Rekindling an old love affair is certainly one of the best feelings one could have and its exactly the way I feel right this moment. An opportunity arose and I picked up once again a Ricoh GRD III in essence once again substituting my now gone LX3.
Last year, I published “Stray Dog of Tokyo thoughts” which really helped set the tone into documentary photography. If you have not watch this great film of a living legend then I suggest you do. Stray Dog of Tokyo will give you a new perspectives into what documentary photography is all about. It is no secret my favorite street photographer is Daido Moriyama. Something happened to me when I discovered Daido, all of a sudden I discovered a whole new world. A world in which everything is fair game and the need to document my surroundings was now an actual genre I wanted to dive in. His famous quote resonates in mind as I photograph; so much, I decided to make a translation in japanese as the site’s header banner and off course its own category titled appropriately — The Daido Effect. For me, photography is not a means by which to create beautiful art, but a unique way of encountering genuine reality — Daido Moriyama
We are all inspired by something or someone. I certainly remember my first exposure to photography back in 1994 when I took a few photography classes including the “history of photography“. I’ll never forget the text we used “Looking at Photographs” by John Szarkowski. The book had all the greats. Then early last year, my love affair with this craft got rekindled in the digital world. I began to photograph digitally and the rest is history as they say. I then discovered Daido Moriyama and he quickly became an idol for me. He’s use of a small compact to document his surroundings was not only visually stimulating but also philosophically as well. A small camera is unobtrusive and barely noticeable by people, if anything, you’ll pass by as a tourist photographer who’s just happy to be there(wherever you happen to be).
I recently received an email about what I’m doing with the Ricoh GRD III and questions of the sort as: 1. How is it? 2. What settings etc. So I figured I’d write a post with one of the styles I’m currently using, we’ll call it “Daido Style.”
Recently, I’ve been getting inspired dramatically by Daido Moriyama. I’m actively watching his great documentary “Stray Dog of Toyko” and his insights into this craft are really pure gold. He’s whole detached attitude towards recording life as it is, is truly magnificent. I recently published a quote from Moriyama on my blog which made me really reflect. When I edited this image, I then understood what he’s quote meant. He’s quote said: “Photos are not only the images you consciously take . . . once you recognize them as photos, these are photos.” – Daido Moriyama “Stray Dog of Tokyo” So, food for thought togs, enjoy this holiday weekend.
The proverbial feeling of being young and aloof. Today was my first true day with the Ricoh GRD III and I must say I’m truly impressed. I’ve never gotten closer with any camera before and gotten shots like the ones from today. I’ll be uploading them little by little but I definitely have some keepers, quite a few in my book. I’m very impressed with the quality of the jpeg compression on how well they output a very rich and contrasty color. Mind you, I was not using the High Contrast mode.
Ledesma Photography 