A year in review

 

 

So long 2022...here comes 2023

It is always worth reviewing where you have come from, to give you clues where you are going, and I have to say for me in photography terms 2022 has been....

Absolutely awful

I have been thinking long and hard about why and what top do about. In any creative art, slumps are to be expected, but this one feels different. For starters, this has been far longer than normal, but I think also I am in a different place in my life and therefore have fewer avenues to fix it. For the first time in many years, I am seriously wondering whether to give up photography, at least for a while.

So what's wrong, and how do I fix it?

1. Quality

 

 

Quality is always subjective. How you feel about your photos will always depend on your mood at the time, but I cannot point to any image that I am truly happy with. It feels like I have reached a plateau, and I am not sure how to move on. 

The previous years have all been about improvement. Every year I have felt I have made some progress, either in how I take images or expanding into other areas. This year, my images have either felt derivative or I have not produced that memorable photo. I have tried other techniques, but nothing has really stuck.

Now, part of this is the Adam and Eve effect. In the early years I really did not understand what I was doing, so any half decent image seemed good if not miraculous. Now I have suckled on the apple of knowledge and I have a good idea of what is a good and bad image, and mine just do not meet my expectations. In truth, I am my worst critic, but that does not mean I'm wrong.

So my worry is that there is no next level. That my photography is doomed to not improve or, worse, decline as I lose heart. 

2. Opportunity

 

 

One way I found of getting out of a funk is just to go somewhere new. I have been places this year such as Cornwall, Robin Hoods Bay and Snowden, but they were all family holidays or with other people. However, one realization that I have come to accept is that I just don't like taking photographs with other people. I have to be there in my time and my schedule. I just cannot do that with anyone being around me, I always feel the need to moderate my time demands, move with the flow etc. 

 

 

 

As an example, I spent 2 days in Snowden and a day on Dinorwic slate quarry. I have wanted to go back for a number of years, but because I was with my daughter, I felt I could not just abandon her and go off or spend any time more than the minimum taking photos.

So why did I not just go off somewhere? There were a number of reasons why not, but I have just found myself de-motivated to try. This is strange because we felt huge frustrations during the Covid lockdown years, and you would have thought with restrictions dropped we would bound into action, but instead I seem infected with a weird agoraphobia like an animal constrained to a small enclosure who is so institutionalized that they are incapable of leaving their safe space. I am not alone in this, other photographers I have talked to seem to have suffered the same effect

Then there are the frustrations of when I am given an opportunity, I don't use it to it full potential. The big one this year was my nieces wedding. For me, weddings are the pinnacle of a photographer's challenge, and here was someone who had decided not to employ a professional. It felt that my photography journey had been building up to this. I could have stepped in, taken charge and made sure the important shots were taken, but I did not and missed not only an important opportunity but also a great gift for my niece.  Yes, sure I took some nice images, but I could have done so much more and that frustration has really been eating me for the last 6 months.

3. Circumstance

My life has changed a lot over the last couple of years. Firstly, the bit of my life that pays for the hobby has been required to take on new responsibilities. This means that I have less time to devote to my photography. 

 

Secondly, we got a dog. Now don't get me wrong, I love the little furball, but I was not keen to get one since I knew it would disrupt my life. My family assured me that they would be taking responsibility for walks etc, which did not happen, pretty well instantly. So that means that my mornings are often taken up with dog walking. So why is that a problem? Again, I have found I cannot mix photography and dog care. As I said, I am not a social photography and I find I cannot mix them. Worse, my wife feels that the walking should be done together, meaning I cannot sneak off an hour before sunrise, without pained looks from both my dog and my wife

 Solutions

So what to do about this? 

 The first would be to just accept the inevitable and give up. Take up another hobby where at least I have a chance of making progress. Apart from the fact that I would have either a ton of expensive kit lying around, or require extensive eBay visits, I don't feel ready to give up yet. Alternatively, a sabbatical may help me to get my thoughts in order, but I do like photography and I do feel that I need to take images, even just for me. And maybe that's the problem.  Perhaps it is not the taking of images that is the issue, but instead comparing them with my own and others. Maybe I should just start taking images for myself rather than others

Secondly, buy more kit. There is always a part of any photographer that says I could have taken that image if only I had a better camera/lens. While deep down I know it is not true, different kit does open new opportunities that may create a spark. For example, I am painfully aware that my present main camera autofocussing of moving objects is behind the curve. Also, I would like to do more multiple exposures, but its implementation is poor. As for lenses, I would like a better macro, ultra-wide angle and walk around lens. At the same time, I also know I have too much kit. For example, I have a 56 mm lens which I just do not use. However, this way, dragons lie. Spending yourself out of a slump may just result in an expensive slump.

Get out more. I have to break my inertia and go places purely for photography. Basically, I need to commit myself to going, warn my nearest and dearest that no is not an option and put my family on dog sitting duty. Problem is, even as I write this I feel the inertia creeping back in, but it is something I must commit too

Finally, I need a long term project.  One of my failures over the last year is to find a project I can work towards. Projects help you focus on the task, drown out the noise and gives you blinkers to ignore obstacles. I have tried and failed to start projects this year, but I need to find one to carry me into the new year and beyond.

So if anyone has any suggestions on how to learn to love photography again? Answers on a post card

 

 

Nostradamus part deux

 

It is almost 8 years to the day that I made some predictions on the future of cameras and photography. 

When I reviewed them in 2015, I rated my reviews and in truth my scoring was mixed, however 7 years have passed, so I thought it would be worth revisiting those predictions

So was I dead wrong, or was a just ahead of my time? do my predictive powers hold up or am I just another wannabe prophet? 

To find out read on...

2014 Predictions

1. Mirror-less cameras will continue to make in-roads into the professional market, taking market share from DSLR's, even at the top end.

When I made this prediction in 2014, the first high-end full frame mirrorless cameras, such as the Sony A7R II, were just coming on the market,

Reading the comments on forums like dpreview, there were many who doubted that such cameras could make in-roads into the established DSLR manufacturers. It was said that focusing was not good enough, battery life was poor and there was a lack of lens choice. Also, electronic viewfinders were criticized when compared to optical viewfinders on SLR's that they had poor resolution and had lags when tracking and when the camera fired, the EVF would black out.

8 years on, and it is clear that mirrorless has now taken over from DSLRs. Autofocus, for a long time the Achilles heel of mirrorless cameras, has matched or even surpassed DSLR models, and have added features such as eye and animal detect maening even in areas like sport and wildlife where DSLR's reinged supreme, mirrorless cameras are now common.

The EVF's have increased resolution to the point that they are the equal optical viewfinders, with a high refresh rate meaning black out and lag are virtually eliminated They also have the benefit of the extra viewfinder information that they contain and the ability for you to see what the actual photo will look like before you take the image

Even lenses are not a problem. Sony filled out their range with a combination of in-house manufacture and encouraging third party support, while Canon and Nikon provided adapters to allow mirrorless cameras to use legacy glass,

In 2015, I gave myself 8/10, but today it is not hard to argue that I deserve

10/10

 
2. Nikon and Canon will produce their 1st full frame mirror-less cameras. Nikon's especially will not gain much market share due to commercially driven design compromises.

 In 2015, it was felt that Nikon and Canon were still very much betting their future on DSLR's. This in turn gave Sony a free run to compete with big 2 cameras manufactures by developing their range of full frame mirrorless cameras. 

 For a long time Nikon and Canon were in denial, however the writing was on the wall, and Nikon eventually produced its first full frame mirrorless body in 2018, and Canon following soon after. 

Since then, it is clear both manufacturers see the future as mirrorless, and the future of any more DSLR development severely in doubt.

To credit Nikon, its 1st foray into mirrorless was very good and managed to stem the market share loss to Sony. However, unlike Sony and Canon, Nikon relies heavily on camera sales, and it does not have deep pockets. Developing and maintaining both the mirrorless and DSLR lines must have been expensive for Nikon. Also, due to the delay to entering the market means that Sony are now equal in terms of market share in the high-end areas, and Sony continues to be aggressive in its development strategy

Nikon on the other hand has history and intense customer loyalty to fall back on, but it remains to be seen whether Nikon can survive in this new world where it cannot share out the market equally with Canon

In 2015, I gave myself a dismal 0/10, but now...

9/10

3. There will not be much increase in maximum pixel counts in cameras. Instead, efforts will be made to increase the sensitivity of existing sensors by going full frame with fewer pixels on mid-range cameras

One of the certainties of the 2015 was that the camera megapixel war would continue unabated. At the time, 20MP was common, but cameras with 40MPwere coming onto the market.

Today, high MP is not seen as important. The sweet spot of APC is still around 20MP, but Sony full frame have gone as high as 60 Mpixels on its latest and greatest, which is not that much more than the Sony A7R 45 Mpixels of 2018. If you want 100 MPixel you will need to invest in high end, medium format cameras, which at best are niche products

This slowing of megapixel growth has been driven by 3 factors.

Firstly, is the law of diminishing return. The increased in resolution between 45 Mpixel camera and a 60 Mpixel camera is actually quite small, and at the same time it increases costs, the dependency on lens design, and camera stabilization etc. You will not see much benefit in this sort of increases of sensor pixel count while at the same time it increases the demand on storage and post-processing effort

Secondly, is the rise in computational photography. This has negated some of the resolution benefits of higher resolution sensors. Many cameras offer some manner of pixel shift capability, where the camera takes 4 images and combines them to quadruple the resolution. While the implementation in many cases is less than optimal, it is often an easier and cheaper way to get the increased resolution in those rare occasions when it is actually needed. Computation photography will no doubt improve removing, much of the need for higher resolution sensors

Finally, is the rise in video. Almost all cameras now promote their video capabilities as much as their photographic ones. It used to be 4K photography was the norm, but now high-end cameras are pushing 8K recording. However, video performance is dependent on how fast you can read from the sensor. Recording 120 frames at 8K means you need to shift the data out very fast. Even more important, the faster you read the sensor, the fewer effects like rolling shutter you get. However, the more pixels you have, the slower the read-out gets, meaning cameras have to resort to cropping the sensor.

Instead of increased pixels, we have seen improvements in both the readout speed and sensitivity of the sensor by changes in the sensor architecture, such as back side illumination chips that allow more light to be captured and read more quickly. These in turn have produced cameras which are almost ISO invariant in that even at high sensitivity they are creating little or no noise in the images.

In 2015, I gave myself 1/10, today....

Score 8/10

4. Sony will continue to indicate their continued support of the Alpha series  DSLR's, while doing bugger all to actually back up the claim by filling out the product range with a model between the A57 and A77II. In the meantime, they will produce 2 new mirrorless cameras, the A7S II and the A7R II.

To be honest, this was a no-brainer. The A-Series DSLR was based on technology bought when Sony took over Minolta which introduced a split screen that part of the light went to the sensor and part to the EVF. It allowed Sony to create a camera with some of the capabilities of a mirrorless DSLR, but with the cost of reduced light to the sensor. It was clear however that it was a stop gap solution and the future was pure mirrorless as long as the technology challenges could be worked out.

The complication was that although the writing was on the wall, for a long time Sony denied that the line was dead. Clearly now it was a commercial decision to ensure return of investment from the lens. The last camera, the Sony A99 II being brought out on Sept 2016, even then Sony refused to confirm the death of the line leaving many Sony DSLT users to hoping for an upgrade and production continued until 2020 when Sony was finally admitted it would be killing off the line and concentrating on their pure mirrorless cameras. 

You would have thought that the cameras would now be junk, but a Sony A99 II will still set you back £2500 on fleabay, so obviously there is still some love out there, and of course a lot of legacy glass.

Score at the time was 6/10, but now

Score 10/10


5. High-end cameras to use more smartphone technology in their OS. Not only the ability to upload photos via mobile networks, but also download apps to add new functionality to the camera. Also, it would be great if cameras opened up their SDK, so it allowed programming of new functionality. Why limit yourself to 5 stop HDR where you could expand your camera to do 10 stops and focus stacking at the same time. Preferably using some sort of graphical programming environment. (This was not mine originally but borrowed from Mark Abeln, but was too good not to include)

Today, the majority of photography is taken on mobile phones. Mobile phone cameras have grown from a toy to a serious photographic tool that has killed the small digital camera market. 

To overcome the inherent disadvantages of lens and sensor of mobile phone cameras, phone designers have added computational photography techniques such as combining multiple images to reduce noise and increase dynamic range. 

Not only that, but on a mobile you can add apps to customize the phones, process your images on the device, update your images to social media together with location info. They even allow you to make phone calls :)

It seemed obvious at the time that camera manufacturers would have to embrace some of these new technologies and build them into the cameras. However, that has singularly failed to happen, with camera OS showing little change to the one in 2015

I recently reviewed a Samsung Galaxy Camera I was given. Despite being almost 10 years old, I was blown away of how modern it felt, with a huge rear screen, mobile connectivity and apps. This should of been the future of all cameras, but for some reason design and innovation has stalled in camera design. I always think that it is a sign that designers have run out of ides where they start going down the retro route like the Nikon fc.

Sony did try having a app store for a while, but basically blew it by making it a closed shop. However the argument to have the ability to extend your camera or customise its functionality is a powerful one, and it seems only the conservative elements in camera design are stalling it happening. 

For example on my camera I can set ISO limits, but they are crude. What I want is the ability to set a ISO limit, a speed limit and a aperture limit. I want them to cut in at certain light levels, so I can say ISO 100, speed 1/100 Aperture F8 is the limit, but when it gets darker it can go to ISO 400 etc. 

The other big area of mobile technology is connectivity. For example not many cameras provide a headphone jack, because the are large ane unweildy. Why then do cameras not provide bluetooth audio? It seems a no brainer, but no camera on the market offers it

While some connectivity to the cloud is offered, cameras are still a closed area with limited outside access and connectivity. They also provide little customisation both in the camear operation and adding extra functionality via a app store

Any way my score the was 1 out of 10, today dissappointingly it is still

1 out of 10

Conclusion

So 7 years on, it seems the majority of my predictions have been borne out. So waht will happen in the next 7 years?

Thsi will be the subjectb of another blog when I have looked in my crystal balls and consulted my tarot cards..

coming soon.

Forty Farms - A review

 

I first became aware of Amy Bateman through twitter photographic competitions such as Wexmondays. I had had a few small successes and feeling pretty smug, but some person with a handle @Croftfoot kept consistently kept getting in the top 3. I sort of assumed initially that she was a professional photographer, but as I learned more about her, we found out she was someone just starting in the world of photography with no formal training who just happened to have a natural flair for the subject.

Over the years I have crossed paths with Amy a number of times at things like the photo show, and we also got her to do an online talk to my camera club, and in the process learned a little of her backstory. 

She started out as a physio therapist, married a lake district farmer, and gave up her chosen career to have children, then started in photography as a hobby to do something to fill the hours between school runs. 

It is clear that she is one of those people who seem to do well in anything they set her mind too. Normally that would them incredibly irritating, however this is mitigated somewhat by the fact that in person she turns out to be actually a very nice person.

Spotting her talent early meant that I have followed her career trajectory with great interest. So when she announced she had a book coming out, I of course ordered a copy. 

This is the review of that book

Forty Farms

When I put my order in, I had sort of assumed that it would be just your standard photo book of the sort that I have many of. 

The first hint that this book was different was when it dropped through the letter box. Normally, photo books hit the ground with a soft "thwap". This one arrived with a loud crack and the complaint from the nearby British Geological survey that there had been a minor earthquake in the area.

After unboxing and opening the book, I realized this was not only a book containing photos, but also a documentary, analysis and treatise of Lake District farming.

The book covers 40 farms in and around Cumbria, from Barrow-in-Furness to Carlisle, from one family small holdings to giant conglomerates. In it, Amy has interviewed the farm residents in length and laid out a description covering pretty well all the aspects of farming in Cumbria. 

It is clear from reading the interviews that Amy's used her position as someone inset with the Cumbria farming community to gain the trust of the farmers and gain privileged access to the subjects. As a result, the book covers a vast array of subjects, from the farm dwellers themselves to the actual business of farming. 

In many ways, the timing of this book is providential. Through a combination of climate change, Brexit and generally people's relationship with the countryside, farming is going through a tsunami of changes, but one thing you get from the book is that many of the farmers are here not out to get rich but are motivated by a sense of connection with the land and a belief in themselves and their own destiny. You also find that most farming is hard, unyielding work, only partly compensated by the sense of achievement. That is not to say there is any sense of self-pity, just an acceptance of the reality. 

One of the impressions of people who are not in farming is that all farmers and farming are the same, and farmers speak with one voice. Something that stood out from the book is how far from the truth this is, with farmers expressing a wide range of attitudes from things as critical as breeding strategies to the effect of Brexit on farming.  It is clear that farming is like any community, highly stratified and diverse, and the book lays out the differences well, and shows the tensions within the farming community on things like land access.

The attitude of farmers to hikers and walkers accessing their land is an interesting subject, and as someone who often hikes is both a concern and interest. In places like the Lake District there will always likely to be tension since it is an area of both entrenched farming and increased leisure commercialization. These two uses are not always happy partners, and the attitude from farmers ranges from frustration to those who feel that tourism brings in benefits that can be used to boost farm income. Of course the other issue is the that farmers are cash rich, but money poor and there is always pressure to sell off land for development in such a sought after location. Again the book sets out both the issues and the attitudes of the farmers

Interestingly, the author decided to include her own farm in the book. This gives a personal insight into her and her husbands' life, and perhaps a motivation in writing the book itself. One of the interesting point is that although the farm has been in the family for over a hundred years, Colin, Amy's husband, comes from an academic background and is not your traditional farmer. Again, this highlights that few of the farmers are actually dyed in the wool (sic) farmers, with many having careers outside the industry before deciding to give it a go, so going against the idea that farmers are all traditionalists against any change. For example, on the author's farm there is very much the idea that nature must be worked with and not against.

As someone who struggles to even grow sunflowers, it provides a deep dive into the world of farming. I must admit I am still struggling to tell a Hogg from a Gimmer, but that just a sign on how much information has been packed in. It is definitely not a book that you can flick though, but you will need to return to many times.

For a first book, the level of journalism is impressive as is the attitude of the author to let the interviews tell the story and let the reader make up their own mind, rather than use it as a pulpit to try and impose some world view. 

May contain photos

I should also perhaps mention the photos, since this is a photographic blog. 

It is clear that since Amy started picking up a camera, she has expanded her repertoire from landscape, to take in animal, people, documentary and drone photography. In fact, it is hard to think of a photographic genre which this book does not cover (although there is a lack of ICM :) ), and it is clear that Amy has expanded her skill set to become an excellent generalist. 

Most of the photos are of course there to tell the story, but even then some images are slipped in that would stand out on their own, and of course we have some of her best known work, such as the sheep being driven down from the hills. 

Forty Farms Later

In the last page, Amy highlights some of the issues facing farming today, such as the uncertainty of government policy on farming, the changing of government subsidies post-Brexit and the reduction in emphasis from an encouraging bio diversity. Of course, farmers are not immune to the effects of outside events, such as gas prices effects on fertilizer prices. 

As she notes, farmers are not strangers to crisis and change (If you want a low stress life, farming is definitely not your profession) and it is a profession that weeds out quickly the weak, leaving people who are tough, self-reliant and determined. However, everything has a breaking point, and it is easy to forget how critical farming is in Britain; Not only in feeding the nation, but also con how we manage the countryside and strive to create a balance with nature. 

Often, farmers and the public are cast as two sides, in conflict with each other. However, this book shows that farmers and the wider general public have much in common and should work together to meet our common goals.  

This was not the book I was expecting, but it was definitely one I am pleased I purchased. I have come away with a different appreciation of farmers, farming, beautifully wrapped in gorgeous photos of the Cumbrian landscape and farming community. 

The one thing I hope is that there is a follow-up one day, continuing the story of the families involved. Did they succeed? Were their hopes and fears realized?  It calls for a follow-up called 40 Farms Later, 10 years down the line.

What this book highlights is the need for a narrative and outreach to fight the myths and misinformation on both sides. Maybe this is a role someone should pay Amy to do. It is maybe not something she has ever considered doing, but with her track record, I'm pretty sure she would become very good at it.

Forty Farms can be ordered from Amy Bateman's website