We (my wife and I) have been to Japan seven times over the last five years or so.
There was little planning involved. It starting as a need to use a ticket credit for me from a cancelled trip after the Tsunami, with my semi reluctant wife for company, then an urgent need to return, driven as much by her as me, then a couple of opportunistic impulse trips, then a a few later ones that had a feeling of consolidating re-visits and deeper exploration.
We grow as we go. Repetition allows refinement, new vistas broaden our own.
My photographic journey has been one of evolution within a consistent technical envelope. Before each trip, I stress about lens and camera combinations, leave home never happy I have the perfect combo, but I am never disappointed when I get there. The lesson is; what ever, where ever, will work on some level.
The only consistent factor has been Olympus cameras and lenses. The travel kit is always kept comfortable (I have little tolerance for heavy bags, cumbersome rigs or in the field confusion).
The last set-up was sparse in the extreme (for me). An EM1 mk2, 12-40 and 40-150 (kit version).
My first trip was a pair of EM5 mk1’s (and a spare in my case), a 17, 45, 75-300. Regardless of the set-up, the results are always similar. The reason is of course, that regardless of my gear, I shoot the same subjects in the same or a similar way, because that is my “style” and what I chose is never far from that thinking. It seems I adapt to my gear rather than the other way around.
My processing on the other hand has evolved a great deal.
Early on, I seemed to be looking for almost an “anti-Canon” look, in response to what I perceived to be an anti-Canon or Canon curing colour foundation from the OMD sensor.
An image from the first trip, early eyes and early processing. The colour is dulled, the look heavy and dark and the angle, a very self conscious shot from behind the subject. The trip took place during a moody, wet spring, which did also affect my perceptions, so on the whole, this was me.
As I evolved with the cameras, I found that I could extract nearly any look or “feel” from the sensor, much more than I could from the Canon, Sony or Fuji sensors I had been co-using before committing to Olympus only.
A few trips later, more self confident and of the sensor in the camera, I pushed harder, enjoying the warmth and depth of the files.
COVID-19 has forced a pause on the world. This pause has allowed me to take stock and consolidate my ideas and images from the seven trips, with plans to top them off with a book ( called “Japan 7” or “Japan #of days” maybe).
We will return as soon as we can, but that will likely be next year at the earliest and I will be a ways down my journey by then, so the evolution will continue.
Who knows.