Having submitted an application for a UK visa for she who must be obeyed, we entered the estimated three week waiting period for an answer. Two days ago, only nine days after submission, she received a call from the embassy and was subjected to a twenty minute interrogation which included such difficult questions as “where are you now?” and “how did you meet your husband”. At the end of the call, the interrogator told my wife she would get an answer in two weeks time. Sigh.

….in a field near Jomtien….

Unable to ascertain why it is there. The little man guarding the pile of ex-aircraft bits reckoned they were going to make it into a themed restaurant; or maybe it is just pending scrap. Either way, it deserved a few photos.

I am coming to the conclusion that the technical competence of a camera is becoming less important to me than the pleasure I derive from the ownership and shooting experience of the device. Like almost every camera on the market today, my Olympus E-M1 is capable of producing excellent images and is stuffed with more features than I can remember. Stick on the appropriate lens and it can handle macro, street, landscape, sports, and even snaps of little Jimmy doing his first poo on the toilet. It can knock out ten frames a second if I want it to; or shoot for a minute or so while I watch the image develop on the screen. It’s a technical marvel that is a much better camera than I am a photographer and I am very happy to own it. And yet, as previous reported, I left it at home when we went to Singapore recently.

Instead I took my 54 year old Leica IIIC. It can probably manage one shot every five seconds, if you get a move on. It has no menus (and no battery), and no options other than allowing you to set focus, exposure and shutter speed before pressing the most delicate of shutter release buttons.

I am currently collecting further cameras and lenses to place upon the great lottery that is eBay. Why the sudden need to raise cash I hear you ask (actually I don’t, maybe just a deep, resigned sigh). And this is the answer: