auckland one

Back in 2013 shortly after shifting from Christchurch post quakes to Auckland Central… a little mirrorless camera hit the market.

It had a metal vintage styled body and features such as a flippy out screen, in camera stabilisation and paired with a fast pancake lens – people would not even see it. The camera was silent too.

The camera was an Olympus OMD EM5 and at the time it was revolutionary in a market place full of big camera bodies, loud slapping mirrors, full frame and glass as long as your arm. What attracted me to this compact (not pocketable) camera was just how much it motivated me to make work outside of commercial briefs. I had just moved to Auckland too and the city was such an exciting medium to explore. The EM5 was the perfect camera.

Sadly we only spent a few years together and like everything, under reflection, I never quite understood how much of an imprint that camera had made on me.  I traded it in for other kit, and we parted ways.

Fast forward to 2023 and colour film prices are just plain insulting, so I’m after a digital camera away from my work tools once again. The OMD EM5 is still the perfect camera for this role, and after a visit to my local camera shop, I’ve been reunited with the identical setup from 2013- the OMD body with grip and the iconic 40mm pancake from Panasonic. I’ve also picked up a 50mm lens for more portrait driven work. As soon as it was in my hands it felt like we had never been apart, and I’m smitten all over again.

While I’ll always shoot monochrome film on my beloved TLR’s, this little gem will step up to replacing Kodak in my life once my stash expires, especially as it shoots square RAW files.  The OMD lenses seem to have a filmic aesthetic too, as they are render images with low contrast and muted tones. I’ve tried it in the studio as well, and it’s very comfortable with large lights and portraits.

Going through my archives from when we lived in Auckland, and this camera was in my bag daily, has been quite an emotional experience for me. I remember wondering the streets day and night, exploring with friends and family. It was so much fun. It was also a very hectic and tough time for me too. Back then, life was VERY noisy and I was juggling to much stuff – with ‘process’ or ‘series’ not even part of my creative vocabulary.

I can’t deny a mild fascination towards these decade old photos that when separated from all of the other imagery (there are so many) I was shooting at the time, do have some style akin to my work now. Is there any cohesion? Maybe not. Was it a time of steep and intense development as a photographer? Very much so. Is it great how much photography can be part of our own unique history if we let it? 100%

Here are a few images captured during my time spent in Central Auckland on the Olympus OMD-EM5.

 

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