I have created this Flickr page as a tool to aid my photography journey. I am exploring how to translate the world into photographs, which are not only representations of space, but a representation of time as well. The translation of a moving three dimensional world into a timeless projection.

I have spent considerable time exploring the capabilities of my cameras, studying their ability of visual rendering. My purpose is not to find "what's best in life", posturings about who has better camera gear leaves me completely cold and just reminds me of insecure adolescents who have yet to come to their gender roles. My purpose is entirely the understanding of what is happening inside the camera, how does the lens contribute to what we see, and most importantly, how can I shape it, and where does it shine truly.

I was not born as a genius with a photographic eye. You can see a lot of photos of mine are no better than what most take. Yet, I am committed to a path of exploration, and photographing what brings me joy. Creating snapshots of the world around me. Taking notice of the little things in life, that we take for granted. I want to portray the ordinary, that which I see every day, at an angle that portrays timelessness, and capture the beauty which surrounds me.

About my camera gear progression: I have always been using Canon. (Don't get me wrong, I'd love to have a Nikon D800/D700/D600/Z7/ZF or a Fuji GFX...) Started with a Canon A20 in the early 2000s after a few years with film. After losing the A20 on a beach, got an A610 (point and shoot), and then the 20D with the Nifty fifty which was a huge jump. Sadly, my good trusty 20D has passed away a few years ago - shutter died, the dreaded "20D shutter lag". Even motherboard surgery at home failed to revive it... which was required as Canon discontinued support of this old yet fabulous camera. I know, there are much more expensive and much highly regarded cameras out there, yet the 20D created fantastic images which have always been captivating me. Although at that time I mostly just moped that I do not have a 5D mark II nor any L lenses... However, I have learned that you need to know how to work around the cameras limitations. They are always so secondary compared to my own limitations as a photographer. Just avoid forcing your camera to operate the way it was not intended to operate... and it is guaranteed that it is still a wonderful camera, if it was wonderful 5, 10, 20 years ago.

The 5D classic is the full-frame version of the 20D. They have the same sensor technology / sensor generation, and color science / IQ / menu system, and perhaps more importantly, the same camera handling experience. For those who want the 5D classic look, but are on a tight budget: this is the camera for you! It looks and feels almost exactly the same as the 5D classic, with an extra x1.6 reach. When they are next to each other I have to look hard to see which one I grabbed. (Exact same menu system and button layout. 20D has a built in pop-up flash, and has a smaller screen, but otherwise no differences... they even use the same battery and have the same color science.)

I love prime lenses, my prime prime for long time was the EF 50mm f1.8/II - the venerable Nifty fifty.

As I said, I did not start out with real talent / eye to catch the essence... my photographer friends can snap any day a better shot with a cellphone than I could come up with a good camera. No camera changes that, although I have noticed that with experience I have been improving constantly.

For many years I have not made photos after the 20D stopped working. However, I felt the call again, and got an M50 Mark II at the end of 2022. I had the 15-45 kit lens which is super practical (light, small, and has image stabilization as well) but kind of not exactly sharp and has bland colors. King of practicality, but falls short on rendering. I got the absolutely tiny pancake lens EF-M 22mm, which is my most practical lens for this camera as a super-portable tiny package that's no bother to grab. It is an understatement how convenient the M50 is with this pancake lens, the size of a point and shoot. I can take it anywhere - and the humble tiny camera you got on you is a million times better than the fantastic big camera that is not with you when you need it. Got a Viltrox speed booster adapter for my EF 50mm, took a few photos with it (some are seen below), and then after that single session the lens died, even refused repairs. :( After surgery, it still functions as an 50mm manual focus lens stuck wide open.

I am quite satisfied with the ISO 100-200 performance of the M50: very good dynamic range (for my use, about 13 stops on paper at ISO100), vibrant colors with architecture and landscape, and very good resolution using all the pixels as information carriers with the EF-M 22mm lens. Skin tone and rendering, portraits - sadly it does not cut the mustard. Can be made acceptable after a lot of post processing, but mirrorless sensor level image processing makes you work hard for it.

However, I was not happy of how digital the files look when ISO gets past 200 - at the pixel level everything turns to nastiness. So, got M42 manual lenses (Takumar 50mm F1.4, Helios 44-2, MC Beroflex 28mm F2.8, Montgomery Ward 135mm F2.8). With these, the digital nasties were largely diasppearing and the photos I get with the M50 resemble more the old CMOS sensor technology output from the 20D / 10D / 5D. However, the manual focus aids are inadequate to me, and I keep on slightly missing the focal plane. With some lenses not so badly (Beroflex, Helios), with others most of the photos are next to unusable due to never nailing precise focus (Ward 135mmm).

The beginning of 2023 I got a 5D classic. Yes, I got it because YouTube videos were raving about how good the 5D is with vintage M42 lenses.... However, the manual lenses have very limited use with the 5D as there's no focusing aids. And that set me on a long journey of exploration.

There's always a new discovery to make regarding the application of these cameras (M50 mark II and 5D classic). One such discovery was that you can change the focusing screen on the 5D to a split screen, and can focus manually. Works pretty well, dependably down to about F2 or so. However, most M42 lenses push the rear element too much back into the camera, and when focused to infinity they hit the mirror. Depending on the lens, it happens after 5m - that is, most M42 lenses are generally usable as near-field lenses. Quite a pity.

After a year or so with the 5D, I also acquired a 10D out of curiosity in the beginning of 2024. I was very pleasantly surprised by that camera. It has serious limitations compared to the 20D which in practice are the much slower speed this camera operates at, but it has a fantastic unique rendering, and I love shooting with it. Not just love, but it made me a much better photographer, even more so than the 5D classic.

In 2025, my new adventure is with a serious zoom lens! The EF 28-80mm F2.8-4L ultrasonic, Canon's first L series lens (to my knowledge). Even though I love my prime lenses, (my favorites are the Sigma ART 35mm and the EF 85mm F1.8), I ran into the conundrum. When I had one with me, I would have needed the other... and, in addition, I started feeling the pangs of not having a 50mm lens anymore. The EF 28-80L is a solution for both issues. I think of it as an 50mm F4 lens that can flex between 28-80mm, and if needed, it can let in a little more light at the wider end. Throughout its zoom range its surprisingly sharp. AF is fast and precise. Colors and texture are superb. The only downside is that it does not have the Zeiss-like ultra-high microcontrast. However, mostly nothing has that exceptional microcontrast, except for the Zeiss lenses. And that's the next stage of my lens / camera journey, getting into Zeiss territory....

.. through the Contax Zeiss 80-200mm F4 Vario-Sonnar lens. Some say it's one of the finest manual focus zoom lenses ever made. Well, I do say it is surprisingly sharp, as good as having prime lenses accross its entire zoom range. Despite being F4, the spatial rendering is exceptional, the images are more authentic, three dimensional than with much shallower depth of field with my other lenses.