Remembering Kevin Carter

Photography recently has become too glamourous.  It’s easy to forget the era when photography was mostly left to the press and other professionals.  In fact it wasn’t even that long ago when photography was a constant reminder of the shit that happens around the world.  These days, with the cheery family photos, instagram posts of cats and those damn selfies, it’s no surprise we forget the power that a strong photograph has.

Maybe what makes a great picture is one that asks a question, you know?  It’s not just a spectacle, it’s more than that.  I think mine was like that, and Greg’s too.  You go out and you see bad things, evil things, and you want to do something about it so what you do is you take the picture that shows it.  But not everybody is going to like what they see, you have to understand that they might want to shoot the messenger.

– Kevin Carter

This, of course is Kevin Carter’s pulitzer prize winning photograph.

Kevin Carter, Pulitzer Prize winning photograph taken in South Sudan 1993.

I’ll start with the condemnation that Carter got for taking this photo and not intervening/helping the child in the photo.  Make no mistake, living through the times of the apartheid and documenting the combat, casualties and horror took their toll on Kevin Carter.  On 27 July 1994 Carter committed suicide, not a direct result of this photograph but it was certainly contributed.  Part of his suicide note read

I am depressed … without phone … money for rent … money for child support … money for debts … money!!! … I am haunted by the vivid memories of killings and corpses and anger and pain … of starving or wounded children, of trigger-happy madmen, often police, of killer executioners … I have gone to join Ken if I am that lucky

This photograph is nothing short of amazing.  The composition, framing, exposure it all comes together perfectly in this shot.  This photo did more for the world than any other photo in its time.  When this photograph won the Pulitzer Prize, it raised the issue of famine and poverty around the world to everyone with access to a newspaper or magazine.

The truth is hard to face for a lot of people, and many were angry about the state of the world.  They just took out their anger on the wrong person.  Questions were asked about the outcome of the child in the photo, and why he didn’t intervene when he could have just picked her up and taken her to a safe place.  I won’t say if what he did was right or wrong, and I certainly can’t say what I would have done in his situation.

What it clear is that the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) code of ethics states “while photographing subjects do not intentionally contribute to, alter, or seek to alter or influence events”.  At the very least he was working under the code of ethics for his profession.

While the fate of the child in the photo likely stayed the same, this photo did more than the simple act of bringing her to safety.  It brought the situation in Sudan uncomfortably close and it made you pay attention.  That, is what makes a great photograph.

The Bang Bang Club: Movie

If you are interested in learning more about Kevin Carter and his fellow photographers including fellow Pulitzer winner Greg Marinovich, the movie “The Bang Bang Club” is a great depiction of this true story.  It stars taylor Kitsch, Ryan Phillippe and Malin Akerman who all sport great South African accents and is centred around press photography like no other movie.  While depicting the difficulties, challenges, risks and rewards of war photography, there is a focus on real human emotions, real  events and real politics.  Having just finished watching it, I would strongly recommend it and I’ll probably watch it again.

Olympus M. Zuiko 75-300mm f4.8-6.7 II

I’ve had this lens for over a year now and I always get questions about it, questions like:

• Is it any good?
• Just how much zoom will it give me?
• Are the photos sharp?
• It seems a bit slow …
• Is it heavy, bulky etc?
• Was it expensive?
• When will I use such a long lens?

So I’ll address them from the beginning …

Is it any good?  In short, yes.

Olympus OM-D E-M5, M.Zuiko 75-300mm II

Just how much zoom will it give me?  A lot, but if you want to get technical about it, the M.Zuiko 75-300mm II is designed to be used on a micro 4/3 camera which means you effectively get 150-600mm focal range.  Think about that next time you go to shoot some wildlife!

Olympus OM-D E-M5, M.Zuiko 75-300mm II

Are the photos sharp? Sharp enough, and I only say that because I’m generally very picky with my lenses.  For a sub $1000 lens that gives me this kind of reach I’ll definitely be less picky.  In saying that, I have absolutely no issues with it’s sharpness and when combined with the Olympus IBIS I can get the photos I need.

Olympus OM-D E-M5, M.Zuiko 75-300mm II

It seems a bit slow … First of all I don’t know if you’re asking a question or making a statement.  Since there was no question mark I’ll address it as a statement.  Yes, f4.8-6.7 is VERY slow, even for a zoom lens of this range.  The panasonic equivalent is comparably faster.  However, I can compensate for that with a combination of the great IBIS and high ISO performance of my E-M5.  So, no, it’s not a problem for me.

Olympus OM-D E-M5, M.Zuiko 75-300mm. Dark conditions, long focal length, small aperture, yet somehow the camera and lens combination does exactly what I need.

Is it heavy, bulky?  No, especially not when I’ve been used to carrying a Canon EF 70-200mm f2.8L IS USM.  It all depends on what you’re used to, being a long time DSLR user, I doubt anything in the m43 or Sony CSC range will make me complain about weight/bulk.  Plus, if you can’t put up with the weight of the gear you need then maybe it’s not for you.

Was it expensive? If I remember correctly I paid around $550AUD for it, to me that was a very cheap price for what this lens is.  It’s significantly cheaper than the original version which was priced around $999 and this price is what I would expect for a m43 lens of this calibre.

When will I use such a long lens?  The photos in this post should answer your question, I mostly use it for wildlife, especially birds.  If you are of the stalker type (I don’t judge) then I suppose you can use it for that.  However I would not recommend it for any situation darker than a cloudy day.

Olympus OM-D E-M5, M.Zuiko 75-300mm II.  Long focal length makes it ideal for bird photography (during the day).

So there you go!  If you need a super long lens and own a m43 system, go out and buy this because this is one of the few lenses that are stopping me from selling my Olympus kit since buying the Sony kit.  You can get more detailed information about the lens here and here.  This was more of an informal Q&A but I can always go into more detail with it later on if you like.

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Sony a7: Initial Impressions

In my last post I mentioned that I bought a Sony a7.  There certainly was a lot of hype regarding the camera prior to release, most of it justified.  The biggest thing about it is the sensor, literally and figeratively.  The Sony a7 has a 24.3 MP full frame CMOS sensor, yes, full frame.  Yes that sensor makes the 21MP full frame sensor on my Canon 5D MKII look fairly ordinary.  Don’t take my word for it though, I’ll let the photos in this post speak for themselves, then you can make up your own mind about this camera.

Of course it’s not all about the body, in fact I’m a strong supporter of camera gear being the least important part of creating a photograph.  I’ve had a lot of people ask me what I plan to do with all my Canon lenses, luckily Metabones figured that out for me.  I picked up my Metabones EF-FE smart adapter III on eBay for about $320 AUD.  Certain companies were giving them away as part of a promotion when purchasing a Sony a7 or a7r body only, lucky for me a lot of the people who bought these bodies already own the adapter!  When I went to featherdale wildlife park this was the perfect opportunity to test out a few aspects of this camera.

My kit on the day included:

– Sony a7 body

– Sony FE 28-70 f3.5-5.6

– Metabones smart adapter III

– Tamron 90mm f2.8 macro (EF mount)

Part of the small kit was because the Sony FE range is still really limited, plus I’ve been making a conscious decision to pack “light” and “worry less” about the photography.  I guess I’ll reflect on this strategy in a few months and see if I’m better or worse for it.

One thing I did notice, was that I was able to capture more candid moments on the fly.  I’m re-educating myself on the importance of making a limited amount of gear work for you and the situation that you’re in.  Even though I took two lenses with me on the day, I found that the only lens I used was the Tamron 90mm.  Sharp lens, autofocus worked slowly with the metabones adapter, but thanks to “focus-peaking” on the Sony a7 I was able to manual focus quickly and accurately.  There wasn’t a point when I thought I was missing out or hindered by a fixed focal length or a manual focus lens (surprising but true).

Back to the camera, the body feels rugged and it held up pretty well during a light shower on the day.  Focus peaking worked like a charm, if you haven’t seen it in action, I recomment youtubing it because it opens up a whole new world of manual focusing without having to mess with focusing screens and magnification.

The camera itself it highly customisable, there are 3 custom function features as well as 12 customisable on screen sections for quick access to most useful functions.  The camera looks great, it’s a bit like an Olympus OM-D E-M5 with a facelift and rebranding.  My only criticism, and it’s a slight one, is that the shutter button is in a slightly awkward place.  If it was moved back a cm or so it would have been a lot more natural, but you can easily get used to it.  Plus for all the great things Sony has done with this camera I’ll forgive them for this minor infraction.

The biggest and greatest advantage however, is it’s size.  Aside from being the first full frame compact system camera (Leica’s fall under a different category for me), the fact that it packs the kind of features, quality, and processing power that it does in a body so small is impressive.

Like I said in the last post, having the OM-D and the Sony a7 means I no longer need to carry around 10-15kg of gear every time I want to go take photos.  I’m not saying you have to do so with DSLR’s, but when you have a lot of lenses that you paid plenty of money for, you tend to feel guilty if you don’t bring them.

Which brings me to the last part …