What do you do when you’re totally distracted by domestic things over which you’ve no control? When you have no option but to sit and wait and see what happens? If you’re like me you pick up the nearest camera and pop out for a walk. Which is what I did at the end of last week whilst number two daughter was in hospital for the birth of her second child.
My “rule” for impromptu wanders is to grab the nearest camera and on that day it was the Fuji X-Pro1 with a 35mm lens. However, sitting on the table next to it was a GoPro Fusion 360 degree camera that I was charging in order to make sure it was still working before my (fingers crossed) short break at the end of this month. I don’t use it very often but it’s a fun camera that I like to take with me when I go away. I slipped it in my bag too.
I promised the wife I’d be back within the hour and drove down to the local canal, parking a ten minute walk from a small patch of woodland that I often wander through with a camera. Approaching through the trees the first thing I noticed was the bluebells. Not as many as in previous years but a pleasant surprise; what with the pandemic and everything I’d forgotten it was bluebell time.
I took a few images with the X-Pro1 but wasn’t really “feeling” it, I was probably too distracted by other things. So, I pulled the GoPro from the bag and carefully placed it amongst the bluebells being careful not to trample any of the delicate flowers. The camera is controlled via a smartphone and seeing the live feed quickly absorbed me as it always does. This isn’t a first choice camera but when I do use it I never fail to get fully immersed in what I’m doing.
Half a dozen compositions with the GoPro and it was time for me to start walking back to the car if I was to keep my promise to be back within the hour. I couldn’t resist a couple more though and placed the camera in the branches of a tree and did something I very rarely do … a selfie!
I’ve used several 360 cameras over the last couple of years and without exception have found the post-processing part every bit as much fun as taking the images in the first place. Which is very unlike me. This can be done on the computer and in my view this gives the highest quality files BUT playing with the images on my phone or tablet seems to me to be very much in keeping with the ethos of the camera and how its used.
So there you have it. Photography doesn’t always have to be a “serious” pursuit, and in fact having a bit of fun with it can help distract you from other matters when needed.
Oh, nearly forget, we have our first granddaughter – mother and baby both doing well.
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