In and Around the Lake

After weeks of drab and stormy weather, we finally had one of those afternoons illuminated by low raking sunshine that start to pop up after the dark dip of the solstice is behind us and the days first start to lengthen noticeably, so I headed out for a walk on Southampton Common.

I decided to take along my Fuji X20. This is a small "compact" camera that I had formerly only really used on holidays, but I had been closely examining some comparative image files (mainly in order to decide which of my, um, several cameras really ought to be sold on) and came to the surprising conclusion that in most respects and under most conditions this camera may actually be the best all-rounder I have. Portability and its unique "fast" built-in collapsible zoom aside, and despite its small sensor and vintage processing (the camera was first marketed in 2013), there is a unique quality to the images it produces that I really enjoy.

For example, here is a 100% detail of the photo above: taken hand-held, just before 16:00 on a late January afternoon, standing behind one tree, looking towards another stand about 75 yards away. The depth of focus, detail, and contrast are just right, I think, and give the "dry", semi-graphical style I prefer. 

But what about bokeh, you say? (a.k.a. "the out-of-focus backgrounds that everyone seems to love and will pay silly money to achieve")? Sorry, that's not for me, if I can avoid it... I'm OK with a bit of softness, but my preference is for front to back focus wherever possible. That's where small sensors win, every time. [1]

Out on the Common, the warm, steeply-angled light falling on the so-called Ornamental Lake was particularly eye-catching: pale reeds, dark reflective water, blue skies... For once, it was living up to its name.

Then, at the southern end of the Common and towards the end of the usable afternoon light, I entered the Old Cemetery, an inexhaustible source of picturesque combinations of weather-worn stone, thick undergrowth, and venerable trees. Well-worn territory for photographers, it's true, but who cares? You could waste a lifetime looking for something that nobody else has photographed. Besides, it's the way I tell 'em...

But there's an underlying reason why I've picked up the X20 again, which is actually a question: what is the purpose of making these photographs? Given the end uses I make of them, is there really any advantage in carrying around a larger, theoretically "better" camera just to get a little more resolution, or a slightly bigger file? The chances are slim that I will ever have another solo exhibition, and even if I did, I'd never print larger than "A4 image on A3 paper", tops. Besides, there comes a point where you don't even need to use a camera to "take pictures". I'm doing it all the time, now, after so many years: just by looking and composing the world into satisfying, occasionally revelatory or amusing shapes and juxtapositions. [2] There are times I do regret not having a camera with me to record and share something, but the essential 80% of the work has been done in my head: look at that!

Like a musician practising scales or idly improvising, the habit of creative looking, if we can call it that, will eventually school your eyes and give you the pleasure of seeing something pretty much anywhere, any time. So when I share my photographs, either here on the blog or as prints, a calendar, or a book, it's really only to say: look at that! Isn't that something? With the hope that someone else's eyes will in turn give them at least a decent fraction of the pleasure I took in seeing that particular something, and framing it in its rectangle.

That's it; anything else is whatever you have brought to the party. Photography has other, more important uses, but that's what I am doing; nothing more, nothing less. And a little camera like the X20 – or, more often than not, these days, my phone – is perfectly matched to the task.

1. I suffer extreme gear lust whenever I look at the Hasselblad X1D – what a beauty! – but know that I'd never get on with the shallow depth of field physics imposes on such a large sensor. I also know that spending that much money on a camera is bloody ridiculous...

2. This often involves shutting one eye to get the full 2D effect, which can sometimes look rather too much like a wink. So far, this has not yet got me into any trouble. Luckily, people are not often the subject of my "creative looking"...