Cuban Salsero Daido Style
This particular shot was taken with the good ole Daido style, he had no idea.
This particular shot was taken with the good ole Daido style, he had no idea.
Welcome back old friend ― I missed you, somewhat.
When it comes to color photography color can be quite subjective. I suppose you can say the same thing for black and white photography but color is just a lot more difficult. Recently, I went with Isabel to eat dinner at the coyest little restaurant you’ll ever find in Coral Gables called “La Casita“(zagat rating) at the intersection of Galiano Street and SW 8th Street. The food was spectacular, I wasn’t in the mood to digest a huge meal so I went with the famous “pan con bistec” which translates to “bread with skirt steak” wrapped around an in house baked French bread, romaine lettuce, and the best tasting tomatoes you’ll ever had, a real treat to one’s taste buds for sure. Now that you have the preamble to the food, let’s move on the technical stuff. I photographed all these in the GR’s macro mode and I always shoot RAW + Fine. In talking with my online friend, Robert Boyer, a seasoned professional photographer, I told him if he wanted to mess with some …
Ok, I’m going to be the one to say it. The new aps-c Ricoh GR is NOT only a street photography camera folks. This new camera can do it all. Documentary, portrait & candids, abstract, and yes, the infamous street photography, it can do it all, so please folks open your imagination and step out of the box. I just hate encasing this little jewel as a one type of genre camera. This is flat out silly. I respect everyone’s perspective but saying that this camera is one type of camera is simply not true. As time permits, I’ll be doing some more extensive strobist work with the GR (pocket wizards are very top heavy, I have another solution coming soon) to show you what this camera can do.
Daido Moriyama once said “when I go out into the city I have no plan. I walk down one street, and when I am drawn to turn the corner into another, I do. Really I am like a dog. I decide where to go by the smell of things, and when I am tired, I stop.” Talk about simplifying things, it’s really that simple – trust your instincts, simplify your gear, and enjoy your photography. Some of my Favorite Ricoh GR articles Ricoh GR: Storytelling at its best Ricoh GR: Tribute to Daido Moriyama Ricoh GR: Love Letter to the GR Daido Moriyama uses the Ricoh GR Ricoh GR: My first gallery Ricoh GR: Street Photography Tutorial
Have you ever had a camera that screams at you “I can do it all!.” Well, I believe the Ricoh GR is one of them. I can do portraits, I can document inconspicuously, I can do street photography, what else do I want. Well, I have an idea, in my perfect world, I’d love a 85mm version of the Ricoh GR so I can do strict portraiture but I can’t have it all, though you have to admit, it would be nice. In the meantime, I have a perfectly capable Nikon dslr with a 50mm 1.8G that’s outstanding but I’m open to suggestions. Perhaps moving that part of my kit over to the Pentax-Ricoh side of things if they have something comparable in IQ and lens quality.
I just wanted to write a few words to tell you how I feel. I know its a bit soon but I can hardly contain the joy you bring to my life. I’ve dated many others and even fallen in love once or twice, but for some reason I feel this time is different. You’ve brought purpose and happiness to my life and work. I think about you all the time, when I’m not with you I feel a little something in heart ― I miss you. You’ve come to me at the right stage in my life and for that I want to tell you “thank you.” I promise to respect you, care for you, and always be by your side ― I love you GR. All photographs by Jorge Ledesma ― Ricoh GR ― Cross Process and BW effects in macro mode mostly, click images to view gallery.
These words ring so true when you really think about it. Anatomically, our eyes see a scene which our nervous system interprets as “whatever” the scene happens to be and as a result other neurons create a feeling or sensation. Here’s Daido expanding with a great quote. This is so pure gold. Each photograph is felt, but there isn’t just one reason for releasing the shutter—there are several reasons, even with a single exposure. The act of photographing is a physiological and concrete response but there is definitely some awareness present. When I take snapshots, I am always guided by feeling, so even in that moment when I’m taking a photograph it is impossible to explain the reason for the exposure. Something might, for example, seem erotic to me. That in itself is a gradation that contains a multiplicity of elements ― Daido Moriyama All photographs by Jorge Ledesma ― Ricoh GR ― click on the images to view them full screen