A camera is a good travel companion. It's fun to think about what kind of equipment to bring. And, every time I end up carrying more than necessary and suffer from the weight. I'm sure you have similar experiences. I wish I could reduce and reorganize my equipment, but you know, it's not easy.
This time, however, I renounced such worldly desires, and decided to go on several short trips with just one camera, the GR. I could reduce my luggage because I don't need interchangeable lenses. I put my watch on my wrist. I threw my wallet, my handkerchief, and my paperback into the bag. Now, all that's left is to decide on the destination.
( Photo & Text : Naz )
Traveling by train is great because you can enjoy the scenery while eating bento. Actually, I had some beer, and had a snooze until I arrived at the destination. I got off the train and I picked up my camera and started to wander. It's best to walk if you want to know about the city and take photography.
The borderline between the ocean and the sky was getting seamless, and the subject floated in the monotonous world. You can't see the distant objects in the dense mist, but you should be excited about it because you can shoot something different. This unpredictability is another reason I love photography.
Because I had been using the GR Digital series, sometimes I wasn't very comfortable with some little differences in the GR. Although it looks and operates like the GRD, it's a whole new camera. There're some immaturities compared to the GRD series that had been improved for years. At the same time, this big change brought significant gains.
We always want to shoot whenever we are moved. We can't enjoy traveling if we're always hunting for decisive photographic moments. Because my main activity was traveling, the GR became a nice companion. It was so discreet and natural that I sometimes forgot that I was using a camera. I felt like the visual signals received by my eyes are directly transferred to my fingertip on the shutter button. By this integration, I could capture the scenes before my eyes so naturally just like I was breathing. I would say the GR is a wirepuller between the subject and the photographer. Isn't it another way of how a camera should be?
Put only what you need into your bag. Put the GR into your pocket. As long as I can be free from my daily life and I can travel light, I can head for anywhere.
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