Question: What do you do when you have a spare couple of days in New Orleans and a Panasonic G7?
Answer: Get out amongst it!
It was Thursday night after a work seminar in New Orleans, and I had the Friday and Saturday to kill. Being based at The Roosevelt Hotel, I was pretty close to the French Quarter, so I thought I’d venture out to the “Garden District” on my own on the Friday and see if I could get a photography tour booked for the Saturday.
American Photo Safari
After a bit of online research I came across American Photo Safari. They are based in New Orleans and run short three to six hour walking photography tours. I was a little worried that I’d left things a bit too late, but the booking went through seamlessly and ten minutes later I was booked up for a 9am start in The French Quarter on Saturday.
I met Chris from APS in Jackson Square at the gate closest to the St. Louis Cathedral. After a quick group assessment of knowledge levels (there were just three of us in the group) we were given a reference card to use as a reminder of the effect of shutter speed v focal length v ISO. We went through the French Quarter stopping at places of interest and given small photo challenges to try and before we knew it we were at Jackson Square again.
Value for money?
The French Quarter tour costs around $80 and for just three hours it my seem a bit steep. If you are a regular to New Orleans, or are in a group of photography friends, then the pace and level may not suit you. But for a Brit on his own, with just a short amount of time to get around, I felt it was worth it. If I ever find myself in New Orleans again, I’ll check out American Photo Safari for the Garden District Tour – and if the time suits I’ll give it a try. But if I had more time to plan ahead, I think I’d go further afield with a full day visiting the plantations.
Street photography with the Panasonic G7
I love the Panasonic G7, it is extremely light compared to my Canon 5D MkIII and the flip screen has made photography fun again. It’s a real treat to experiment with low and high angles by tilting the screen. Don’t get me wrong, I love my Canon full frame, but walking around any city with your camera for the first time on your own (when you are miles from home with thousands of pounds worth of lenses and body) isn’t something I’m comfortable with even in my own country.
With the Panasonic G7 I was able to pack the Manfrotto PIXI Mini tripod, the G7 with 14-140 lens, a 20mm lens, and the rest of the usual camera sundries in the Think Tank Retrospective 5 Pinestone Shoulder Bag. Not only is it lightweight, I don’t think you would actually have a clue that I had camera equipment with me.
Until I build up my confidence with the Panasonic operating system and get myself a set of Micro four Thirds Lee filters, I can’t see me switching from the Canon any time soon, but I think that the Panasonic G7 will become my go-to camera for 2016.
I’m off to another Light and Land photography tour in the Lake District next, so it’s going to be interesting to see whether the Canon 5D Mark III or the Panasonic G7 gets used most, I’ll share the outcome in the next post.
Gallery
I’ve added a selection of images in a New Orleans Gallery as part of the Street section.