Trouble & Strife….
It’s been a weird old year, I don’t think anyone can doubt that. Covid 19 has brought about so many changes to how we live our lives and brought about misery, worry, grief and anguish for millions across the world. My family and I were lucky, we were optimistic that this would all be temporary. Then my family recently got touched by Covid 19. My 76 year old mum is still in hospital now with Covid, she’s been in for over a month now and has spent time in the critical care unit for a week too. She’s back on the respiratory ward now though thankfully. She’s getting stronger slowly but surely even if there have been a few setbacks along the way. My wife and youngest daughter had Covid too, thankfully they suffered only mild symptoms. I dodged the bullet though.
With lockdowns, self isolation and worrying about my family, my motivation with my photography took a nose dive. I did try and keep taking shots, finding things to photograph and editing old images. It has been a real struggle. Things are steadily starting to look better now. lockdown is being eased, my mum is slowly getting better and I’ve had my first vaccination jab. So now’s the time to start looking at getting out and about with the camera again! I’m feeling the love for photography again and I’ve got loads of new ideas and plans for this summer.
So what’s occurring?
- Street/ Urban Photography
I’ve been watching lots of Youtube videos and studying some classic street photography shots. I want to spend much more time practicing this genre as I think I have a bit more of an understanding of it. I’m planning on heading out to Manchester and Sheffield soon to get some shutter time in. I think I feel more confident with my camera now I’ve moved to the X-T3 as it’s much less obvious than my old Nikon D800E with the 24-70mm lens attached.
- Landscape Photography
At the moment it feels like being a kid in a sweet shop, I’ve got that used to not being able to go anywhere choosing somewhere to go now I can do so is proving difficult. I have a re-visit list for locations I’d like to re-visit and a large list of places I want to go that I have never been to before. I can see eeny, meanie, miney mo ending up settling where I go for my first landscape trip!My first port of call will most likely end up being the Peak District, it’s more local to me and easier to get to, plus I know some great wild camping spots there.
- Kit Changes
I’ve been experimenting with my photography gear and some of my latest purchases have proven to be not fit for purpose. The first thing on the list to swap out is my tripod. I bought a Benro travel carbon fibre tripod, it’s not heavy enough and it’s not tall enough either. Worst still it makes for an unsteady platform. So that’s getting sold on and I’m looking at alternatives. I also need a couple of prime lenses for the X-T3 so these are on the buying list too. As usual my funds are limited so it’s going to be a case of slowly, slowly with any kit replacements.
Share your thoughts…
As with any of my previous posts, I’d love to hear your thoughts on this post. Be it locations you intend to visit for photography, kit recommendations or even how Covid has impacted your photography, please do use the comment form below to share. Thanks for taking the time to read this post, I really appreciate it.
