I’ve received some inspiration from a couple of sources this week. Firstly it was the 50th Anniversary of the launch of the Olympus OM 1, a hugely innovative camera that inspired much love and devotion. It would be 10 years after its introduction that I would get my own and it propelled me into a life long love affair with Olympus cameras and lenses. The anniversary sent me looking back through my photo archives for images made with it and I decided to write a blog about it.
My second source of inspiration for this blog entry comes from a blog I’ve been following for a while – coronet66. Every Thursday he puts up photos he’s taken of doors. Now I’ve got to admit a certain fondness for taking pictures of doors and gates. So I thought I’d put up a few pictures of doors I’ve taken with my OM1.
This was taken in Amsterdam in January 1986. I remember precisely as I was on honeymoon. I was intrigued at the sheer number of doorbells. Olympus OM1n with Sigma 28mm f2.8 lens using Agfachrome CT400.
Friends of mine used to live in this cottage on the Goodwood Estate in West Sussex. Olympus OM1n with Olympus 35-105 lens using Fujichrome RP50 which was the precursor to Velvia.
The Bull Dog Cafe in Amsterdam. January 1986.
Carmelite Nunnery in Palma, Majorca. Originally taken on Fujichrome RP50 but converted to black and white in AlienSkin Exposure 4.
An old abandoned Venetian style house boarded up. Santorini.
Hanuman Dhoka is a complex of structures with the Royal Palace of the Malla kings and also of the Shah dynasty in the Durbar Square of central Kathmandu, Nepal.
Chichester Cathedral, West Sussex, England. Olympus OM2n with Sigma 28mm f2.8 lens with Cokin Pink Graduated filter. Fujichrome 100. 1986.
I lived in Chichester, West Sussex, for 16 years and the cathedral was an ever-present presence. It has dominated the town and much of the surrounding countryside for nearly a thousand years and from the moment I took up photography I tried unsuccessfully to capture its likeness. Each time I tried I felt I got nowhere near what I felt it meant to me. I left England in 1988 and moved to Australia, but I continue to visit as I have friends and family there. Each time I visit Chichester I have another crack at the Cathedral
Chichester Cathedral viewed from the behind the gates of the Deanery. Chichester, West Sussex, England. Olympus OM4 with Olympus Zuiko 35-105mm lens. Fujichrome 100. Scanned and converted to black and white using SilverEfx. 1991.
The pictures here represent several attempts over the years from the mid 1980’s Cokin filter phase to the start of the digital revolution in 2007. I have more, older and more recent (I figured there’s a limit to many I can post!) but none of them capture what I think is the essence of the building.
Chichester Cathedral, West Sussex, England. 2007 Canon EOS 300D DIGITAL with Sigma 18.0-50.0 mm f2.8 EX lens with circular polarizing filter.
The problem is that I am too familiar with it. I have a picture in my mind’s eye of what I think it should look like and that preconceived idea prevents me from exploring the possibilities. Next time I visit I’m going to have to put aside my preconceptions and actually work on getting the shot.
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