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One reason I love the Ricoh GR III is because it allows me to travel light, drive around looking for photo opportunities, then jump out, get my shots, and be on my way. There are times I like lugging around my DSLR and gear, but there are other times it makes more sense to have something light, yet powerful like the Ricoh GR III.

I left my house in the early evening on a day in May with sketchy weather brewing to the south. Within 15 minutes of my house, I passed an old house that first appeared abandoned, but as I got closer realized there was a For Sale sign in the yard. But upon even further inspection I found the house to indeed be empty of a resident, and an abundance of trash including a lot of old rusty artifacts.

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Testing the Canon RP Full Frame Mirrorless camera w/RF 24-105mm f/4-7.1 IS STM Lens Kit.

I purchased this camera in May of 2020, and realized most of the review videos were old and out-dated. There IS 24fps video at HD 1920x1080. The camera is also weather-sealed, and has updated AF eye focusing.

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In this Point-of-View Street Photography video, I walk downtown Indianapolis, Indiana asking strangers if I can take their photo with my Canon T3i camera and 18-55mm Kit Lens III. Most agreed, only a couple did not, yet they still at least talked to me.

The advantage of asking for a portrait, or picture, is that you get the subject to look directly into the camera, which is where the soul of the photo makes its appearance. It might be artsy to have the subject look away, or capture a candid shot when the subject looks at you, but when you ask to take their picture, the corner of the eyes slightly twitch upward, which is where the person's true character comes through. Even if they are not smiling, there is a sense of surrender that they are allowing you to take the photo.

In hindsight, I would have taken more closeup shots of these individuals. The situation was a bit different than usual, in that the Covid virus kept most of the usual workers off the streets, leaving the construction, security and civil employees, and the homeless. I normally do not approach homeless people for photos as I feel it's taking advantage of their situation, and I don't want capture them like animals behind bars in a zoo. But on this outing, it was hard to tell who was homeless and who wasn't, so I just started asking anyone I saw, and the payoff was some excellent portraits.

Sharp and Clear Canon 18-55mm Kit Lens III

I just recently purchased the Canon 18-55mm Kit Lens III to use on my T3i when I don't want to take out the Canon RP. This lens proved to be very sharp, very accurate, and despite being a kit lens, performed exceptionally well during this photowalk in May 2020 during the Covid lockdown.

See the Photo Gallery from this shoot by clicking here

I test the Ricoh GR III using the AE Highlight-Weighted mode while shooting an abandoned schoolhouse in rural Johnson County in Indiana. I use basic Program mode, along with the AE Highlight-Weighted mode, to keep the light from the windows blowing out.

I had to make adjustments in Lightroom by pulling up the shadows, but the details and excellent sensor showed no deterioration in the details. While I wouldn't typically use the Ricoh GR III for this type of photography, it was a good test for the metering mode. I will be using this mode for my street photography, which is why I purchased this camera in February, before the lockdown, hopefully this summer when all goes back to normal! Whatever that is!

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I test the Ricoh GR III for Long Exposure and Night Photography while shooting a Healthcare Providers Thank You sign and light trails of cars and a semi in Greenwood, Indiana during the Covid shutdown. The Ricoh GR III performed great! The manual settings are easy to adjust and dial in as needed. Sharp image quality and colors. You can check out the video by clicking the image above, or going to my YouTube Channel or my Stealth Photographer website.

Read more about this adventure in my blog entry from last week.