My recent trip to Arizona included a stay in a sprawling resort just outside of Phoenix. Throughout the work conference, we never had to leave the place: golf, dinner, swimming, hiking. It was all there.
The sun was also always there, with light bouncing off the faux adobe façades. That, combined with the bright colors, made for a photography feast.
Winter makes the sun a little lower in the sky, meaning there wasn’t a bad time to walk around and make pictures.
And that’s fitting for my way of doing things: I use photography as a way to explore a new place. Walk around, look for good light, capture what I see – that’s 90% of photography for me.
Luckily, I had lots to see and photograph here in Arizona.
Embrace the discomfort of going out alone, of putting the phone away, of talking to strangers, of existing through a time of rapid and overwhelming change. Remember that we are in a revolution, but that revolution itself is nothing new; it only manifests in new ways.
If you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, discomfort becomes the norm and is easier to process, while comfort becomes the exception to the rule. More importantly though, if you can get comfortable being uncomfortable, you can get in touch with the only thing that really matters in times of uncertainty and change: your humanity. Stay human. Talk to humans. Help humans out.
I’m kissing Squarespace goodbye and moving my two portrait projects to my blog. Instead of sending web traffic somewhere else, Artists In Jackson and Musicians In Jackson—as they’re updated—will live here, where visitors can learn more about my other projects.
As I was putting together the project landing pages, I remembered JTV’s Bart Hawley Show featured Musicians In Jackson late in 2019, but I never shared that conversation on this blog.
I’m still feeling the effects of that winter trip filled with gorgeous West Coast sunshine. A week full of vitamin D does a body, and a spirit, good.
That’s why I looked so forward to a recent work trip to Phoenix, Arizona. The forecast? Sunny and mid 70s. Perfect for this winter-worn Michigander.
We had a few chances to stroll through the Sonoran Desert surrounding our conference resort, through the Phoenix Mountains Preserve near North Moutain Park. One morning we traveled with a hiking company, through a tunnel under the road, and wandered around a valley to watch the sun come up.
On the other side, we watched the sun set over a nice BBQ dinner. In both cases, the desert light never left.
The real challenge isn’t in upgrading your tools, it’s in upgrading yourself.
That’s when the investment shifts. Instead of pouring money into a new lens you don’t actually need, you start to invest in the work itself. The personal projects. The stories you want to tell, the places you want to explore.
It’s true that I upgraded my original Canon M early last year with the Canon M200.
As the year went on and I used it more and more, a little itch in the back of my brain started. The itch, which weirdly has a voice, started saying, “Using this camera should be easier – and more fun, like your original Canon M was.”
What the itch said was also true.
Some of those true things included:
The M200 is not a customizable camera. You get what you get, no mods allowed.
I also missed the little handgrip bump on the front of the M. The M200 is as flat as Ohio
Last March, I said:
There aren’t many buttons or options, it’s not the toughest model, and you don’t have the in-the-hand control you have on a more advanced camera. But coming from the original M, the M200 felt at home in my hands.
“Trust your instincts,” the itch said, and there I was with this 2019-era mirrorless camera that did not bring me joy.
With all these truths in mind, I went back and looked to see if I could still upgrade to a Canon M6 mark II. The price was still high, and it still wasn’t widely available. That’s when my budget-friendly brain had an idea:
It doesn’t have all the modern bells and whistles of the mark II, but it does have:
Customizable buttons – and lots of them. The M6 has an almost Fuji-level amount of physical dials and buttons.
A physical button to recenter the focus point.
A wonderful hand grip on the front – more DSLR-style than a modest bump like the M had.
All the features of the M200: higher resolution, flippy screen, faster focus, etc.
And, little itch, the silver version looks kind of cool, cashing in on the retro silver-and-black look of film SLRs and rangefinders.
So that’s what I did: I purchased a refurbished Canon M6 and sold off my M200.
Here are some glamour shots with the EF-M 32mm f/1.4, taken on the Canon 5D and EF 100mm f/2.8 macro lens.
So far? I dig the M6. I love the improved ergonomics, retro styling, faster speed, and manual controls – especially the bumpy, knurled dials for aperture or ISO.
A few things I don’t love:
I do wish it had a viewfinder, even though I’m used to not having one on the M series. A rangefinder-style viewfinder would be so handy.
There’s a greenish/cyan tint to the files in Lightroom. I’m not sure if it’s the camera or Lightroom’s raw file handling, but I load up some files and they look icky.
Certain buttons on the camera drive me crazy: the touchscreen zoom button in the lower right and the physical manual focus button on the main dial. When I go to focus on a subject, the camera is unresponsive because I accidentally brushed that MF button. I turned it completely off in the custom settings.
Those quirks tell me that modern cameras, with so many hybrid demands put on them, are never perfect. My Canon 5D is perfect. Everything else has limitations or annoyances.
The above shot shows me using the M6 exclusively on a new photo project to learn my new camera.
This leads to the larger question about my camera strategy: what am I going to keep, and why do I need a different system than my EOS+EF system?
Mobility: I like the Canon M lineup’s weight and small size. It’s a perfect everyday carry and travel setup, including if I ever want to do some video.
Quality: Images are good, and the lenses make for sharp, pleasing photos.
Vibes: Since that first Canon M, I’ve admired the series, flawed though it is. It’s weird investing and tinkering with a dead mirrorless camera system, but I do love these little cameras.
With the M6, it’s so far, so good. This combined with my old, clunky (but reliable) M as a backup, and I’ve got an old+new system similar to my Canon 5D plus 6D.
I brought the M6 with me to Austin, Texas, and Monterrey, Mexico. It served me well during the holidays and on random photo outings. It feels so much better in the hand.
Parts of the U.S. are facing an arctic blast – one of those goofy named weather phenomena. In the past few winters, we haven’t had much winter action in Michigan. So on this occasion, I laced up my snow boots and walked around the neighborhood to see what five degrees felt like.
The bright sun and crisp air were nice for a brief minute. But then the wind would pick up and I felt like my face was stinging.
