A Micro Four Thirds Wedding, Olympus E-M1 Mark II and the M.Zuiko ED 12-100mm f4.0 IS PRO

Mazi & Chrissy, Lake Michigan, 9/2/2017

Close friends Mazi and Chrissy were getting married. They’ve admired my photography from a far but never did I expect to have them ask me to photograph their wedding.

I have little experience photographing weddings. Actually, this was my first. My trepidation wasn’t too excessive—I rarely shy away from a challenge, however, weddings are once in a lifetime events, these were my friends, and some money was involved. Either way, I had to make this photo shoot count and really execute.

I also had two choices: what style would I use to shoot these photographs? What gear would I used?

One might be surprised to find out that I didn’t use my digital 35mm Nikon system with pro lenses, however. For days after accepting the honor of photographing my friends’ wedding I was sure that I would use Nikon but the wedding was small and I was going to be going in alone. To many it might be a surprise that I decided against using the giant, yet powerful, Nikon gear and go with a smaller more compact system shooting with Olympus Micro Four Thirds equipment.
I wanted to be stealthy, highly mobile, small and noninvasive, and frankly, I just like shooting with smaller systems. I needed power and speed, and I needed flexibility. Micro Four Thirds systems provide this better than any other digital photography system I’ve encountered.

I was really impressed with the E-M1 Mark II. I thought my E-M5 was quiet but this one wouldn’t even know I was taking a picture. I almost forget that it actually did make any sound at all. This is really one of my favorite parts of mirrorless cameras in general. DSLRs are well known as the standard for professional photography but they tend to be noisy. With a mirror flapping around inside when taking a photo, there is a fair amount of mechanical noise. Especially during a wedding ceremony, I very pleased that there was no chance of my camera interrupting the beautiful moment. 

Being the only person on the photography “crew”, the small size of the EM-1 (and my E-M5) gave me plenty of mobility and never did my shoulder, hand, or any other part of me feel distressed. At one point. I carried two cameras, one with the 12-100mm f4.0 lens, the other with a 45mm f1.8 lens, two batteries, all weighing a kilogram less than just my Nikon D700 with a 24-70mm f2.8 lens.

The M.Zuiko ED 12-100mm f4.0 IS Pro was probably my best decision. It is a real gem of a lens. Not only compact, it is a super zoom ranging from a nicely wide 24mm equivalent (in 35mm terms) to a 200mm reach. It’s razor sharp and renders images quite nicely. Weather sealed, metal barrel, and the focus ring doubles as a clutch to activate/deactivate autofocus, it will be top contender for my next lens purchase for my Olympus. 

At the end of the day, however, photography is about photographs. And photographing a wedding is about capturing the moments uniting two individuals, the delight of their friends and family, and giving a lifetime of enjoyment looking back on memories.

When I made the decision to shoot with my Micro Four Thirds fear, I was concerned. Despite having shot with my Olympus gear for more than five years, so many photographers (and probably some who only claim to be), smear the ability of a non-35mm sensor to be a “real professional” system. It is hard to keep that constant negativity from chipping away from ones confidence. My fears were belayed during this shoot and also by seeing what other professionals using Micro Four Thirds can do. As I always say and truly believe, don’t worrry about your gear. Adrian’s Life Rule #55: Go out and shoot! Shooting with the Olympus E-M1 Mark II, E-M5, and the very pleasing 12-100mm f4.0 Pro lens was a delight and I will look forward to shooting with them again professionally.

But most importantly, join me in congratulating my two friends Mazi and Chrissy on their marriage.

August — A Year in Photographs

The light of night, captured.

Solo, Chicago, 8/17/2017

It is a challenge to head out at night when you've been relaxing on the sofa for an hour or two, after work, after dinner, watching a movie, sipping on tea. But night is a favorite time for me to photography.

Shooting August entirely in black and white, I'm very fond of dark, high contrast, dramatic imagery; the night so easily provides. August is the only other month to be shot entirely in Black and White. January too, was all black and white but there were no other guidelines to my month's theme.

The other challenges to night photography are simply technical. Aperture, ISO, and shutter speed are all very important. If one's shutter is too slow, any minor movement of the camera produces motion blur in the image. If the shutter is too fast, the image is too dark.

With apertures, the wider the more light but also the shallower the depth of field resulting in challenging focus scenarios. Stopping down (smaller apertures) increases depth of field but reduces light.

ISO, on the other hand, boosts the light available but invariably adds noise to one's image. Sometimes noise is acceptable giving a gritty, street photography look. Other times, it simply muddies the image.

All of these are a careful balancing act. They are part of a triad of water buckets. As one fills up, the other two empty. Finding the right mix of volumes is important to get just the image one is looking to achieve.

A tripod is always welcome. This will allow for one to decrease shutter speed and use low ISO while also stopping down the aperture. The result can be very clear and sharp black and white images. The caveat, but possibly the goal, is motion blur of moving object. A favorite from this month is from August 1st where I setup my Olympus E-M5 with a 45mm lens on my tripod. Opening my window, a waited for a train to pass buy and captured the movement.

At an f/8, ISO 200, -1 ev stop compensation, and a 1.6 second shutter, a very clear background of Chicago appears while the Brown Line train streaks through the frame.

A few other nights I used a long exposure but it does take a bit more effort. One must almost always use a tripod or other stabilization. However, occasionally, as with Run and Train, these were both handheld. Run, with an eerie, ghostly appeal, and Train, things moved quickly enough it  didn't matter. But if you look closely, you can see that the subject blur is achieved but also background.

Run, Chicago, 8/30/2017

Train, Chicago, 8/15/2017

I did not find this to bean issue but I am one to usually express great concern with how important the background is while other photographers are concerned with blurring the background to the extent it is nearly completely unrecognizable.

Tripods are one of the most valuable pieces of equipment a photographer can have but they are usually big and carrying one around every day for thirty-one days was not something I could pull off. However, the crafty and resourceful photographer finds other ways to stabilize. In Flight Path, I was in a position to just set the camera down on a ledge. And by ledge, I mean, five stories in high with nothing but the air between the camera and certain doom. 

Flight Path, Chicago, 8/21/2017

Photographers and filmmakers take risks all the time to get their shots. And while I have no real fear of heights, I can safely say I did fear for my camera. I had a death grip on the camera strap that would have squeeze the juice out of an apple. But (!), my camera survived to shoot another day (night)!

I thoroughly enjoyed August for night photography. Perhaps September would have been easier as the days are shorter but I overcame the couch potato in me to head out at night an explore the dark. I'm certain more night photography is in store for the rest of the year as part of other themes but for now, I move onward; a merging of photography with filmmaking with a theme rooted in cinematography.

Up next: September – Cinematic

The Thirty-one Nights of August

With Distinction – VSCO

One of my favorite photo editing applications for iOS and a solid photo sharing, social networking  service, VSCO, has recognized my work over the past few months. I can attribute this to a consistent flow of photography as part of A Year in Photographs.

I'm always honored when people who I have never met share and favorite my work and excited when companies who no doubt see millions of images choose my work to be showcased.

Thanks, VSCO, for all the recognition and hope to connect with you further as the years go on.

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