I am terrible at blogging when I really shouldn’t be. I love to talk. I love photography. I love talking to people about photography. So why is it so goddamned hard to sit down and write about it? I think over the past few years I let it become a chore, and there is nothing like consistency to kill creativity even if it isn’t bad. There has also been a few life events that kept me busy some terrible, some mundane, but honestly I am happy, which doesn’t make it easy to create when my original goal for my art was anger, depression, and whole host of other negative emotions I was looking to share in an aesthetic manner. Recently things have begun to change for the better though. I realized that i relied too heavily on others to help me create art, ie models, artist, and fellow creators. I was so disappointed and disheartened when I couldn’t wrangle those elements into what I needed. So what’s the solution? Find beauty in real life, not posed and forced creativity. Enter the Ricoh Gr IIIx.
I purchased it on a whim, after reading some glowing reviews online and on Reddit about how it was the perfect amalgamation of portability and power. After just a few short days, I get it. I really do, the camera is not without its flaws but honestly they’re easy to overlook when it fits on my sling in a small pouch with 3 batteries and a compact wireless flash system. I recently read a great statement for all photographers “f8 and be there“ and that resonated with me, be so often I get stuck in the mentality of chasing perfection when in reality that meant I wasn’t experiencing the opportunities life was placing before me. I was living from behind the lens. Don’t get me wrong I love my Gfx-100ii and it without a doubt is my workhorse. But its not dissimilar from using an rpg to go rabbit hunting, by the time you’re ready to fire the moments has passed, and sure maybe you’ll get lucky and make content but there’s not much left after the fact. The Ricoh is small unobtrusive and very capable. It’s always with me, when the moment strikes it’s precise, quick, and gets the job done without a fuss. I’m sure all this has been said before of the camera as it has been out for quite a while but I’m saying it again. While I haven’t spent a huge amount of time without it, I am understanding why its a mainstay of the street photography community, and it 100% deserves to be.
Here is the very first image I took with the GrIIIx a quick snapshot that otherwise would have gone unmemorialized, a small moment between two men, who despite being generations apart have managed to become friends.
These shots are just things I notice have their own simplistic beauty. I’m totally plagiarizing Secret life of Walter Mitty, but something’s don’t ask for attention but they’re beautiful none the less. The colors, the birds wheeling over head, the light hitting the right things to create color cast. Life is just intoxicating when you let it be and just experience it.
Another huge reason I was specifically interested in the GrIIIx in particular was the 40mm lens. It seems perfect for capturing food photography especially with its macro capabilities. Obviously it’s not gfx100ii quality but the colors are great and it’s with me. Food is art especially when you decide to invest in better quality restaurants and its a shame that more often than not the quality and colors literally turn to shit with nothing more than a passing appreciation of the flavor. Cell phones are often used to capture food photos but for me I find it to be a distraction and just a good enough method to capture those moments. There is something about having a camera in hand, albeit a petite one, that helps to drive me to create something I can appreciate later and that I feel comfortable sharing with others.
So this wasn’t a review, or was it. All I know is I’m happy to be able to have something that I feel comfortable with and that helps me create again. There’s always the right tool for the job. Thanks Ricoh for making this one. Also this little TTartisan Flash is bitching.