Back to Basics - a New Journey, New(ish) Camera, and New Outlook...

Drifting on 500px

Enchanted Morning on 500px

In the past couple of months I've returned to the photography I love. Nature photography.

Part of this has been fuelled by my transition over the Sony A7 which I picked up late last year. I haven't really been reviewing a lot of products in a while because of my busy schedule and frankly when I did have free time, I wanted to just go out to either shoot, or to review what I've done.

Overall I love the Sony A7, and although this isn't really a review, I do mention it because it has really kind of started to change things up in my photography.

Part of it is certainly the size of it, which has making carrying it and a bunch of lenses a real nice change from the heavy bag full of my larger dSLR gear.

Those of you who have been following me for years knows my journey of multiple mirrorless cameras and know that this is the most obvious benefit.

I also did this in part to pair up a digital companion to my Leica equipment. Again fuelled by the idea of staying compact, the Leica came into my possession fuelled by being more compact and discrete. I spent a good portion of last year with alternative processing in digital photography, then entered into a period of alternative film processing.

A7 in the Studio

But ultimately was a return to nature photography. For me the Sony A7 has been a greater part of that return which isn't saying it's that much better than my other equipment, but it has given me some different options in the way I shoot and interact with both the camera and my environment. There are still some small annoyances with the Sony A7, but generally I've accepted that no matter what system I use, there are always compromises.

A7 for Nature Photography

I've also still continued to explore alternative digital processing in various forms. Some, a continuation from last years work, and I intend to publish how I do that.

I've been really enjoying the return to shooting for myself more and it's something I remind myself is why I do photography. However one gets to this point in their lives, it's a nice reminder to go back to the things one used to do, explore it again, and try something new with it.

Cotton Candy on Flickr