Don't you just love the British summer?
When we eventually get a sunny day following weeks of rain, we Londoners flock into parks as if these were actual beaches.
People bring out the bikini, disposable BBQ, ample supplies of beers and vino, mix that with a bit too much sun for their typically pale and exposed skin and you’ve got the perfect recipe for great British summer street photography!
Yesterday was one of those days, the sun made its first appearance since about a month ago so we were not going to miss that.
We headed to Battersea Park to watch the closing race of the Formula E season (which is the electric equivalent of F1).
A client of mine had very generously shared VIP tickets to gain access to the DS Virgin Racing village where we mingled with the likes of Sir Richard Branson and British Formula E driver Sam Bird. We didn't actually mingle with them, but we'll just pretend we did.
Aside from enjoying burgers and champagne (as you do), I just could not help but snap away the rapid decline of the people there.
I decided that I’d use the premium Sony RX100 IV, a more than capable compact camera for street photography.
The reason I bought this camera a year ago was the slow motion capability (check out this video of London in slow motion I produced). Also key in my purchase decision is the fact it’s a 4K camera that fits in my pocket.
But until now I’d never really used it for street photography.
For street work I normally always carry either my micro four thirds kit in the form of the Pen-F by Olympus or the A7RII by Sony, usually with a prime 35 or 50mm lens.
Well it was a refreshing change and one I do not regret.
Why?
Simple: It’s tiny. It focuses fast. The image quality is really very good. The battery lasts for ages.
It really reinforced my feeling that the smaller you go in terms of camera for street photography… the better.
Almost like I’ve gone full circle since when I started photography as a hobby nearly ten years ago I used a compact.
Then I went for a bridge Fuji camera, followed by a Canon DSLR, then went smaller again with micro four thirds OM-D (E-M5, E-M1, E-M5 Mk II), and recently even smaller with the Pen-F which is also perfect for street photography.
And yesterday... I find myself shooting with the RX100 IV... a compact camera.
NICO-WHAT-IS-GOING-ON!?
Well it’s just so easy to carry everywhere it’s ridiculous and really felt right.
So I had a killer of a day, found a new love for this compact camera and brought back a couple of great shots!
There you go.
Nico