The Hasselblad X2D
I’m talking here about where I want to go with photography. I’m getting my new Hasselblad camera system tuned to where I can produce what I want to see, what I see through my eyes and in the moment. And also capturing the vibe I feel in that moment. It’s real.
Perhaps it’s a little thing to blog about, but to me it is somewhat of a big deal because it is a steppingstone from where I can go from here. I have locked it in, meaning I have made it real, actual, and existent in this world we all live in. I can count on this technique being just what it is and that it is repeatable.
How many weeks did it take me to accomplish this? Many and with the help and guidance from a friendly (and brilliant) photographer, Lloyd Chambers who pointed out to me (patiently) what I needed to know, even when I brushed the comments off and didn’t pick up on them right away.
I usually get around to what is pointed out to me sooner or later. I feel like one of those street venders trying to walk while covered with hanging pots and pans on my coat, banging away. I want to divest all that and take up on the good stuff, but it takes me a while to get my boat pointed in the right direction. I usually get there after a while.
You will think that a switch from my familiar Nikon system to the Hasselblad X2D would be a walk in the park, but that’s hardly so. It’s more than just a new camera, but a whole other take on the world of photography, at least for me.
However, with the Hasselblad X2D with its 100-pixel sensor, I find that I am forced beyond my comfort level, which has been closeup photography, and plunged into landscape photography with little warning.
I’ve never been that interested in shooting landscapes, yet the X2D has kind of forced me awake to landscape considerations because everything I look at with this medium-format camera is worth taking a picture of. No need to scout around for subject matter. Just about everything admits of beauty if photographed properly.
So, I am stuck in that boat… and loving it. You know I have read and watched everything about the Hasselblad X2D on the Internet, and studied each lens, whether I have it or not, in detail. And when all is said and done, and I’ve done it, the work of Lloyd Chambers stands out as precious. To my knowledge, from what I’ve found no one has done the detailed study and workup of modern cameras better than Chambers.
I know, much of that work is stuck behind a paywall, yet considering all the books I try to read and so on, it’s worth every penny to me to get the guidance and advice that Chambers compiles. It’s like a grand encyclopedia of photography and with this new Hasselblad system I have had to take myself to the woodshed and learn.
And I don’t always take Chambers advice in the multitude of articles he has arrayed, yet sooner or later I find myself coming around to understanding the value of what he is pointing out in great detail. He has done the homework.
So, despite my predilection for closeup, I find myself becoming a landscape photographer and learning it. And it is not easy, but very subtle what is required for the landscape view.
I not only like what I’m learning about landscape work, but I’m loving it and becoming a convert. I’m already converted, yet just have to learn how to do it properly.
Here is a photo I took yesterday of the ferns coming up in our back yard. It’s an early attempt but I find it very satisfying of an inner itch that I have for context and clarity.
This is the Hasselblad X2D with the XCD 21mm f/4 lens, two frames, but I could have done it with a single frame I believe.
