Why am I disappointed with a EDC?

[R4p70r]

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As some pointed out. The problem ist not the EDC it is more seeing the world with open eyes and find in mundane things or the routine of commute plus work life interesting photographic subjects or having a photographic project to shoot with more intention.

A few months ago I saw a video in which a journalist was taking photos of the HQ offices. Just the working space with interesting light and shapes, office supplies, her co-workers etc. with her smartphone.

Very interesting work she put out. The problem was definitely not the tool/camera she was using. She started it just for fun and created from some loose photos a photographically interesting project in a boring work life environment.

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[dpitt]

16 hours ago, FrozenInTime said:

I think the Q would be fine if you always needs to carry a laptop size bag with you, but something more casual and jacket pocket sized, like a GRIII, will fill the everywhere carry role better.

+1 here. Camera + lens has to fit in a coat pocket (or handbag). Whatever you always have with you. My X2 with EVF(480 g.) still fits the bill. Even my M9+35cron or 40cron does the job but is an extra 200g.

The Q series lens is just a bit to large too fit, so I would rather take any M with a short lens with me.

YMMV

Edited August 9, 2023 by dpitt

[R4p70r]

8 minutes ago, R4p70r said:

As some pointed out. The problem ist not the EDC it is more seeing the world with open eyes and find in mundane things or the routine of commute plus work life interesting photographic subjects or having a photographic project to shoot with more intention.

A few months ago I saw a video in which a journalist was taking photos of the HQ offices. Just the working space with interesting light and shapes, office supplies, her co-workers etc. with her smartphone.

Very interesting work she put out. The problem was definitely not the tool/camera she was using. She started it just for fun and created from some loose photos a photographically interesting project in a boring work life environment.

I found the name of the mentioned journalist:

Kathy Ryan from the The New York Times and the photo book is called "Office Romance".

[Pelu2010]

19 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said:

Post this in the Q section as Leica promotes the Q as a perfect EDC.

For years I am carrying a camera EVERYWHERE I go. Really everywhere. But the truth is, my life is boring. I drive to my work (can’t really photograph), sit 9 hours in an office. Drive back, relax at home, sleep, repeat. During those years, I photographed a lot, but didn’t print a single one. My daily life is boring. Do I need an EDC? In worst case I have a phone…

Now, when I go out with intent, then things change. I pick either color or monochrom, I pick a lens, I start creating… i love that.

I am however disappointed with an EDC. Not because of the tool, but because of my every day life is boring, especially as i am commuting alone in a car…

Do we need an EDC? What do you photograph in your every day life?

No, you don’t need a EDC! 
if your life is that boring photography is a very good alternativ. 
i have heard of people that use their holiday to go as an embedded reporter to Ukrainian or Syria, so maybe this could spice up a little your life. 
Or a workshop that has an exciting topic. 
And then the Q would shine. Maybe. 
 

[R4p70r]

1 hour ago, Pelu2010 said:

No, you don’t need a EDC! 
if your life is that boring photography is a very good alternativ. 
i have heard of people that use their holiday to go as an embedded reporter to Ukrainian or Syria, so maybe this could spice up a little your life. 
Or a workshop that has an exciting topic. 
And then the Q would shine. Maybe. 
 

Yep, meeting up with other fellow hobby photographers, artists and creatives to talk, picking each other's brain, collab, doing photo walks are the best way to spice up each one's creative path.

Workshops are also a good way either for something that you are already doing but get another perspective or in a totally different photographic field. Also great is networking with all the attendees, keeping in touch to come up with ideas/inspirations/motivation.

[Olaf_ZG]

I should rephrase myself: my daily life is visually boring.

(i do enjoy my work, the weekends in the woods etc), but the daily (work)rhythm is visually boring.

[student]

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6 hours ago, M11 for me said:

Life is never boring. I can not understand the content of this thread. 

One thing I must admit: I learned what an EDC is. One positive thing.

I have been wondering about an interesting life- like the water hydrant on the street burst open when I was next to it, saw a police car chase, witnessed a horrid 20 car pile up on the motorway, a train crash, etc etc, or a shoot out in an American shopping mall .... Just what passes for an "interesting" life?

Edited August 9, 2023 by student

[Olaf_ZG]

1 hour ago, Pelu2010 said:

No, you don’t need a EDC! 
if your life is that boring photography is a very good alternativ. 
i have heard of people that use their holiday to go as an embedded reporter to Ukrainian or Syria, so maybe this could spice up a little your life. 
Or a workshop that has an exciting topic. 
And then the Q would shine. Maybe. 
 

My every day life is visually boring. When I go out with purpose things change. Workshops are always great, even LUF can be very inspirational as we have many nice things to see here.

For two years I took a camera with me every single moment. This week I left it at home and it feels liberating.

The approach is may be different: when going out on purpose, one is creating. When carrying full time one is catching/fishing?

[R4p70r]

I think many people can relate to this when someone is in a rut trying to find something visually inspiring or inspiring.

No matter if your a hobbyist or a professional both just on the each end of the spectrum.

In my opinion for a professional it is probably more difficult to fight yourself out of the rut because of the constant pressure to deliver worthy work.

[pgh]

Some of the most compelling work I've ever seen has come from photographers who have worked with what most would consider a "visually boring" life. That said, I understand your frustration here and I'm not going to harp on the philosophy of photography. If it's not stuff you're personally interested in photographing, then it doesn't matter. and there's no reason to force it.

All of that said, the Q is too big for the type of camera you refer to. I'd soon as take my M. But I pretty much never make photos unless I'm specifically setting out to make photos. Otherwise I'd soon as live my life.

I've never been interested in the Q for a few reasons - primarily it's too wide, but it's also too big. Really, the best camera for this is your phone. In second place is the GR series. There's nothing else like it. I don't own one because I don't feel compelled to have that sort of camera between my phone and my M, but if I did it would be that. 

It sounds to me like you can let go of your Q as it's causing you distress in a few ways not worth sweating. Lose the actual weight of the object. Lose the psychic weight of feeling like you should be prepared to make a picture at any time on a normal day. 

[Rdf]

4 hours ago, Olaf_ZG said:

I should rephrase myself: my daily life is visually boring.

(i do enjoy my work, the weekends in the woods etc), but the daily (work)rhythm is visually boring.

Maybe try black and white as an interesting experiment?

[Olaf_ZG]

2 minutes ago, Rdf said:

Maybe try black and white as an interesting experiment?

My mm is for fine art, not daily life. But, I just bought an old rolleiflex. This could be interesting: only one image per day, but it must count… 

 

just thinking aloud…

[IkarusJohn]

31 minutes ago, Olaf_ZG said:

My mm is for fine art, not daily life. But, I just bought an old rolleiflex. This could be interesting: only one image per day, but it must count… 

 

just thinking aloud…

This may be the issue.  What do you take images of, and why?  I get that you like your images to be considered, but I do thinnk you’re putting yourself under pressure.

So, you’re going to take a “fine art image” - I have one above my fireplace, by Fiona Pardington.  It’s of an old plastic coke bottle, all the labels washed off and encrusted with mussels and other shellfish.  The image is set up on velvet, like a traditional still life.  I don’t know what camera she used, but the lighting is perfect.  That one image will have been one of many, thought through and taken over a number of hours til the perfect image is captured.

Then, there’s a project, which also requires planning and thought.  Andris Apse, another photographer here, takes stunning landscapes, particularly in South Westland - lots of planning for location, lighting, time of day, time of year and equipment.  He says that one image may take a year to finally take.  He only takes a dozen or so images a year …

Another approach is to go on a photography expedition.  Never really understood this, as I can’t imagine getting up from my chair and saying to myself, now I’m going out photographing.  Photography doesn’t work for me that way.

So, what am I saying?  I carry my camera.  Used to carry my Hasselblad 503, but that raised a lot of complications - better to take that when I had an image in mind.  Now, I carry whatever I’m interested in - at the moment it’s my M-A with a 50 Summitar from 1948 and Cinestill ISO 50.  Having made that decision, it will colour what I try to photograph.  Another day, it might be different, but because I’m interested in photography, I’m usually looking for photographic opportunities.  My Monochrom is my favourite.

My everyday camera?  Depends on what that day is likely to present itself as a photographic opportunity.  If I’m just going for a walk, I will take an M camera, and probably a 28 or 35 (I’m learning how to use that lens); if I know there are particular opportunities, then my choices will change.  If I think I’m just going to take snapshots, then I’ll just take my phone (it’s a very good camera).

I have no problem with buying camera gear you might like, but it is good to just use it …

[bobtodrick]

Used to carry a camera with me at all times.

Like others have mentioned, work is a 15 minute commute by car…I spend my day in an office and then home.  After carrying a camera daily for 20 years my memorable ‘daily’ photos could be counted on one finger 😂

My EFC camera is now my phone.

This is partly due that I’ve never found a lot of good images (for me) are by chance.  I set projects for myself and plan them out.  Just today I’ve finished a four day ‘project’ shooting in the Alberta (Canada) badlands  https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/badlands

[Segal]

Leica Q might be too big to be an everyday carry camera unless you carry at least a medium-sized bag. You probably do if you live in a city; if you live in a suburb, you're likely not.

I used to live in Berlin, and I found many things to photograph every day, even though I commuted by car every other day (I also cycled to work when the weather was fine).

Now that I live in a typical American suburb and work most of the week from home, I don't see a lot of opportunities to take pictures every day. On my walks, I still carry a camera (M11 or Q2) to take photos of my family and dog. They might not win any awards, but they matter to me.

I could rely on my iPhone for that, but it is a way more challenging camera to get good pictures with, at least for me. 

[hoolyproductions]

On 8/9/2023 at 6:06 PM, R4p70r said:

I found the name of the mentioned journalist:

Kathy Ryan from the The New York Times and the photo book is called "Office Romance".

Thanks for digging that out, amazing pictures!

[Rdf]

14 hours ago, Segal said:

Leica Q might be too big to be an everyday carry camera unless you carry at least a medium-sized bag. You probably do if you live in a city; if you live in a suburb, you're likely not.

I used to live in Berlin, and I found many things to photograph every day, even though I commuted by car every other day (I also cycled to work when the weather was fine).

Now that I live in a typical American suburb and work most of the week from home, I don't see a lot of opportunities to take pictures every day. On my walks, I still carry a camera (M11 or Q2) to take photos of my family and dog. They might not win any awards, but they matter to me.

I could rely on my iPhone for that, but it is a way more challenging camera to get good pictures with, at least for me. 

Reducing iPhone photo saturation by about 20% helps somewhat. 

[Segal]

46 minutes ago, Rdf said:

Reducing iPhone photo saturation by about 20% helps somewhat. 

I use the "Rich Contrast" preset for my pics - it makes regular photos look slightly less "I discovered HDR yesterday". But it's hard for me to get a good portrait with an iPhone, especially of my dog.

It's fantastic for casual videos, though; the image stabilization in the Action mode is excellent. 

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Hallo,

Look here: Leica Q

[Olaf_ZG]

12 minutes ago, Segal said:

But it's hard for me to get a good portrait with an iPhone, especially of my dog.
 

I have the same problem with my camera, it is so hard to have a good conversation….

[Cogito]

1 hour ago, Segal said:

I use the "Rich Contrast" preset for my pics - it makes regular photos look slightly less "I discovered HDR yesterday". But it's hard for me to get a good portrait with an iPhone, especially of my dog.

It's fantastic for casual videos, though; the image stabilization in the Action mode is excellent. 

Has anyone tried to mimic a “Leica Look” within the iPhone’s, “Photographic Styles” setting?