Everyday Happenings + Sony a6300

The more I shoot with the Sony a6300 the more I enjoy it, a lot. I only have two lenses (not including the horrible kit lens which has been collecting dust for a year now) - the Sigma 16mm 1.4 and Sony 35mm 1.8. They both have completely different characteristics but are equally enjoyable to shoot with. As I mentioned in my a previous post, wide angles are not my first choice but the Sigma lens is just special. I almost always get in close to my subjects and rarely have the aperture set above 2.0, at least for my personal stuff. The same goes for the Sony lens. That’s not to say that I don’t know how to use other apertures, especially for my professional work, but I tend to go more abstract for my personal stuff, unless I’m doing straight up street photography.

I am very much tempted to buy the Sigma 56mm 1.4 but I’m holding off some how. Seeing as how I have all primes for my full frame Nikons, it’s hard to justify the purchase. We will see. It’s just such a compact package. For the photos below, the first bunch up to the coffee cup were shot with the 35mm and the rest with the 16mm. I always process the RAW files in Lightroom. Sometimes if I am on the go I download from Lightroom on my phone and slightly tweak in the VSCO app on iOS. To be honest, I don’t really do much with the files other then give them a very minor film feel.

I find the white balance and exposure (I mainly shoot in aperture priority) are almost always spot on. I’d even go as far as saying it’s more consistent than my Fuji X100F, which is also immensely fun to shoot with. But nothing beats an extremely compact system with great primes. Nothing against my Nikons, specifically my Df, which is my all time favourite camera, and one that I still carry around with me for personal photography.

Sorry for the rambling post, I just wanted to share some recent photos. Hell, I’m not even sure if anyone reads these posts! If anything, it’s a visual diary for myself. Right? (…crickets…)

Winter Walk around Lakehead University - Sony a6300

It was my second day in a row being able to actually walk outside on my lunch break and take photos, without freezing to death. Sadly, the cold weather is back tomorrow so it’s unlikely I’ll make it out. Who knows though, it’s all about ‘layers’ they say right. I once again took my Sony a6300 with me, this time paired with the 16mm 1.4 lens. Yesterday it was the 35mm 1.8 (50mm equivalent) which is one of my favourite focal lengths, next to 35mm. The Sigma 16mm is an awesome lens, but being 24mm is definitely not my strongest focal length. With that being said, I always try to push myself out of my comfort zone.

Admittedly, some of my favourite photos have been shot at 24mm so I’m not sure why I don’t use it more often. I had a great time shooting with it today and I really tried to approach different angles, that you just can’t really do with long focal lengths like 50mm. The other benefit of the Sigma is that it focuses pretty close, which I very much enjoy doing.

The area I work in isn’t the most scenic, which I have mentioned in previous posts. The nicest place to go is by fare the University which is great, but when you walk through there a hundred times it can be hard to find new photo opportunities. Somehow I manage and I simply see it as a challenge. It helped that I had the Sigma today because it gave me a completely different perspective then my usual 35mm and 50mm lenses.

I have photographed the architecture at Lakehead University a few times before, but this time around I got in close and took advantage of the tilt screen of the a6300. It’s extremely fun to use. My Nikons have them but they are nowhere near as responsive. Combine that with the awesome focusing of the Sony and it’s a great mix. It also helps that the Sigma is extremely sharp, but I’m not actually that hung up on sharpness.

One of the things I had to do with the Sigma today, especially shooting wide open was to pop on a variable ND filter. One thing I have to remember to watch is accidentally switching the ISO from auto to 6400 with my big winter gloves. A few of the photos below ended up being noisy for no reason, but I loved they way they turned out. I have never been afraid of grain, and it actually benefited the few photos in this case. At least in my eyes. It gives them a more film type look. I even accidentally shot a photo while messing with my settings, which I kept in this post as well. It’s the blurry one but I actually liked how it turned out as well.

Winter can be hard for photographers, especially in colder climates. For anyone out there hesitant to go outside and take photos, my advise is to just dress warm and do it. Once I’m outside and walking around I’m so glad I did it. Plus, it’s great exercise walking in the snow. Of course I never pack enough Kleenex and my finger tips always feel like they are going to fall off but it’s a small price to pay.

Thanks for stopping by!