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Challenge: From a Distance III (Standard Editing)
Camera: Canon EOS-400D Rebel XTi
Lens: Tamron SP AF 28-75mm f/2.8 XR Di for Canon
Location: Como, Italy
Date: Dec 16, 2022
Aperture: 11.0
ISO: 200
Shutter: 1/25
Date Uploaded: Dec 16, 2022

 A fisherman on a quiet morning out on the lake before it will likely freeze for the rest of the winter.

Standard editing in Lightroom, adjustments to contrast, saturation and textures along with a vignette to focus the eye and bring down some of the brighter highlights at the edges.

The following info is the same as my submission for 'Stillness', due to the shots occurring in the same morning.

A successful morning on the lake today. I had intended to get up relatively early despite the snow to go and see if this little laghetto had frozen over, as it tends to do towards January and February.

In the end I was quite pleased it hadn't for two reasons, one because this fisherman provided the perfect focal point for the images (there was little fog on the lake, so my original ideas for the contests were adapted for him) and two because the reflections made everything look incredible and provided me with a lot more opportunity than if it had been frozen.

I have a lovely little anecdote from this shoot which I think is important and interesting for DPC members as we talk about attitudes to photography, technology and so on that I'll share here.

When we arrived specifically in this short window we had for me to get the photos, I switched on my camera to see the dreaded 'No Card Inserted' message. I'd forgotten to put it back in after yesterday's shoot for Liquid!

After an initial panic my wife reminded me that I could use her camera, tucked away in the same bag.

It was in fact my old camera, my 400d that I had picked up as a replacement for the original Fujifilm Finepix I used in all my previous DPC submissions back in 2004-2007, way back when I was just getting interested in photography and long before I would take a 15 year break from it.

I remember that in those days I dreamt of having a proper DSLR. The quality of submissions here at DPC with the Canon 300D and 10D were what inspired me to sign up and contribute in the first place, even though I had no idea what I was doing.

When I eventually moved to London and started working with cameras - TV cameras this time though - I finally picked up an 'old' 400D on eBay with the intention of finally having 'the right gear' to submit some great shots to DPC.

Well as you can see from my profile, that never happened. The camera, for whatever reason, sat in my cupboard for the best part of 13 years occasionally being brought out for a quick snap.

Fast forward to my current life, my business permitted me to rediscover photography out of necessity, and we picked up a 600D for the fact that it did video at 1080p which was the justification. My 'old' 400D became my wife's and my 600D became my main camera.

So today, after an initial moment of panic I 'had to' use the 400D for its intended purpose. And you know what? I'm so happy with the results. Yeah it lacks a live shooting mode and it's not quite as powerful as the 600D but it just made me think back to all those great DPCers from that 2004 era creating world-class content on a 300D and it seems absurd to think that a camera that is two generations more advanced than that would hold back my photography in some way.

It really isn't all about the gear eh?

Statistics
Place: 7 out of 24
Avg (all users): 6.7297
Avg (participants): 6.7143
Avg (non-participants): 6.7391
Views since voting: 324
Views during voting: 69
Votes: 37
Comments: 5
Favorites: 0

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AuthorThread
Sony Alpha a7R V
Sony FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM
 01/03/2023 03:21:39 AM
Lovely take on the distance theme, Anthony! I also love the reflection of the mountains.

And thank you for sharing the story and the thoughts about the "right" gear. Ins't there a saying, that a talented photographer can make interesting pictures with any camera whereas the best gear doesn't help if the photographer is not qualified?
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Fujifilm X-T30
Fujifilm XF 18-55mm f/2.8-4 OIS
 01/02/2023 09:25:23 PM
It was 8 from me and forgot to revisit my scores or it would have been 9.
I would have never guessed that it's Italy - never made it North of Milano - but took the marvelous train several times from Switzerland. Magical
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a1 II
Sony FE 200-600mm f/5.6-6.3 G OSS
 01/01/2023 11:17:37 AM
You're on a roll! This is so beautiful - it was an 8 from me
  Photographer found comment helpful.
 Comments Made During the Challenge
Canon Canon 1d x Mark II
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 FG HSM Art
 12/29/2022 07:47:35 AM
Stunning image from a similar location to the last, or possibly the same spot.

Beautiful edit.
  Photographer found comment helpful.
Sony Alpha a7R III
Sigma 85mm f/1.4 FG HSM Art
 12/25/2022 11:53:09 AM
wonderful!
  Photographer found comment helpful.
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