Review of the Ricoh GR3. Has it convinced me to buy the GR4? You bet it has!

I have recently entered the market for an advanced point and shoot as my old canon is out of date.  I’ve searched long and hard; compared mirrorless cameras to the micro 4/3s and the small sensor cams.  I had the opportunity to borrow a colleague’s Ricoh GR3 (thank you Jeremy – akafotoboy.com) and I have to say, overall I am VERY IMPRESSED.

Some will think, “Ricoh? You mean the printer/copier company?” I would respond, “Yup.” They make cameras too it seems and they have a very solid and content consumer base.  Not nearly as competitive as the big companies like Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, or Panasonic, but enough of one where they can offer and produce a couple gems.

I was originally drawn to the new Sony NEX7 because it seems like Sony actually listened to its customers and gave the damn thing shutter/aperture dials on the camera.  All others before the NEX7 were crap in my opinion. The controls and interface were deplorable and I just could not get on board. I really wanted to but I just couldn’t.  I need to be able navigate and shoot quick and fast.  Just as fast as I can navigate my 5Dmk2. Also Sony’s lenses are just nowhere near the optical quality of my canon “L” lenses or some of my old Nikon primes.  Some will say, “go out and buy one of the Carl Ziess lenses that are compatible with the Sony NEX line.” Ummm…No.  The last couple of distractors for me jumping on the NEX7 was the outrageous price tag ($1200), the delay due to the disaster in Thailand, and Sony’s propriety crap they put into all their gear.  Sorry NEX7, you’re not for me.

I considered the Panasonic GF-1 line and I know a number of people that swear it is a great camera and I have no doubts.  I am still open to it because I like all the reviews but it’s not a pocket camera and that’s what Im looking for. I need something that I can take everywhere with me. I feel the GF-1 is still a bit big.

Im a Canon man so I considered the G12 and saw the new GX1 unveiled recently but its too expensive and still too bulky.  I’ve used the G11 like crazy as I bought it for my fiancee so there is no real purpose in buying “near” the same camera. I can use that one anytime I want as long as I ask and flutter my green eyes at my lady.

This brings me to Ricoh GR3; the printer/copier company camera. Allow me to begin with the positives and what I love most about this camera. I am not going to go over the basic “dummy” features this camera has.  I am going to jump into why this camera is great for professionals.

1) At first glance, this camera garners no attention. In fact, it is so mundane and basic in appearance no one turns and stares.  Absolutely no one pays any attention to it and that is AWESOME!  It has earned a reputation in the photo world as being one of the best street photography cameras and I can see why.

2) Inside the black on black on black on black body is a run of the mill small sensor but the people at Ricoh have made it shine.  Now like most point and shoot cameras the high ISO/low light capability of a small sensor sucks, especially when compared to APS-C and Full Frame dSLR cameras.  Believe me, I am spoiled by the 5Dmk2 and my lens compliment, so anything less requires me to think and adapt and not judge too harshly but the Ricoh performs fantastically above 400 ISO. Even at 1600 ISO it produces beautiful grainy black and white images. In fact, because this camera offers RAW shooting ability I can edit my grain in post and produce a nice medium sized print. RAW shooting has its disadvantages but I’ll get to that later on.  I want to continue onto why this camera is such a badass.

3) The GR3 offers 3 completely customizable settings.  Much like those found on an advanced dSLR and I have to say the way they’ve done this is spot on. The controls are intuitive, nearly every button on the back can be remapped, and as a result you can make the camera the way you want it. You can control it the way you want. It is BADASS. This is one of the features that completely sold me on this camera.

4) Not only is the autofocus system in this little camera excellent there is a focus feature called “Snap Focus”.  I mastered this feature first above all others. It is what intrigued me most when I was reading about the GR3.  I have to mention first that the GR3 is a fixed lens point-and-shoot camera (equivalent to 28mm on a Full Frame SLR) so you learn to shoot wide angle.  Because of this, your field of view is always the same, the image will be sharper than a zoom lens, and focusing distances are always the same. “Snap Focus” is like manual focus but better because it lets you pick the focus distance in 1m, 1.5m, 2.5m, 5m, to infinity increments.  When the shutter is depressed it immediately captures the image; like .2 seconds of lag is all that exists.  That is as fast as a pro level dSLR.  It foregoes the auto focusing and just takes the picture. Simply fantastic! Once mastered this camera becomes uber-dangerous in the right hands. In my hands I wield this little fucker like a master swordsman wields a katana.

5) It has a hotshoe and a discrete cover when its not in use!!!!  I can strap my Radiopopper transmitter to this little camera and slave all my Canon speedlights to it. Damn son! I can shoot studio style with this little guy if I wanted to and I did.

6) The low ISO range produces very, very, very nice quality images…nuff said

7) Last on the list of accomplishments Ricoh has made with this little gem is the super wide 1.9 aperture.  This allows for excellent shooting in low light situations. The wide aperture truly sets it apart from all other point and shoots on the market and because it is a small sensor camera the depth-of-field is nowhere as shallow as you would find on a lens with the same aperture mounted on a dSLR.

Now for the negatives.  For the most part I got over these pretty quickly but some linger and just need to be accepted. None of them are deal breakers in my opinion, just irritations.

1) ISO only goes up to 1600 and you gotta love grain and black and white to accept it.  The color images at this level are nothing to write home about but I am convinced that the images would be better than other cameras in its class.

2) Shooting in RAW and having the option to is fantastic. The time it takes to store the image to the memory card is not.  One image takes about 2 seconds to transfer.  If shooting in continuous mode the buffer maxes out around 3-4 snapped photos and takes about 5-6 seconds to store the image. Not too happy but again…it is a point and shoot camera.

3) While I love that it can fit in nearly any pocket I have the small size means that big hands occasionally have a hard time hitting all the buttons. Again, cannot have a super mobile and low-profile camera and have it big enough for my massive paws.

4)  Last, they make an attachable wide angle converter (equivalent to 21mm on FF dSLR) but they make no Telephoto converter. Why? Maybe its not optically advantageous.

All in all I have had a blast demoing this camera for the past two weeks.  The GR3 went everywhere with me and thats exactly what I am looking for and need.  Best of all it produces some great images; garners no attention when out and about; it has excellent and intuitive features that are easily customizable; and it has features like snap focus that I have never seen in another camera.  The people at Ricoh probably got some REAL PHOTOGRAPHERS in a room and listened to what they had to say and they produced a product that is a photographers camera.  It is not a camera for your grandpa or your teenage daughter. It is a camera for those that know what they are doing behind a camera and don’t mind stepping back from their dSLR to invest in a point and shoot that will function pretty much in the same way.

Way to go Ricoh! You have found yourself a new customer to sing your praises.  I look forward to holding and owning the GR4 before I travel abroad. I may even step it up and play around with the GXR.

Photos from the GR3 are below:

A Drive to LAX – Timelapse

Basically got bored one night and decided to go from home to LAX and back.  Also stopped by In and Out as planes landed on the north runway.

Venice Timelapse

Im trying to stay on a post a week but life is a bit busy these days.  So many professional, personal, and random projects happeing.  I did manage to get out the other day and put together this time-lapse.  I meant to capture the clouds from the day’s rainstorm but arrived at the beach a bit too late. I ended up taking a drive to Venice’s Windward Circle and shooting a 15 minute cycle of the world famous “Venice” sign.  Im sure it has been done but it’s something I wanted to do myself.

I then edited the photo batch in quicktime and finalized my edits in Final Cut Pro X.

 

 

 

 

Made a Great BIG sale from my Illuminated Abandonment Collection

I am very pleased to say that one of my largest limited edition prints from my Illuminated Abandonment collection has sold to a lovely art collector from the United Kingdom.  I guess I can technically say I am a fine artist with work being bought and displayed internationally .

All of my limited edition gallery prints are printed and displayed on aluminum plates and they they float about 1/2 inch off the wall and are borderless.  These pieces are SUPER vibrant, appear almost 3-dimensional, and are surprisingly durable.  You are welcome to view the image below but understand that viewing the image on your screen just CANNOT compare to the real life physical print. They are simply stunning.

For those that do not know my work, I have adopted the technique of painting with light and long exposure photography and coupled it with my interest of Urban Exploration.  For the past 3 years I have dedicated my personal time to exploring, discovering and photographing the abandoned landscape of the Los Angeles area. It is a task that has proved more difficult than expected. Regardless, I am continuing my documentation of these spaces and adding to my portfolio.  I do hope that in time I can take this work to other great urban centers throughout the world.  I hear detroit is lovely this time of year.

I also like to point out that the real pride I draw from my work is that it is NOT photoshopped or minpulated in any way. I do not use High Dynamic Range or compile numerous frames together to create my images.  They are all created in one frame and are printed as they were shot.  Many people have a hard time understanding this or believing it but thats how it is and I would never lie about my work.

As for the piece that was sold, it was a 24×36 print that is part of a limited edition run.  It is the first of 10 and the series consists of 24×36 or 40×60 reproductions. I titled the piece “Nature Won-Humans Zero” due to the reclamation of nature over the landscape and the absence of human occupation. In the foreground, what was once a pool, has been filled with dirt and concrete. Around the edges, weeds have begun to spawn and the center mass of the pool has developed a fine level of moss. The surrounding structure has been weathered by the elements and shows signs of decay.  I chose to shoot this structure from a low wide angle and to emphasize its vast space and capture the foreground and background with equal sharpness and detail.  Overall, the image you see took about 15 minutes to expose and create.

Nature Won - Humans Zero

I would like to thank Katie for fabulous representation of me and my work and the rest of the staff at the Very Venice Art and Design Gallery for their efforts.

Six Months Later

He will lie down just about anywhere

Six months ago, in the middle of the day, I received a call from my fiancée.  There was a sense of urgency and stress in her tone.  In the background I could hear the sound of traffic passing by. I figured she must have been in an accident but that was not the case.  I proceeded to calm her down so i could get to the bottom of what was happening.  She began to tell me that she was in the middle of Venice Blvd on the median holding onto a dog that had been running in traffic.  She asked me what to do. I had no idea, all I could think of was to call animal control or a shelter.  Luckily, a kind woman stopped and helped her and the dog to the closest veterinarian center to see if we could locate the owner of the animal.  We had no such luck.  The woman who stopped to help said she would take the dog and hold onto him for a couple of days while we looked around for his owners.

We took it upon ourselves to put up signs, call and report a missing dog at all surrounding animal shelters but we had no success. During our efforts the dog escaped the woman’s custody and ended up in a pound down in Carson. Damn escape artist.

Up until this point, everything I knew about the dog came from what I was told about him and a grainy photo taken with an iPhone. He was an old dog, probably 10 years of age, black with grey markings and had a head resembling a lab. I figured thats what he was and for the most part I was correct.  I agreed to go down to the pound, as this week in April was “all about the rescued dog”.

I’ll be the first to tell you that I do not like animal shelters.  They are loud, they smell, and there are a bunch of poor animals that will be killed if they don’t find a home.  It is very depressing. So if you want a dog go adopt one, don’t buy one.

The moment I saw the dog, I knew no one would adopt him.  He was old, had arthritis in his back legs, was severely emaciated because he had been on the streets for who knows how long before we found him and his bark was pathetic. We later found out his bark is the way it is because whoever owned him previously, removed his vocal cords. In any case, most people want a dog that can be active, chase a ball, run around a field, roughhouse with their owners, and have an animal that can be trained.  This dog did not appear to have any of these qualities.

Something inside of me clicked, perhaps it was more the bleeding heart of my significant other but we ended up adopting this poor old boy.  We gave him a second chance, a new life and a new name, Harold C. Riley.  It’s an old man’s name but I will never call him Harold.  His name is Riley and that’s what he goes by.  However his name tag reads H.C. Riley.

The first couple of weeks were rough. He had a bad case of kennel cough and none of us thought he would make it but we had faith and a nurturing spirit. A local vet took mercy on us and looked at him for free and gave us antibiotics to treat his symptoms.  He would still not eat for a couple of days and this made us all nervous.

Over time Riley regained his strength and zeal for life.  Everyday we found out something new and amazing about his personality.  Smart, loyal, obedient, comical, quiet and best of all…trainable. He loves small dogs, human food, and is the kindest most chill dog I have ever met. He really reminds me of my old cat Nermal.  Perhaps this is one of the many reasons why I have come to love him so much.  He spends his days sleeping but loves to go on long walks and run around the dog park and wait patiently for my food scraps. This old dog won’t learn any new tricks but he will obey commands and he respects his owners. He is also adorably handsome.

If you had asked me 8 months ago if I wanted a dog I would have said “no, not at all” but then again I never really sought out having a dog.  This one just came into our lives and I have to say I couldn’t be happier.  I truly love this old guy and hope that our good deed is seen by the powers that be and that they grant us at least 5 more years of happiness with him. Long live the Riley!

Art Reception – Arena 1 Gallery

I will have 5 photographs on display at the aforementioned gallery.  I deem this post relevant because I chose the 5 photographs at random and random is what this is all about.

The gallery will be selling all work for $50 each and taking their respectable cut, of course. An act I respect, as I don’t wish to work in a gallery or sell my own work in one.

I want to thank my dear friend Ellen for allowing me to use her amazing printer and stunning “Canson ‘rag’ photographique” paper to print these amazingly detailed prints.

Just as a teaser I will include 1 of the 5 for for your pleasure.

Saturday September 10th from 6pm-9pm @

Arena 1 Gallery

3026 Airport Ave.

Santa Monica, CA 90405

Heat Wave

So its day three of this notorious heat wave that is rolling through Southern California.  What else can i say really other than its miserable.  Especially when I have no AC in my apartment and live on the second story.  This makes it worse as we learned in science class.  If you don’t know what i mean, please open a book. Forgive the angst but damn its hot.  I intended to go out to photograph something “heat” related but I felt this overwhelming in ability to go anywhere.  It must be due to some environmental force.   Instead I’ve posted this photo of my hand on fire.  I felt it apropos due to how we must all feel.

Its hot outside, so this photo makes more sense.

Artist Reception – Hair Venice

It is a beautiful day here in Santa Monica, CA.  I sit in my favorite pizza restaurant at 11am with the voice of sportscenter newscaster speaking in the background about Major League Baseball . It is an auditory experience that interests me none in the slightest. I am here only for two slices of pie that have come to me fresh and hot and to reflect on the Reception I had at Hair Venice Salon this past friday.

The day started early with me loading up the car with 16 large framed prints varying in size from 16×20′s all the way up to 27×40′s.  I arrived early to ensure everything was hung in time and to allot for anything going wrong and of course…something did.  I forgot to string hanging wire on 3 prints so that meant a quick trip to Aaron Brothers.  After getting back, I had installed my hanging wires and proceeded to arrange my pieces.  The entrance to the back courtyard was accessed by a long narrow corridor just off Abbot Kinney Blvd.  I chose to setup a few external work lights to ensure a healthy amount light pouring onto the massive wall that would be home to my largest prints for the night.  The wall was made of concrete or stucco and made it nearly impossible to drill screws into it.  Nails that were not thick enough bent upon impact.  I had run into my second problem.  I was running out of nails and the wall was eating them like a hungry hungry hippo.  I managed to succeed somehow and my prints were hung.  Just as a few people began shuffling in I was setting up the 9 minute music video put together by my business partner and editor extraordinare, Tadeo Reyes.  It was recieving accolades all night but even after watching the video people still did not understand how i produce my photographs.  Perhaps the documentary we are working on will help to sort that out and if it doesn’t then there is no hope for those.

Plenty of people came and went throughout the night and there were a number of familiar faces to be seen.  I sold a couple prints from this limited collection and look forward to having a few more receptions and exhibitions in the coming future. This project is not yet complete but in August I intend to take my process to Libya and cover the ruins there while I help a dear friend with a documentary he is doing about the Arab Spring.

This is my first post on my new blog site and I hope to do one once a week.  So stay tuned and see whats happening.