As a landscape photographer who loves making abstracts, there is nothing more frustrating than not being able to go out and practice my skills. I was feeling irritated about this, and then remembered something my mother said over the weekend — this time of forced isolation is a gift to sit, contemplate and look inwards. It is a good chance to reflect on where you have been, where you are, and what you could do differently. Don’t view it as an ordeal, but instead, use this given time to evolve and learn, and perhaps be better. Of course, she said all this in a manner moms usually do when dealing with a whining child, but her message made a lot of sense.
Being stuck indoors and nowhere to go, is also an opportunity to learn a different kind of photography skill. I am taking this opportunity to learn and make intimate photographs, mostly getting up close and personal with many mundane items in my apartment. Using the table lamps, and natural light, I am trying to see, if I can go “macro” and find the unseen landscapes in my tiny apartment.
While I have all my cameras, I am playing around my iPhone 11 Pro — which has a Nomad Leather Case that is specially designed for taking lenses from my friend Marc Barros’ company, Moment. I have a great 58mm telephoto lens and a wide-angle lens. I was a beta tester for Marc when he was planning the company and his product line-up. I still use that old beat up lens, though he has sent me replacements as a gift.
He recently sent me the Moment’s Anamorphic Lens, which is still sitting in box unwrapped, but I might finally open it. I really wished I had ordered the Moment Macro lens. So for now, I am using my Ricoh GR3’which has excellent macro capabilities. It will also be cool to use my Leica SL 2 with my Leica SL 90-280 lens mounted on a tripod and figuring out its capabilities as well.
I am looking forward to playing around the house and sharing some of this new (to me) style of photography
March 30, 2020, San Francisco.
FWIW: I am a huge fan of Moment’s dedication to smartphone photography. More than the gear, I appreciate the educational efforts they make to help you enhance and grow as a casual photographer. They have paid video lessons from many photographers experts who teach you how to use the camera phones and Moment gear to take great photos and videos on their website. I need to warn you, those lessons are not cheap, but definitely worth it.