Hello from the Netherlands and South America

[Chow Monkey]

Well, my name is Sjoerd. I'm from Holland and just returned from a 3 month stay in Surinam which is in South America. I'm in the process of moving to this country so you will see both pics from Holland and Surinam.
At the moment I'm in Holland but end of februari I'll be back again in Surinam. My passion is documentary photography and especially streetphotography (street portraits).
When I have a planned shoot I use my Canon 5D. But when Olympus launched the E-P1 I was totally in love with the compact design and possibilities. I won't leave the dslr's for now but on my next trip to Surinam the 5D will stay at home and the Olympus will be my only compagnon. For that I'm going to order the 20mm f1.7 to get the best possible IQ.
I hope that in this community the quality of pictures are as important as geartalk. I even would prefer to have the pictures on #1 and geartalk on #2.
I already posted some samples of some work in my gallery I did with the E-P1 last couple of months.

 

[Streetshooter]

Welcome Home...
Don't sweat about photos first...this might be about m4/3 cameras...but it's a photography forum and that's what we all are...
shooters....

 

[Brian Mosley]

Welcome Sjoerd, and thank you for accepting my personal invitation... you will find that our focus is very much on making friends, helping each other and sharing our passion for photography.

We have a sand pit for comparative gear talk... where people can have frank discussions about their preferences without polluting the rest of the site fftopic:

Cheers

Brian

 

[Chow Monkey]

Nothing wrong with gear discussions :smile: I can't wait for more wideangle primes
But at the end it's all about the results you get

 

[BBW]

I'll add my welcome as well and many thanks for your album's photos which have a very real and strong feeling to them, which is not surprising given your clear interests. I look forward to seeing many more in the future as well!

 

[Amin Sabet]

Welcome Sjoerd!

I think that having members' albums linked from every post and prominently shown on the forum index is a good reminder of the point of the gear, but the gear itself is also interesting.

Personally, I think that so far we have a nice balance of photography and gear talk, and I'm optimistic that with effort from everyone, things will continue to develop along those lines.

 

[Chow Monkey]

You need gear to get the results. That's true. And when you're growing in your shooting you will notice that some "better" gear will help you getting the pics you want. Nothing wrong with that. I do the same. But getting more gear just because you think you will make good pictures is not the right way.
I made this fault when I just started. Bought and sold bodies and lenses almost every month in order to try to get my photography better. Took me few years to find out it's better to focus on what you own and start to work with that. Part of that process can be to post pictures and be open for feedback. And even so important is to learn to give feedback on other peoples work.
So don't misunderstand me. Gear is important. But it's not the holy grail. I made one of my best shots with a cellphone. Was even published and nobody ever realized it was a cellphone shot..

 

[Streetshooter]

Well brother, if that avatar is you...You'll never get an argument from me.....

 

[Chow Monkey]

Well brother, if that avatar is you...You'll never get an argument from me.....

 

[Streetshooter]

If you ain't ridin' a Harley, well then, ya missed your calling....
Shooter

 

[Chow Monkey]

Nah, don't worry. I'm bold and I smoke but I don't look nearly as dangerous as my avatar.. In fact I'm a pretty nice guy to hang around with to do some photography or have a drink.. Problem is none of you guys live nearby :smile:

 

[BBW]

I'm pretty sure there is at least one member here from The Netherlands and you never know who will travel where these days and when. This is one of the plusses if people 1. post on this thread and 2. if they list where they hail from. (Hint, hint to all who have yet to post here!)

 

[Chow Monkey]

I'm pretty sure there is at least one member here from The Netherlands and you never know who will travel where these days and when. This is one of the plusses if people 1. post on this thread and 2. if they list where they hail from. (Hint, hint to all who have yet to post here!)

I doubt there are people here I can meet in Surinam in a few weeks

Anyways.. I love to be invited to this board and will try to be as active as possible..

Oh and I get my retro bag tomorrow. Really can't wait to be honest :smile:

 

[BBW]

True possibly about Surinam but there are many "guests" viewing and you never know...but thanks for becoming a member and do stay involved. Also, please post photos of your retro bag with cameras, etc., inside!

 

[Chow Monkey]

True possibly about Surinam but there are many "guests" viewing and you never know...but thanks for becoming a member and do stay involved. Also, please post photos of your retro bag with cameras, etc., inside!

As soon as I have the bag I will indeed post some pics. There seem to be no pics yet of this bag showing the size and inside.. So tomorrow I will get you the pics when the postal service won't let me down (again).

 

[Streetshooter]

Hmmmmm,
I wanna see what else ya got from the streets.....
The bag things for the girlies......

Not you BB....your the Queen!

 

[Chow Monkey]

Have patience my friend.. I have loads of pics I have to edit and I even uploaded some more to my gallery...

 

[Streetshooter]

I just can't visualize you walking around with a camera purse...but then again....
well...forget it..I value my A**:horse:

 

[Chow Monkey]

Don't worry about me

 

[Bullfrog]

Welkom Sjoerd!