Bad Telegraph

[ionian]

So... I did a bad thing.

I have been planning a trip to shoot the racing at Brands Hatch for weeks: today was the day, and a full day in the open air getting frustrated at my panning skills was on the cards. But then the weather intervened; it chucked it down all morning. Bored and feeling a bit down, I started to browse the web at home and somehow found myself looking at an amazing deal on a Panasonic GX7 m43 camera. In a rush of blood to the head, I went straight out and bought it.

So I am now the owner of two great cameras and still have very little to shoot; I have justified it to myself in many ways but you all understand, right? GAS.

Anywho, despite the lack of subjects and the plethora of tech, the sun played ball for 10 minutes after I had put the nipper to bed and, desperate for a foreground object, I took the pictures below of... well... the telegraph pole that holds my phone line outside my house. To be fair, I think they work quite well compositionally, plus I got to play with my new toy for a bit.

Right, sorry for the essay - C&C welcome.

#1




#2




#3

[Geoff F]

Looks good to me.

You have kept the dark foreground narrow and the bright sky isn't over exposed; plus some nice darkness in the sky.

Of the three, I slightly prefer the first version where you have some excellent fine detail in the clouds. Although ideally I would have preferred not to be seeing the television aerial mixed in with the foliage.

[Shadowman]

I've been tempted lately to buy another small camera even though like you nothing really inspiring to shoot lately. Nice capture.

[ionian]

Thanks - I hadn't noticed the aerial, but it should be removable (or at least hideable).

John - same here, I've been going back and forth on various ideas for a smaller camera but the GX7 (although now superseded) was on my wish list a year ago when I bought the Nikon. Just couldn't resist, and it'll fit in a bag much easier for social occasions. The DSLR will still get plenty of serious use. I have to make do with the kit lens for a bit but in the limited time I've had with it it seems like a serious piece of equipment. I was even able to get usably sharp images at 1/5 handheld - it has very basic (but obviously effective) in-body stabilisation.

[Donald]

If you're at all like me, Steve, then you'll find the new camera really gives you a whole new perspective on picture-taking and you'll 'see' many more images.

I bought a Lumix LX100. I'm taking photographs with that that I would never have even looked at with the DSLRs. It's so portable it frees you up to do a lot more and different stuff.

[xpatUSA]

So... I did a bad thing.

I have been planning a trip to shoot the racing at Brands Hatch for weeks: today was the day, and a full day in the open air getting frustrated at my panning skills was on the cards. But then the weather intervened; it chucked it down all morning. Bored and feeling a bit down, I started to browse the web at home and somehow found myself looking at an amazing deal on a Panasonic GX7 m43 camera. In a rush of blood to the head, I went straight out and bought it.

So I am now the owner of two great cameras and still have very little to shoot; I have justified it to myself in many ways but you all understand, right? GAS.

Indeed, I understand only too well. Which is why a Sigma DP2s "APS-C" compact is on it's way, even as we speak.

My power pole outside is waiting for the test shot . . .

[IzzieK]

Nice to see these test shots...Looks good to me...no hay problemo.

[John 2]

Three nice images Simon. 1, 2 and then 3 in that order for me. I would be tempted to take just a little of the glare off the sky highlights though. Looks like you have got yourself a little performer. Nice clean images. When I bought the Fuji XT-1, my Nikon D7100 all but went into retirement. It's not as small but even so, if I'm honest, the biggest benefit was that I became much more willing to just pick it up and go. I started making images rather than worrying about gear. Recently, I have been looking at Fuji's X-70 but the one thing that worries me is that history might repeat itself.

[ionian]

Thanks for the comments - there's still lots to get used to with this camera but already I can see it setting me free to shoot at times that I can't just whip out a dslr. I'm mighty impressed with the pics it is producing, although I've had a day indoors so nothing further to show at the moment - just tests of ISO performance and best use of the onboard flash (which is tiltable for bouncing of the ceiling, very cool for a tiny built in unit).

Now the biggest problem is that I've doubled my lens wish list... That 20mm f1.7 pancake would be nice...