Category: Danï

some cats in black and white

whbeebe1 Comment



So tonight I was cleaning up one of my cabinets and found (again) one of my original OM-D EM-5’s, the second (not the mark II) that was released with an updated paint scheme. For a long period of time the older Four Third’s cameras, especially the E-3 and E-5, came with a speckled paint scheme which resisted scratches and dirt. Personally I like the way it looks better than any other paint scheme.

I pulled out the battery and charged it up, then reset the date and time because it had fully discharged. Then I put on the 14-42 EZ pancake zoom. I love that lens mechanically because when the camera is off the lens automatically collapses into a pancake size. Power on the camera and it extends, ready to take a photo. It’s great for travel, especially when paired with the old E-M5 or E-M10 or even the Pen F. I also set the #5 Art Filter to grainy black and white, and took a few quick snaps of the cats as they moved into the cat chair in the kitchen.

These photos are a rebellion against the multi-thousand-dollar cameras and matching lenses, and the insane focus on sharpness and bokeh and all the other edge-condition features that are driving the art out of photography. Think it’s too grainy, or too contrasty, or the highlights are blown, or the shadows crush detail? Good! That was the intention. The only technique I care about right now is the overall composition. The EM-5 I have is now a good decade old, which makes it ‘vintage’ (according to Apple). A vintage digital camera. Who’d a thought it would come to this?

More to come…

P.S. These are JPEGS straight out of camera, with only cropping to 1:1 in Lightroom.

sister cats in the sewing room

whbeebe

I’ve written before of my wife’s sewing room in the back of our house. It is surrounded on three sides with lots of windows that look onto our back yard. She loves to sew because of the view and the outside light that is let in, and because it’s a complex task that engages her creativity and exercises her mind. The result is quality clothing that fits and is comfortable for her to wear. I’ve also written in the past about Luke, the Sewing Room Cat, who always visits when my wife is out in the sewing room. Luke isn’t the only feline visitor.

The other cats like to stroll through, usually to find a spot next to any of the many windows and watch the birds and squirrels running around our back yard. The sewing room’s just another part of their indoor playground, as Zoë (top) and Danï (bottom) show. The girls in particular love to climb around and snuggle down into cozy corners to watch all around the room as well as outside into the back yard. I couldn’t see what they were transfixed by when I was photographing them, but it must have been awfully important for a cat.