Daily Inspiration #310 by Tanel Kislov

January 18, 2012 Daily Inspiration 32

Hei Steve!

I’ve been a frequent visitor to your site for some time and finally decided to give my input. The reason I found my way here was simple- I was once looking anything and everything about rangefinders, fell in love with them and found your website in the process.

After a brief time with an M system, I was forced to sell it. While I really miss that system, I also know that photography for me has never been about cameras, it’s been about experiencing the story behind pictures. A hunt for light and a reason to explore.

Photography has taken me, physically and mentally, places I otherwise wouldn’t be aware of. I’ve been shot at (accidentally, i must add), attacked by wild animals, nearly drowned a few times, gotten lost in the most inconvenient places etc.
So I’ve learned that when you go out to find stories, you have to be prepared to meet them. Anything can happen at any moment and they often do so in the most unexpected places.

No matter the brand name or the type of camera you have – remember to go out, keep an open eye and shoot!

Good hunt,
Tanel Kislov
http://www.flickr.com/photos/pildiuuk

PS! Sorry for the image quality. Low res scans of printed images is all I’ve got.

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32 Comments

  1. Incredible photographs. I lvoe the dark, moodiness to the photos. And I agree…I do like to know what gear is being used….and also find it rarely matters.

  2. A real impressive work and the way you visualize what you did see and feel….
    At the first glance I thought it’s a pinhole shot in #1. Your photographs demonstrate that there is no need for razor sharp asphericals when everything works together and contains soul.

    Please more pics – thanks!

    • The point you mentioned is what I’ve always found to be true. There is, of course, no doubt that with better tools you can achive better results in one way or another. But in reality you can take pictures with a shoebox. True- you would be very limited in your selection of subjects, locations etc, but the fact that one needs so little these days to photograph (be it digital or film) remains.

      Truth is that the first shot was with a 15mm Voigtländer and it’s a sharpest (windeangle) lens I’ve ever had. Sadly the scan doesn’t do any justice to that.

  8. Powerful images with great composition! The low res scanned quality really add to the atmosphere. Thanks Tanel and Steve for sharing these exceptional images!

  11. I like your point Tanel, it’s never about the gears, your picture says it all, gears topic are always fun to talk about. Great Inspiration. Thank you for sharing.

  16. These are excellent scans! You’ve done a great job proving that its not the equipment most of the time but the person that’s operating the camera.

  17. Absolutely awesome! Dark and mysterious, yet somehow inspiring and intreaging!
    I almost think the low-res grainyness adds to these images, not necessarily detract, it makes them feel more like ‘art’ pieces rather than just a great capture.
    Cheers for the share, inspirational indeed! 🙂

  18. Thank you all for your kind words and feedback!

    I forgot to add the tehnical details (because let’s face it, we all love know who is using what (including me), even if they’re no more than tools). All of these were shot on b&w film and printed in a darkroom. From the first to the last image: Leica M6 + 15mm Voigtländer, Fomapan 400 ; Canon A1 + 24mm, Tri-X ; Canon F1 + 50mm, can’t recall the film- I know it was iso 200.

  20. All these are really appealing, I’d echo the sentiments of others on here and say gear (however nice) is secondary to ability, your images reiterate that. Good work, Jason

  23. I could not agree with your sentiments more about equipment, Tanel!! I still use “vintage” Nikon D2H bodies and a Yashica Electro35 GS rangefinder (from the 1970’s). It is all about composition and light and recording however you can!!!

    Nice work. All three images are nice but #3 is really appealing to me…..

  25. These low res scans show us that even a photographic too such as a low res, noisy, small sensor camera, in the right hands with the right eyes, will produce wonderful photographs. It is all about the hunt, the adventure, the exploration of light and scene. Thanks to both Tanel and Steve Huff for the inspiration and keeping us sensor-happy technophiles grounded in the things that matter. Sincerely, Drew Martz

  29. i love the feel of these. and the first and second photos make me want to travel! inspirational indeed.

  30. One of the best daily inspirations ive seen! The first two pictures are amazing! Love the style.

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