Less gear, more photos, more keepers

Hi, I’m Jon. I’m an amateur photographer originally from the UK, but living in Mallorca, Spain, for the last 14 years. Right now, I’m the head chef with the catering company I run with my wife, but 44 years into this life, I’m still not sure what I want to be when I grow up. My hobbies other than photography include sailing, surfing, scuba diving, teaching the piano, hiking and generally anything other than sitting around the house. Travel is high on the list of things I love to do, but a lot of that was done when I was younger and, frustratingly, before I got into photography. I spent a year and a half in SE Asia, backpacked around Central America and travelled across China 20 years ago, and when I think of the shots I’ve missed it eats me up! I still get away, but with work, a teenage son & a very large, very needy dog, for the time being it’s for fleeting trips rather than months away. When we go away now, as they’re shorter trips, I’m quite obsessive about scouting out locations and spend an obscene amount of time online or staring at the screen on PhotoPills.

I bought my first “real” camera (a Nikon bridge camera) around 10 years ago and then progressed to an Olympus E-PL9 when I wanted something more capable for travelling around with. When Covid hit, our business took a hard pause, and I looked into the idea of shooting some real estate photography for a side income. For some ill-conceived reason, I had it in my head that this sort of thing needed a more serious looking camera, so I moved to a Nikon D7500 DSLR. Time passed, the world kept turning, and business picked up again. I parked the real estate idea and the world thankfully missed out on my mediocre photos of rich peoples villas. Photography could stay a hobby.

I loved the big Nikon (Nikki) for a few years. It was reassuringly robust and chunky in my hands and honestly, it made me feel like a better photographer simply by being a big & beefy bit of kit that kind of announced itself as being a real photographer’s camera. After a while though I began to get a bit tired of the heavy bag, the fact that my hand luggage on a flight was 100% camera and lenses, and I started to leave it at home more often than taking it with me. I’d miss out on some amazing shots simply because I didn’t have it with me, and when I did take it, I’d often resent it for being that bit bigger and heavier. I always took it to the weddings that we catered where I’d sneak out of the kitchen to take some candid shots for socials, but generally felt a bit conspicuous pulling out the Nikon and a 300mm lens for shots from a distance. The camera itself wasn’t actually that enormous in the grand scheme of things, but with the larger lenses and my constant, crippling fear of missing out on some incredible shot that rarely materialized, my lens collection grew whilst my overall enjoyment shrank.

By this point my teenage son had his hands on my old Olympus PEN, and when we went to the Azores on holiday, he had the Olly and I had Nikki. He had a small bag with a 14-42mm pancake & the plastic fantastic 40-150 telephoto. I lumbered up and down hills with my backpack of kit, whilst he just popped out the little Olympus and snapped away. When we got home and uploaded everything to Lightroom, depressingly, his photos were great.

I started looking around for a new camera system and actually chose the OM-1, not just because I’d had great experiences with Olympus before, but because no other camera system had a lens lineup that made sense to me, plus I don’t buy into the idea that you need a full-frame sensor or 40+MP to take great images! The best camera is simply the one that best fits your needs. The camera store was pushing a Fujifilm or a Sony A7III, but I realistically couldn’t afford the expense or the weight of a bag full of glass. I also loved the idea of the built-in ND filter, weather sealing, and live composite features.

With the OM-1, I’ve got the 12-40mm f2.8 PRO, the 60mm macro, the 14-150mm f4.0-5.6 II and the 75-300mm. I’m currently part way into the agonising process of deciding between the Laowa 7.5mm, the Panasonic Leica 9mm and the Panasonic 7-14mm f4.0 for some wide-angle action. I’d love the Olympus 7-14mm, but it’s more than I need right now. Over analysing and second guessing fairly inconsequential decisions being one of my hallmark features, this could go on for some time. A big advantage of the smaller M43 system is that I get to carry around pretty much everything I need for most types of photography in a small bag, without compromising on image quality, for not too big a pile of cash. With the IBIS on the OM-1, I rarely even need a tripod, which is a game changer when you’re walking around all day.

I think for me, photography is as much about a way of seeing the world as it is about taking pictures. I’m easily bored, and being on a small island like Mallorca for a long period of time, you get tired of the same old scenes pretty quickly, so you have to adapt and try to find the beauty in smaller or less obvious scenes. I don’t see the point of just standing in somebody else’s footsteps and clicking the shutter to recreate something you’ve seen countless times before. Likewise, I don’t really prefer any one particular style of photography. I used to think I was into landscapes, but when I look through my catalogue that just isn’t the case. I particularly love the work of artists like Alan Schaller, Fan Ho, Bill Eggleston & Todd Hido, as well as the quiet landscapes of Ante Badzim (who shoots Olympus!), Adam Gibbs & Mark Littlejohn. I also love the tree photography of Beth Moon and the paintings of Edward Hopper. I wish I could see the world as they do / did.

I love the idea of photography being something that’s just, well, good for you. I’m much more likely to go off wandering if I’ve got my camera. It’s a safe space where you can just be creative in your own time and if you get some keepers, then awesome. If you get home, upload 200 images to Lightroom and delete them all, then that sucks, but it’s ok too. Over time, my keeper rate has improved and I’m happier with my work now than I was a few years ago, but I know I’ve got a long road to travel and that the OM-1 will be there for the ride.