Hello everyone from Seefeld, in Tirol, Austria
I'm here on a beautiful, sunny, but very, very chilly fall day
I'm just walking around here and taking random photos of this beautiful place
Of course, I'm using the compact camera I've been using for the last 2 months
Today, I wanted to talk about it a little bit
I wanted to share what it's been like to shoot with a camera without a viewfinder
It just has the LCD screen
For 2 months exclusively
because it's really changed the way I take photos and the way I make images
During the last few months, I've been trying to apply
some principles from street photography to my very own photography
that is more landscapes, and dare I say, fine art
as opposed to the more traditional way to approach that photography
that is more contemplative and slowing down
a much slower process, taking your time in adjusting the camera, and the settings
I just bring my compact camera and I shoot whatever feels right at the moment
without thinking too much
and I use the spare time that I have from not thinking, not messing with the camera
to take in all the smells, and sounds, and textures, and colors, and whatnot around me
I find that compact cameras play a very important role when it comes to this approach
Daido Moriyama is a japanese street photographer, and he said this
I tend to agree with him after 2 months shooting with just the LCD screen on the back of my camera
We usually pay attention to the fine details, the sharpness, the focus
But those things aren't enough to make a great image
Looking at the image from farther away as if it were a thumbnail
We forget about those things and start seeing the basic shapes that are in play in a composition
It can also show you the way to edit the image
Daido was talking about SLRs
Beautiful, but loud
Daido was talking about SLRs vs the compact cameras that he was using
He was using film cameras with a viewfinder, but he rarely used it
and when he did, it's not like an SLR where you get what you see because you are seeing through the lens
the LCD screen shows you exactly what you are getting
but at least on my cameras, I don't get all the details
I don't get the same detailed view that I get from the viewfinder
I love my Bronica's viewfinder, when you use a viewfinder like that
it's like getting inside the image, you are there and you can see it
The problem with that, as Daido put it, is that you start worrying about things like proper focus
proper composition, you start doing many adjustments to the image that you are seeing there
It's very easy to get lost in that, to get distracted and to get isolated
from the environment that surrounds
you might even miss images that are happening around you because you are inside that other image
I don't think that either approach is better or worse
in the end, the images that I'm getting might be very similar anyway
I've been liking this approach a lot, of not using a viewfinder
and shooting nature and landscapes as it was street photography
I'd encourage you to give this a try: next time you are out shooting, don't use the viewfinder
and use just the LCD screen on your camera
If it has one, if it doesn't, well just don't use anything
The Sun is setting really quick behind the mountains
so I'm gonna move on to a different location
It's very close to here, it's a location that I found yesterday
It's a beautiful spot and it's a beautiful shot
I took a couple shots yesterday during sunset, and I wanted to give it another try
Today is the perfect time, so let's do it
Isn't this spot the coolest?
I think I got a better shot yesterday
the light was better and there were not so many clouds like today
but it's so beautiful around here, man
it's like a photographer placed that church right there