Recent Camera Purchase & Photography Inspiration

[Laszlo]

I once had a passion for photography that ran very deep. I wasn't the next big thing, but I loved it, more than anything, and did it for self-pleasure. I got lucky and got published a few times in some major magazines, sold some work, won a bunch of awards, it was awesome.

But then one day, I woke up and decided I was done - sold it all. Twenty-years messing around with every type of camera you could imagine. I think in that 20-years, I had at least 20 different systems. Used slide film, to pull film, to large and medium format. Had my own darkroom. Dabbled in enough chemicals to shorten my lifespan, I'm sure of it.

It was a bitter sweet goodbye - and I didn't care. The only photos I took were on my mobile phone, mostly of my son... and lots of watch selfies. I just didn't like it anymore.

Well, about a month ago I woke up... and suddenly, felt this need to get back into it. And I owe this to a talented member named Cruvon! He simply asked for some photography advice. I remember his first thread on the subject, Street Photography, and I tried so hard to ignore it, but was curious. After reading his post and responding, seeing how darn passionate he is, it inspired me to get involved in it again. And his recent work is awesome!!! Talk about growth.

Rather than going out and getting a crazy new kit, I decide I wanted a simple, and to the point, compact camera. After a month of research, from the Fuji X100T, to the X-T1, Nikon 1 v3, to entry-level Leica's, I decided on a the Leica X (typ 113.) I owned a few amazing Leica's years ago so felt it was the best direction. Strangely, it was the Leica philosophy that inspired me the most, versus an insane system with eight lenses, insane speed, etc..

Finally got her yesterday - fired her up on the way home from work, took a few snapshots, and did some light post editing today. I know my story probably means very little to most of you - but this is a big step for me to get back into something I truly love, and I am thankful for the forces that inspired me to get back into it.

Here's a pic of the camera (from the internet) and some snapshots on my ride home yesterday. I got the same exact camera in the silber color, with the brown, unfortunately the EVF was extra - but well worth it - and a much needed tool for me.