Fine Art Architecture Photography with Ricoh GR II Pocket Camera
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- Опубліковано 8 лют 2025
- When you think about architecture photography gear, what crosses your mind?
Right. Heavy cameras, big fancy lenses, cumbersome tripods and humongous bags to carry all of it (and break your back).
So why not just take a tiny camera like the Ricoh GR II, put it in your pocket and see how far you can get?
That's what i wanted to try and went out to Vitra Campus - an architectural playground where renowned architects like Frank Gehry, Herzog & De Meuron, Tadao Ando and others were almost free to implement their visions.
Only taking the pocket camera with a fixed focal length was truly liberating. Light as a feather, mobile like a monkey and not having to think about lens choice made this a very enjoyable journey - and not only from a photography point of view because it was so easy to explore and to marvel at the wonderful architecture.
Did i miss tripod, tilt/shift lens and all that? Not really. Do I like the images taken less than if i had the all the fancy stuff with me? Probably not. After sunset, I did miss the tripod a little bit, because the ISO had to go quite high. But looking at the prints - it's all fine for me.
Thanks for watching!
My Website: thomasrhinow.com
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Music:
Plants by Borrtex
I have a plan by Borrtex
Lost Signal by Borrtex
Incursion by Borrtex
Light by Borrtex
Yodelling Walmart Kid by Drake Stafford
All found on freemusicarchi...
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![Lp. Сердце Вселенной #60 РОЖДЕНИЕ ЛОЛОЛОШКИ [Финал] • Майнкрафт](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/YoR0pAV9FVQ/mqdefault.jpg)
Nice to see how someone looks at buildings. Especially with a camera with a fixed 28mm lens. Super informative. Thank you
Glad you liked it!
Ridiculous how this channel hasn’t got more subscribers, quality stuff.
Thank you.
The channel is just a bit more than a year old - still time to grow :)
good eye photographers are few, bullshits walking allover, this might be an answer
I agree.
Subscribed 👍
I was undergoing such boredom through the world of the internet, and the freshness of your video erased the concerns within me. This is my personal impression of your video.
The video is named with a direct message to the audience in a way showing the purpose of the video as a casual life of a photographer showing the process of taking photographs of architecture to a lay audience. And the inclusion of additional information such as the locational address of 'Vitra Campus' and resources within the production of the film of which camera you've used: Ricoh GR II Pocket Camera engages the audience to attempt their own photography. I was amazed with a museum quality thumbnail with such a catchy composition with the shade based color scheme.
Starting with a casual introduction with a little comedy, you’ve shown the segmented process of reaching to the destination, a very smooth transition between perspectives of each cut. Your demonstration of the photographer's ways to find the best observation angle, and of course, nice photography of a brick wall, metallic artifact, and diverse architecture which shares different purposes with such wonderful photoshop editing gives an idea to the lay audience where to start for their photography journey.
And everytime after the photo is taken, you've included one of two options: "keeper", "print it", "hang on the wall" to implicitly show your personal opinion on the fine level of photography. This gave me an idea on how photographers beyond the amateur level chooses which photo to utilize as their physical collection which gave me motivation to experience more observation of photographs of artists to create my own criteria on self assessment for my photography.
And finally, of course, showing your progress on converting the digitized data of your photography into a physical possession by the utilization of a printing device (Epson Surecolor p800) and the ending scene with a credit of the soundtrack of music free of rights to use truly showed your passion as an artist.
I really enjoyed watching your video. It's not a video, it's a film. I would love to check your recent works to see the improvisation of the progress. However, I have a question about your photography. Whenever you’re deciding which place to take a picture of, do you include your philosophy in your decision? Or is it just a simultaneous decision of which seems visually attractive immediately? And to add with, what is your true purpose of pursuing your photography?
First of all, a big thank you for the time you spent on this detailed review. I appreciate it very much! That you even consider my video a film is a great compliment.
Now to your questions, which are not very easy to answer. I try my best.
There are three main reasons for my photography.
- Beauty. I look for what I consider beautiful in the world around me and want to make it visible, even in places where you don't see it at first sight and where you wouldn't necessarily expect it.
- Curiosity. Of course I use the camera to take pictures, but it is also a kind of means to an end, to explore and understand our environment. Sometimes a visual impression ignites my curiosity and thoughts follow, sometimes it's reflections that I then try to investigate photographically.
- Meditation. When I'm photographing, I find myself (after a while) in a bubble where only the moment and photography matter, no matter what happens before, after, or around me. Meditation, therapy, escape, relaxation, whatever one might call it, it is a state of inner peace and contentment that is good for my mental health and that I love.
Architecture interests me specifically because I studied architecture.
Landscape photography is mostly about the excursion, the hike, the adventure and being outside in nature, less about the photography itself.
Street photography I only just started mainly out of curiosity and I consider it an experiment. I feel it offers more opportunities to create photographs with additional meaning than "just" beauty - which is what I more and more miss in my photography.
Sometimes I'm inspired by thoughts, sometimes it's a scene I'm observing, light, colors, shapes, another image, a movie, etc.. Main thing is, that my photographic mind is switched "on" almost the whole time when I don't sleep.
I hope I was able to answer your questions to some extent.
I'm glad that you enjoy my work and that it could dispel your internet boredom.
I’m anxiously awaiting my GRlllx, keep up the awesome work😀
😃
Love your videos, it's like we're right there with you on these cool trips. As another photographer I enjoy watching your thought process !
Hi, glad you like them and letting me know about it!
So you can follow my thought process although I don't explain it with words? I'm asking because while this is part of what I aim for in my videos, it's difficult to say to what extent I am successful with it.
Beautiful pictures Thomas. Liked the B&W picture a tad bit more. I will look forward to more architectural fine art photography in the future. Subscribed!!
Glad you like my work! Next video will be about macro photography, but there will be more architectural fine art for sure. Thanks for the sub!
And thanks for making your videos. I enjoy the format and intrigue you create very much. You're a hard marker!
I'm glad you like my work - thank you!
Beautifully crafted, Thomas. I can very much relate to your process
Many thanks Robin!
Some great shots there especially that colour one you printed. I like the format of the video too.
Thank you :)
Really enjoyed this journey. Some interesting images. Well done.
Nice, thank you!
Great shots here. Also I am thinking about heading to Basel soon and found this very informative. Thank you.
Thank you! The VItra Campus is well worth a visit, if you're around Basel and interested in architecture. You can easily spend a whole day there, when also going to see the various exhibitions - which I recommend.
I like your style of video, taking your time to appreciate both the process and the picture, hope to see more of this :)
Nice to hear, that my intentions somehow get through - thank you!
There's more to come for sure :)
To shoot great architectural shots one must have access to great architecture too. I also concur on printing your own work as it pushes you to go for more. A bit too tacky on that black tape, use blue tac instead or reverse the tape and with those shots I would even print A3. Kudos on channel, keep shooting...
Yes, such playgrounds for architects (and photographers) like the Vitra Campus are rare and I'm lucky living close to it.
That black tape was quite a disaster over time and I switched to sticky tacs as showed here: ua-cam.com/video/1KO6PZYsd0Q/v-deo.html
These seem to do a much better job until now. And should the images come down over time, at least the tacs won't ruin the paper.
A3 would be too costly (money and space) for these sort of work/youtube prints. I do A2 prints though which get framed properly and get a dedicated space on some wall.
Cheers
Inspirational!!! - more Ricoh GR content please :- )
Thank you :)
Making my last video, street photography with the Ricoh, was great fun, so I will do more of that for sure.
What a interesting shot at 11:40. Good music to go with some nice architecture 👍. If you don’t mind me asking is architecture your full time job or more of a hobby?
Thank you :)
I did study architecture long time ago, but changed profession. Now photography is my main hobby and architecture photography an important part of it.
@@thomasrhinow Got it. Thank you.
Beautifully done.
Thank you
Great work! Really liking the architectural work, liked and subscribed!
Hey, I'm happy that you like my work!
There are more architectural videos in the pipeline - I'll put them up, as soon as I find some time to edit them.
Thanks for the sub!
@@thomasrhinow thanks, I look forward to them
Отличные фото. Супер.
Thank you!
What about interior architecture. Its wide enough, can you do bracketing?
Main obstacle for interior shots is getting access. AE bracketing is possible when shooting RAW. The 28mm full frame equivalent of the Ricoh GRII can get tight, I prefer having a wider lens - which would be 18mm but on a clunky full frame camera.
Nice job with the Ricoh. I usually travel with the Fuji x100 series and love the freedom it gve too. If you were rocking the full full-body, TS lenses etc what does it comprise
Thank you!
Yeah, the freedom is nice! Let's you somehow become more creative.
My full frame setup is quite antique :) 5D II, often the Olympus OM 18mm 3.5 and the 35 Olympus OM 35mm Shift. The Canon TS-E 24mm would be lovely (tried it out once) but out of my budget. Then I'm also on the verge of ditching my Canon gear and switch to Fuji. I just have so much Contax Zeiss glass, which just loses so much on the wide side when put on a crop camera.
@@thomasrhinow Thanks Thomas.
Chapeau
Thank you :)
Very nice videos Thomas (I watched them all four). Must have taken you a lot of time and effort to create them! Both recording and editing.
Thank you :)
Yes, making the videos takes time. But I enjoy it very much, since it's an interesting and creative process from start to finish and there's a lot to learn.
Do you edit your photos?
Yes, apart from the non-keepers - which I delete - I edit every photo. I also only shoot raw, which makes editing mandatory.
What was the thinking behind switching papers? Why use one vs another?
No specific thinking but testing. I ordered a A4 test-box from Hahnemühle with all different fine art papers, to see how actual prints look - so I get an idea about which paper might best fit a certain type of image. Also to identify my 1-2 favourite overall fine art papers for A2 prints (question of costs).
Is like a termintator
A terminator like in the movies? Which image are you referring to?
@@thomasrhinow when you are walking 😂, greetings from Uruguay.
@@Covenant37 🤣 Yeah you are right, I have to admit a certain stiffness, being the first time in front of the camera.
Is your printer the 13-inch or the 17-inch size model?
Hi,
the model is Epson SC-P800. I don't know the inch system, it prints to a maximum size of DIN A2 and there is an option to add a roll paper unit for panorama prints (which I don't have).
17 inch