Welcome to snowhenge dot net. Photography & other stuff by David Mantripp
Photoblogography
When I’m in the zone with the Hasselblad X1Dii, it’s really something else. The look of shots on the luxuriously huge, contrasty rear screen convince me that we’re really on a different level here. That yes, this is worth 4x or 6x or whatever times the price of the Olympus OM-1. Even when downloading and editing, the feeling remains, and hitting zoom at 100% reveals the incredible level of detail. I’m convinced I have photos here I could not have taken with any other camera (well, yeah, ok, there is the dp0 Quattro sitting on the shelf over there). This gear-induced high continues, urging me once again to consider the unthinkable upgraded to an X2D. And then…
…and then I compare a shot to a similar one taken on a far more humble camera 10 years older.
Is it worth it? Is it really? It is. It must be. Mustn’t it?
Despite alarmingly expanding numbers of tourists, Madeira is still a magical place. I’ve just got back from my last visit, and the next one is all arranged. It’s not just about photography, in fact photography is rather peripheral. I’m not sure just how feasible it is to really capture the essence of highland Madeira, with it’s other-worldly peaks, the remnants of the ancient laurisilva forest, the natural and man-made waterways, the wild weather, all of it. Madeira has certainly climbed up the ranking of trendy destinations recently, and has attracted YouTube wannabe photo-influencers, although thankfully so far not to saturation level. But I’m afraid that could soon change. And why not - Madeira is a dream destination for travel/adventure/landscape photographers, especially those who don’t mind a bit of a challenge (both physically and photographically).
During the second half of the past year I have had quite a pivot towards film photography. I’m not sure why, but maybe I just find it more creative, especially working in my local area (air travel with film is not something I’m planning on returning to). The most significant evidence for this is my acquisition of a Hasselblad 501 CM, which so far I don’t regret. But following along with my usual philosophy of never avoiding unnecessary complexity, I am now working with 3 film formats (35mm, 35mm pano and 6x6) and 4 camera systems. For 35mm I have always had at least one compact camera alongside my Olympus OM kit, and since the mid 1990s I’ve usually had a Minox lying around somewhere. So I thought it was about time to dedicate a blog post to Minox 35mm cameras.
Generally I’ve stayed away from writing too much about gear in recent years, but finally it seems to be what people want to read, so while I have no interest or skill in objective testing (haha), if I’ve got something subjective to say, that might be of wider interest, why not.
So, today I’m going to write about a lens I have quite literally just received, the (deep breath) Laowa MFT 6mm f2.0 C&D-Dreamer lens by Venus Optics. I’ve been eyeing ultra wide angle primes for a while, to complement or sometimes replace my Olympus 8-25 f/4, and while the Lumx 9mm was a strong candidate, it seemed more sensible to go for something wider. I would echo what others have said - if you’re interested in an ultra wide prime for Micro Four Thirds, just stop reading already and buy this one (although finding it may be a little tricky).