Ricoh.

A few days ago, I purchased a third hand Ricoh GRD III from a friend. I had been looking for a decent inexpensive compact camera for awhile now. And when I saw that he was selling his for a really good price, I just had to jump on it. My brother had a Ricoh GR few years ago but lost it and I really liked using it then and so I'm pretty glad I have one now. 

I'm not one to get excited every time a new camera model comes out. Someone once said "An expensive camera doesn't make you a good photographer." And neither does owning a DSLR make you a photographer. And for years, even when I had my photography blog (ten years or so ago : quietcore dot org) and shot shows and constantly photographed my friends, or even when I worked as a professional photographer at a studio for 3 years and freelanced for another 5 years, did I ever claim I was good. I shoot what I like and if I like what I see and have shot and post it online and if someone else likes it, then yay to me. I was not so much into the technicality of it. Once, when I had to give a  talk with my fellow photography peers about Music photography, I did say that how I shot sometimes depended on how I felt, it was more an emotional connection for me. When shooting shows, I lived off the energies of the bands. If it was a hardcore or punkrock band, then theres more action and adrenaline to it. Photography to me has always been an outlet of expression and most of all, a means of documenting my life and the people in it. It should be said though that I wouldn't mind a better DSLR, but I like something convenient and easy to carry around which is why I've had the D40 for awhile now, and even better now that I have the Ricoh. 

The picture above was shot last night (June 2, 2013). I was supposed to watching Polyester Embassy from Bandung, Indonesia and got distracted by the lightning.