keith@dot.uk.com
PHOTOGRAPHY

"Photography is truth."...Jean-Luc Godard

byKeith Slater

I'm not a very artisitic person. Ask Me to draw something and I'll likely mess it up or give you something little better than a child can produce. I'm more of a logical person than artistic. If you teach me the methods behind something I'll get the hang of it but I'm not very good at invention.

Perhaps this is why I love photography.

When I'm talking photography I'm talking real photography. For Me it's not taking out a phone every 2 minutes to essentially show people on social media how great your life is (it isn't!). It's really thinking about the shots and understanding how they are made technically and also understanding composition.

I'm not saying I'm particularly good at photography; that's for others to judge, but I do feel I can express myself through photography better than almost any oter way. I say almost because I also mix dance music. In fact, you can find my 2 latest mixes here.

I've had a few cameras over the years. I'll gloss over the point-and-shoots but I think The first (proper camera) was an old Pentax. I can't even remember how I got it. I think it must have been a hand-me-down. I loved it (for a short time). It was of course a 35mm and I loved the task of loading the film, developing the shots, changing settings and lenses. As with a lot of things in my life I sold it when I became short of money.

A while after this (and sorting my life out) I bought an EOS 50 with eye control. I'm still not sure why Canon dropped this feature, I loved it. The camera basically focused wherever you were looking. Anyway, this was the time that I started really learning about photography. ISO, Aperture, Shutter Speed. The exposure triangle...

Exposure Triangle

I stuck with this for a few years until I was convinced that digital was around to stay. I then sold the 50 and replaced it with a D50. I loved it. I took it with me everywhere. Every holiday I had a massive bag with lenses, flash, tripod etc. It became my cabin luggage and anything that didn't fit around it went in the hold.

That was also the problem. It became too much, it took over holidays, it wasals very heavy. So, with a heavy heart I sold it...all of it. I replaced it was a new Nikon - a P900. It boasted the equivalent of 3000mm (yes - three THOUSAND) lens and the zoom was fantastic. I took this shot with it...

Nikon P900 Moon Shot

The problem was that the camera itself was too basic. To change the ISO was inside a menu. It wasn't too deep inside a menu but it was in a menu. It's a fundamental part of the triangle and the fact I had to go seraching for it grated! So once again I sold up. I bought an iPhone X and used that for a while as my sole camera. But I missed photography - real photography. So, I did my research. I wanted a camera that was the size of a compact but that acted like a DSLR. I found out that there was a range of EOS-M cameras, with no mirror so much smaller. I tried one out at the airport. I loved it. I soon bought one and have re-kindled my love of photography. So, this is where you'll find all my best photos. It's very much under construction right now but I promise it won't be for long!