you around again. I think we can all empathize -- so congratulations and good luck with your new start. No pressure, but I'm looking forward to seeing your photos again.

Hey Mitch. Great story and great to hear from you. I totally understand about simplification - I have struggled with that for years. Reducing to the essentials can be very rewarding.

Hey folks; hello again and thanks for the kind words!

Of course I'm not totally sold on that Fuji yet, but the shots I've seen are impressive. Very film-like, with what seems to be a dynamic range capacity that makes my 10D very jealous.

I know that Fuji SLRs are highly respected among portrait and wedding photogs for their dynamic range and accurate color rendition, so if they've captured some of their DSLR advantages in a p&s camera, that would be great. I guess it's possible because they don't already have a low-end DSLR, so they won't be cannibalizing any existing product.

It remains to be seen how the camera does with respect to shutter lag and low-light autofocus, two issues that are important to me. Also I don't know if it has TTL metering through the hot-shoe. Of course with a 2/3" sensor it won't have the bokeh of a DSLR, so that will be an obvious give-up. Still, the other features may make it the perfect take-everywhere camera for me.

What's really sad is the price that used 10Ds are fetching nowadays - almost not worth selling! I may end up keeping the 10D and one lens (probably the Canon 50mm f/1.4) and selling everything else. Funny to think about that: Canon DSLR being back-up to a Fuji point-and-shoot. But I won't decide on that until after I've gotten the new camera, and fully tested it.

Cheers!