SiJ 2017 - musings on closing.

This was my first SiJ. I've enjoyed the challenge of coming up with 31 unique compositions, and have enjoyed seeing what everyone else has been submitting. The task was not difficult at all for me, but I certainly appreciate that life has a way of presenting unexpected challenges, and for those that struggled to the finish line or had to bail, I wish you better circumstances in the future. While smaller, lighter native lenses have their allure, SiJ has helped remind me how much I enjoy using older, MF only lenses. My theme for the month was "out of focus", and for every image I shared, the Rokkor 24mm was set at f/4, and at least part of each image was blurred. Kudos to all who participated.
 
All in all, I think it went pretty well, with shooting being fun and not a burden most of the time. There were a couple of close calls on very busy days, but since I was already used to sometimes making do with a safety shot, I didn't feel too stressed out.

I rediscovered the joy of taking a camera *everywhere*; I carry one most of the time, but have to leave them behind at times, e.g. when I can't (or don't want to) take a jacket or bag with me. The S95 fits into the front pocket of my trousers with ease - I know it's not the best place to put a camera, but I *can* if I want or need to. On the other hand, the camera itself, while quite nice in use, doesn't cut it anymore when it comes to my personal expectations - the image files demand too many compromises, and even though they're not that difficult to work with, you run into limitations far too often for my liking; low-light performance is sub-par (and has been for some time), but contrary to what I though during the first couple of days, colours are very problematic, too. So I had to make do with "insufficient data" several times, and while thankfully, b&w conversion was feasible in many cases, it wasn't always possible to get the shot I wanted or envisaged.

In the end, and unlike the last few years, I haven't bonded with the camera the way I expected. I'm ready to replace it now, but will let it rest for the time being until I'm sure that I really *want* to carry such a small camera. I found out last year that there is such a thing as "too small" for me. But there actually *is* a camera on the market now that can supplant the S95 with ease and style: the Canon G9 X II shares the same advantages and brings a modern sensor and handling scheme to the table, including some very useful features like a ND filter. So I know what I'd choose - but won't buy. Not exactly a *cure* for GAS - but at least a moderator :)

M.
 
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I "mused" in the Day 31 thread. But I do want to say it's been fun following everyone throughout this challenge, those who went the distance and those who took a detour or paused along the way. All good. Couldn't have done this journey without your company!
 
I never thought I'd go all the way (and I didn't)....I have rarely been shooting much in the last couple years except for the occasional doggie shot. I really enjoy the photography of others. And I enjoy the creative process. Maybe what I suffer from is akin to writer's block. I just don't think I have anything to say, and just generating photos for the sake of it is nothing I'm interested in.

I'm not sure what the future holds for me photographically, but you guys (and gals) here continue to be inspirational.
 
All - it certainly got my mind churning as I attempted to find an image every day. Some of the photographs I made I was pretty happy with. Others ended up being the product of my ability to draw upon "oh-so-many" clichés that I've used over the years. I did enjoy using the X Pro1 and the Zeiss Touit 32mm for the 31 day run. They are a favorite combination of mine and are now resting in a cabinet I use to store my gear with my X Pro2 and XF27mm now sitting on the corner of the desk.
"Whatya doing?", my wife asked, as she saw me flipping out gear for the first time in a month. "Smile", was about all I could think to say as I finished mounting up the little pancake lens.
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I really enjoy challenges. 'Always have. This one "groan in the morning, gloat in the afternoon, maybe?" 'Not sure. Still, it was very enjoyable and I look forward to another, hopefully when the weather is a bit less gloomy up here in northern Vermont.
Best to all,
. . . David
 
All I want to say is that I kept looking for new images. It was really fun to see the different perspective we had on this kind of challenge. I loved for example the pictures by Ken, our confined to East Frisia member, all the views on other climates and different parts of the world but if I may single out another one, I especially looked forward to Karen's entries. Great vision and I loved the uniform style. :bowdown::bravo-009:
 
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I found that I had no problems finding something to shoot every day, even though the weather was revolting (too damned hot as opposed to the northern climes snow snow snow). I was glad, in the end, that I chose the LX100, I learned more about how to love it, and interestingly I found that its range (24-75+up to 150 digital) was actually enough for me. The images are eminently croppable so I did not feel restricted in any way, which was something unexpected for me.

Overall, at times I found it a bit of a chore (especially if I forgot to do a safe shot early in the day) but most of the time it was easy. Perhaps thats because it had been a year or more since I had participated in a "single in.."

I've enjoyed seeing everyone's work, and I'm glad we decided on threads instead of gallery. I'll do it again, but would definitely prefer an autumn/fall or springtime shoot. Just not too soon :)
 
An Autumn photo derby would be nice, but foliage varies greatly, even within a single state/province/territory. There are parts of my small state that show significant change in early September, while other parts are mid-late October. I do start seeing early senescence in late August, but it is scattered. The next time we do one of these I think I'm going to stick with my Fuji X30. Awesome little camera, and fits easily in a coat or cargo shorts pocket.
 
All - it certainly got my mind churning as I attempted to find an image every day. Some of the photographs I made I was pretty happy with. Others ended up being the product of my ability to draw upon "oh-so-many" clichés that I've used over the years. I did enjoy using the X Pro1 and the Zeiss Touit 32mm for the 31 day run. They are a favorite combination of mine and are now resting in a cabinet I use to store my gear with my X Pro2 and XF27mm now sitting on the corner of the desk.
"Whatya doing?", my wife asked, as she saw me flipping out gear for the first time in a month. "Smile", was about all I could think to say as I finished mounting up the little pancake lens.

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I really enjoy challenges. 'Always have. This one "groan in the morning, gloat in the afternoon, maybe?" 'Not sure. Still, it was very enjoyable and I look forward to another, hopefully when the weather is a bit less gloomy up here in northern Vermont.
Best to all,
. . . David
I like her eyes and her smile. There is a joie de vie evident there.
 
I really enjoyed our collective trip and the daily dose of images coming in from all over the place but like some of you I'm glad it's over.
Regarding what I've said about the X-Pro I guess my conflictive relationship with that camera will last for another while. It will continue to drive me nuts occasionally, especially the extra RAW workload but OTOH there's just too much to like and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Here's one from my real neighborhood for a change. It will take another while to get back home but hopefully right in time for the next SiJ - preferably much sooner - can't wait.

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I've really enjoyed seeing everyone's work. It seems we in the Northern Hemisphere have had a very cold few weeks (North America and central Europe especially) but the photos were uplifting all the same. I found the UK weather extremely depressing - I think we had 2 or 3 sunny days - and I haven't been travelling anywhere so I was stuck with house and village. All the same I enjoyed the experience overall even if a few days were 'oh heck I need to get a photo' rather than looking forward to posting something I was really proud of.
Maybe a July run would be a good idea. I'd certainly be happier shooting in better weather and with more daylight.
Thanks to all anyway, it's been a blast.
 
I really enjoyed our collective trip and the daily dose of images coming in from all over the place but like some of you I'm glad it's over.
Regarding what I've said about the X-Pro I guess my conflictive relationship with that camera will last for another while. It will continue to drive me nuts occasionally, especially the extra RAW workload but OTOH there's just too much to like and it's not going anywhere anytime soon.
Here's one from my real neighborhood for a change. It will take another while to get back home but hopefully right in time for the next SiJ - preferably much sooner - can't wait.

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Like you, my month was another date with a Fuji camera. I've had 4 (X10, XQ1, X100S, and now X-T10) and they do require some adjusting of attitude. The X-T10 finally won my heart so of course I'm dumping her for her younger sister (X-T20). The biggest frustration for me is the handling of Raw files but that has gotten better as well. I just need to move away from Adobe products. The mu43 cameras are forgiving in this regard.
 
This is an interesting article on living with one lens and one body for a whole trip:
Ultimate travel kit - Thailand with Olympus' E-M1 II & 25mm prime lens
This guy chose an Olympus EM1 II and 25 1.2, a very nice and expensive kit. Still, make this any mirrorless ILC and the 50 mm equiv. and much of what he says applies. My teenage photography years were spent with a low end Spotmatic and a 50 and I think I still tend to think that way. Still, the 25 1.2 is a pretty big lens anyway so I think the 12-100 would have been a better choice.
 
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