Traveling Light: Minimalist Photography Gear for London & Paris
On this trip, I opted for the least amount of camera gear I've ever traveled with. Yes, you heard that right! My aim was to keep it as simple as possible, ensuring I was present in the moments, especially with my family. You can see a handful of pictures at the end of this blog post.
Why Minimal Gear?
Primarily, my destinations were urban – London and Paris. I knew I wasn't going to be zooming into distant landmarks. My focus? Capturing memories of my wife, and son, a bit of the picturesque cities, and indulging in some street photography.
The Gear Breakdown
Bags: The nifty Tom Tuck five-liter bag was my main companion in London, accommodating my essential gear and even my wallet. Meanwhile, in Paris, where the concern of pickpockets looms, my three-liter bag from PGY tech came in handy.
Cameras: Breaking tradition, I left my Sony cameras and drones at home, relying instead on my iPhone 14 Pro and Samsung Galaxy S22 Ultra. These phones were a game-changer, with the iPhone's Portrait mode bringing out the best in family snaps, and the Samsung phone excelling in zoom shots.
However, the real star was the Ricoh GR iiix. This lightweight camera was a gem for street photography. Holding it made me blend seamlessly into the crowd, unnoticed, and let me capture candid moments. The only slight drawback? It sometimes felt too close for the streets. This made me wish I had my Fujifilm camera or perhaps a regular GR iii for a wider shot.
Other Devices: My Samsung Tab S8 was an unexpected hero. Transferring photos was a breeze, and with dex mode, it pretty much turned into a Chromebook! Although I carried my MacBook Air, it never saw the light of day – a testament to how efficient the Samsung tab was.
Apps & Editing
While the stock camera apps on both phones served me well for captures, most of my editing was done on Lightroom. Occasionally, I also used Google Photos, especially marveling at its Magic erase tool. The latter would conveniently suggest unnecessary elements that could be removed with a simple click!
Traveling Light: The Key Takeaway
This trip reinforced a valuable lesson: Sometimes, less is more. As we grow, the desire for our tools to just work becomes paramount. For family vacations, a minimal setup like the Ricoh GR iiix is perfect, even though I adore my professional cameras. The crucial aspect is the memory itself, rather than the specific device used to record it.
Looking ahead, I'm eager to share more insights, especially on how Lightroom seamlessly tied all my devices together. But that's a story for another day.
If you are traveling with your family, especially with kids, and want to capture high-quality photos while keeping your gear to a minimum, remember to strike the right balance and use the appropriate tools. And as we cherish these memories years down the line, it won't matter if they were shot using an expensive camera or a smartphone. The emotion and the story behind each picture are what truly counts.
Until next time, keep traveling, keep capturing, and keep sharing those heartwarming stories! Safe travels!
Using the Ricoh GR IIIx as my everyday camera | It's not just for street photography 📸
The Ricoh GR IIIx has been my everyday carry camera for more than 8 months, it literally goes everywhere with me. In this video, I will share sample pictures and explain why I like this camera. This is NOT a camera for everyone but for people who really love photography and the photographic process.
@Samuel Streetlife GR IIIx review - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIcx-OnJxd0
@EYExplore Ricoh Gr IIIx Street settings - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNzG9KcxWw8
@RICOHGRPHOTOGRAPHY - https://www.youtube.com/c/RICOHGRPHOTOGRAPHY
The Ricoh GR IIIx is great for quick pictures when we’re hanging out with family or just out and about. Since it can fit in my pants pocket I tend to take it everywhere with me.
The power of the GR IIIx is when doing street photography. Being able to us zone focusing it’s really easy to snap away when people are within the focus parameters. I don’t do a ton of street photography but it’s nice to have, when the opportunity come about.
Being out in nature is one of my favorite things to do. Even though a 40mm lens isn’t ideal for landscapes, I find the GR IIIx more than capable of capturing great images.
After using the Ricoh GR IIIx for almost 9 months my favorite feature is the close up mode. I know Ricoh says macro but it’s not really macro. Being able to press a button and get close to an object is really fun. And while it doesn’t rival my Sony 90mm macro lens, it’s really nice to have when I don’t want to bring that lens and the Sony A7ii .
Overall I am really happy with the Ricoh GR IIIx purchase. It really is the best camera I own because it goes everywhere with me. And as Mr. Chase Jarvis once said “The best camera is the one with you.”
Show notes:
Ricoh GR IIIx - https://amzn.to/3X2iDoM
Thumb Grip - https://amzn.to/3OaycXC
See the pictures here 👉🏾 https://kwame.me/blog
My gear page - Kwame.me/gear
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2022 Fathers Day Road Trip To The Oregon Coast
Over this past Father's Day weekend we took a road trip to Rockaway Beach. We also checked out a nurture preserve and a few other places. I mainly used my Ricoh GR iiix and Sony A7ii with the Sony 90mm macro lens on this trip.
🙋🏾♂️ I have a podcast 👉🏾 Podcast
I want you on the show 👉🏾 https://bit.ly/KwameGuest
See the pictures here 👉🏾 https://kwame.me/blog
My gear page - Kwame.me/gear
My daily photography gear:
Sony A7ii Review: https://youtu.be/jRD3I1UA6iI
Sony A7 ii - https://amzn.to/38OLEdL
Sony 90mm F2.8 - https://amzn.to/35q8fkK
Follow me!
WEBSITE ► www.Kwame.me
FLICKR ► https://flic.kr/ps/3T6yWm
GLASS► https://bit.ly/KJGlass
Newsletter ► http://bit.ly/36ZeUji
Rockaway Beach
Rockaway Beach Old Growth Nature Preserve
Short
Ricoh GRiiix First Impressions
The Ricoh GR iiix is one of the best pocketable cameras I've ever used. This video is my first impression of the camera. Having used it for a little bit I am in love with it.
Below are a few sample pictures I’ve captured so far.
When I was doing research on the Ricoh GR iiix all I was seeing is how great of a street photography camera it was. But I’ve used it mainly to document my life and to have a camera that can literally fit in my pocket. With a 24mp APSC sensor I don’t feel that I am compromising image quality in any way.
A good to ask is why buy a point-and-shoot camera in 2022? I plan to answer that in more detail in a future blog post. But the short answer is that I see the world differently when I have a camera. Another nice feature of the Ricoh GR iiix is that you can do close focus photography. It’s not like using the Sony 90mm F2.8 macro lens but it's pretty impressive.
So far I really like the Ricoh GR iiix. It’s much more than a street photography camera. For someone like me it can easily fit in my everyday life.
