jayjayjjetplane
New Member
- Joined
- Mar 26, 2025
- Messages
- 1
Hello from snowy Selly Oak, South Birmingham, UK.
Hello Everybody! I am an amateur photographer from Birmingham in the English West Midlands. I've been taking photos as a serious creative hobby since 2018, when I was given a Fuji X-T20 for my 50th birthday. I later acquired a Ricoh GRii as a secondary travel camera. That is until the GRii finally went kaput last year. I must admit I was rather devastated by this loss, despite still owning and enjoying the Fuji, I loved that little Ricoh, such a wonderful camera!
Despite this, I managed to sell the Ricoh for a tidy sum, which helped me buy a used Lumix S5 body off eBay. I was rather shocked that Lumix S5 models were going for so cheap, especially with their great reputation, so I was thrilled to pick up a full frame camera relatively cheap. Since that time I've added two auto-focus lenses, the Lumix 20-60mm (excellent and so cheap!) and a TTartisans 40mm f2 lens (another fantastic bargain!).
I was a little worried about buying a larger camera compared to what I've owned before. I shoot a lot of candid photography on the streets of Birmingham and beyond, but I suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, so I have to manage how I carry my cameras so as not to exacerbate the pain in my arm. Despite my limitations I've really enjoyed using the S5, it's my go-to camera now, I love it! Every chance I get I'm out walking the city looking abstract street compositions.
I've always had to balance my hobby within our finances - let's face it, photography ain't cheap! To get around this I've embraced the use of vintage lenses on my Fuji. When I got the Lumix I carried on the tradition, arguably diving deeper into the world of vintage glass if anything. My favourite vintage lenses are the wonderful Asahi Super Takumar 105mm f2.8 and the tricksy but surprising Helios 44-M 58mm f2. A lot of the images I make consist of multiple layers using reflective surfaces and lovely colours. I find that longer focal lengths are particularly good for capturing this type of image and I'm constantly surprised by how good these old manual lenses actually are. The attached image was taken in Birmingham using the S5 and a TTartisans 75mm f1.2 manual lenses.
That's all for now, thanks for having me!
Be well,
Jay
Hello Everybody! I am an amateur photographer from Birmingham in the English West Midlands. I've been taking photos as a serious creative hobby since 2018, when I was given a Fuji X-T20 for my 50th birthday. I later acquired a Ricoh GRii as a secondary travel camera. That is until the GRii finally went kaput last year. I must admit I was rather devastated by this loss, despite still owning and enjoying the Fuji, I loved that little Ricoh, such a wonderful camera!
Despite this, I managed to sell the Ricoh for a tidy sum, which helped me buy a used Lumix S5 body off eBay. I was rather shocked that Lumix S5 models were going for so cheap, especially with their great reputation, so I was thrilled to pick up a full frame camera relatively cheap. Since that time I've added two auto-focus lenses, the Lumix 20-60mm (excellent and so cheap!) and a TTartisans 40mm f2 lens (another fantastic bargain!).
I was a little worried about buying a larger camera compared to what I've owned before. I shoot a lot of candid photography on the streets of Birmingham and beyond, but I suffer from carpal tunnel syndrome, so I have to manage how I carry my cameras so as not to exacerbate the pain in my arm. Despite my limitations I've really enjoyed using the S5, it's my go-to camera now, I love it! Every chance I get I'm out walking the city looking abstract street compositions.
I've always had to balance my hobby within our finances - let's face it, photography ain't cheap! To get around this I've embraced the use of vintage lenses on my Fuji. When I got the Lumix I carried on the tradition, arguably diving deeper into the world of vintage glass if anything. My favourite vintage lenses are the wonderful Asahi Super Takumar 105mm f2.8 and the tricksy but surprising Helios 44-M 58mm f2. A lot of the images I make consist of multiple layers using reflective surfaces and lovely colours. I find that longer focal lengths are particularly good for capturing this type of image and I'm constantly surprised by how good these old manual lenses actually are. The attached image was taken in Birmingham using the S5 and a TTartisans 75mm f1.2 manual lenses.
That's all for now, thanks for having me!
Be well,
Jay
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