Daily Inspiration #107 by Will Storr

May 28, 2010 Daily Inspiration, News 22

Some Olympus E-PL1 love for #107 by Will Storr….

Hi Steve,

Please find attached a submission for your Daily Inspiration.

I recently came across your site when looking up info on the EPL-1 I’d just bought – actually I couldn’t believe how great it was and wondered if there was anyone else out there who’d noticed. Since finding your review, your site has become the first I visit with my cup of tea every morning.

I hope these images are good enough to make the cut. I’ve just come back from a holiday to Malaysia, during which my EPL-1 was a constant companion. I used it with a Panny f1.7 and a Voigtlander 35mm f.14. I also managed to pick up a second hand Voigt 12mm in Kuala Lumpur. I thought it was the new one and was convinced I had a bargain, but it turns out it was the old version of the lens and I probably paid a bit too much. Anyhow, no regrets – it makes a for a great 24mm on the EPL-1.

I’ve been a print journalist for ten years, by the way, but am slowly trying to broaden my skills into photography. Some more of my work can be seen on my site www.willstorr.com (although I’ll warn you, as photography sites go, it really doesn’t get more basic).

I hope I’ve sent these images as to your specifications. They should be all under 1mb, so I think they’re small enough. I couldn’t see an option on iPhoto for resizing, but I’m hoping as I chose to export them as small files it’ll be OK (I still can’t get my head around the file system on Aperture).

Many thanks for taking a look at these, and for all your hard work on the site. It’s so rare to find a website on any subject that actually feels friendly, if you know what I mean.

Take care,

Will

All pics taken with Olympus EPL1. Processed in Aperture & Nik Color 3.0

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22 Comments

  1. Hi Muralia – it was Penang, not KL. And the bottom pic was taken at the market in Terrengenau.

    Thanks for taking a look,
    Will

  2. Will, absolutely love your work….checked out your wonderful website too…amazing captures! I’m from Malaysia and it comes as a surprise to me that such places still exist..(referring to the 2nd pic, beautifully composed by the way). Always thought that such places were a thing of the past. Where exactly in KL was it taken?

  4. That second shot is almost painterly in its details. Fantastic scene.

    It just goes to show (again) that it’s not about the camera, but your ability. Well done.

  5. Hi David,

    Both pics were processed in nik colour. There’s an option on there where you can only increase contrast on the mid tones, which gives a really pleasing effect. I think on the first picture I then had to take the reds down a little bit, as the alteration made the meat look a little unworldly. I also pulled the saturation down a touch to compensate for the extra contrast. They’re not HDR, though. The first picture was taken using a voigtlander 12mm, which is very slow at f5.6. Because of the very harsh backlighting (those nasty blocks of light coming through the wall) I had to underexpose when taking the shot and then pull the shadows back up a lot in pp. That’s probably why it looks hdr – I was maybe a bit heavy handed In adjusting the gloomy original.

    Thanks very much for your interest,

    Will

  6. Hi Will,

    Well deserved praise for your images. It proves that you don’t necessarily need to spend a fortune on “state of the art” equipment to get great results. This is a great advert for the EP-L1.

    I particularly loved the 3-D quality of images 1& 2. Could you tell us more about the post-processing? They have an HDR-quality to them. Were they based on a single shot, or a combination of shots at different exposures? What else did you do to them?

  8. I forgot to say that I am strongly considering buying the EPL1 with the 17 prime as I get a huge Oly discount anyway it will be even more easy to buy it.

  9. Im going to be honest, I quickly went through the images and thought they were good but not anything too special, certainly good though but when I went back to the second image and took in all the rich detail and saw all the things I too quickly wrote off the first time I fell in love with it. Beautiful picture and the other two are still very good, quite inspirational.

  10. On the second shot, WOW is all that I can say! This shot definitely takes you to the place and makes you want to know more about it… I recently bought an EP-2 (at the recommendation of Steve’s reviews) and the Panasonic 20mm/1.7. I feel that I have taken some of my best “out-of-camera” shots using this camera, but I can tell you that I do not have anything with as much interest as this shot. Great shot Will! Can’t wait to see your website… Thanks Steve for the incredible website! I look forward to seeing your new posts every day. I check every morning and night…

  12. Like the others I was immediately drawn into the second photo. It had me mesmerized and made me feel like I had been transported to that room. I am one of the micro 4/3 converts out there and have sold most of my Nikon gear. Now use the Panasonic GF-1 and the Olympus EPL-1 and I have never been happier in my many years of photography which is great as I doubt that I will ever be able to justify the cost of a Leica system. Anyway, keep up the good work Will. And I have to say thanks to Steve for his wonderful site. I always check this site out first every day followed by Kirk Tuck at the Visual Science Lab. Steve, you need to have a ‘contribute cash’ button as I would donate to your site to help keep it going.

  13. Great pics. The second one is like a painting–it’s stunning and exudes emotion and feeling.

  14. Ive been a pen guy for alittle while but photo no. 2 is more than that. The processing is just wonderful. Looks like their playing Ma Jong…

    Thanks for sharing and well done

  15. Will love the last shot!

    ultimate dream of getting digital M makes me consider ditching my dSLR for m4/3 with the adapter and a couple of Voigtlander lenses… damn!

  16. Lovely shots, especially the second one – looks like a photo from the beginning of the 20th century.

  17. “as photography sites go, it really doesn’t get more basic” – Well, that may be, Will, but the imagery is outstanding. It is guys like you that have continued to inspire me to keep trying in the pj biz even with the demise of newspapers and my layoff. I am fortunate to be able to provide for my family through a previous set of job skills but I keep shooting locally and digging out the stories here in the Florida Panhandle. Thanks for the inspiration!!

  18. Thank you so much for your kind comments. I was in two minds whether to put myself forward for comment online, but I should’ve known the Steve Huff posse would be generous. As I said, I have more pics on my homepage (www.willstorr.com) and the rest of my Malaysia EPL1 set are here: http://www.flickr.com/photos/willstorr/sets/72157623872933085/ I’d love for you to browse if you have a spare minute.

    Thanks again. Your comments really do mean a lot.

    Will

  19. Wonderful photos, all three, but #2 is really one of the most beatiful photos I have ever seen!

    Great PP, looking it feels like being there!

  20. Thoroughly agree, something magical about that second image. The presence of the man on the right is almost like an apparition.

  21. Great shots Will! Compliments. Love them all, specially the second one.
    It feels like I’m standing in the scene myself.

    Regards.

  22. The more I visit this site the more I like it. I discovered it while researching the purchase of an M9 and Steve’s enthusiasm for the M9 was a factor in my buying it. What I particularly like is the passion, without the arrogance, that Steve and his readers/contributors possess. This is in marked contrast to some Leica sites where there seems to me to be an automatic assumption that by possessing a “superior” camera one is somehow blessed with superior abilities. The other thing I like is the “democratization” of photography, meaning that Steve invites anyone to participate and provide photos and comments. Which leads me onto the latest photos.

    I really like the encouragement and support given to photographers on this site and the lack of nastiness and spite. For my part, if I don’t like a photo there is no need to tell the world – it is just my opinion and I will shut up. But the truth is, I often “don’t get” the photos. Maybe my fault but there you go. There are plenty of exceptions and I would, in particular, like to commend Ashwin Rao who turns out wonderful shots and articles. He is a real talent. But I did want to say that your second photograph is simply stunning. No Leica, no 5D2, just beautiful light, colour, feel and emotion. For me it is one of the best pictures I have seen on this site for a long time.

    Jeremy

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