GLOBAL PRO GALLERY
Mike Boening
Mike BoeningUSA
Mike regularly finds his inspiration in his hometown of Detroit, Michigan, where he specializes in street and urban photography. As the newest Trailblazer in the Olympus Visionary Program, Mike first caught the eye of Olympus through his social interaction on the Get Olympus website and through fellow Olympus Trailblazer, Jamie MacDonald.
Over the past five years, he has worked with the Detroit Metro Convention Bureau, covering events and the Pure Michigan campaign. Mike has shared his love of street photography by teaching and leading groups on urban photography in the Detroit area and beyond.
When Mike isn’t behind a camera, he’s in front of the camera serving as co-host of the biweekly video podcast, Mirrorless Minutes. Mike is passionate about what can be accomplished with the Olympus Micro Four Thirds systems, using the OM-D E-M1 for his outdoor shooting exploits.
Mike’s First Impression of PEN-F Monochrome Profile Control and Color Profile Control
The PEN-F Monochrome and Color Profile Control takes me back to film days, shooting color with the rich hues and vivid saturation of classic transparency film. The Monochrome Profiles are a wonderful throwback to shooting monochrome and infrared film. It’s an empowering experience knowing you have the ability to make your own emulsions in both color and monochrome while you’re out on a shoot.
Mike’s Additional Thoughts of Profile Control
Using the PEN-F Profile Control is an amazing experience when shooting in the streets. I see scenes in a whole new way knowing I can change color and monochrome settings on the fly. It’s as if I am doing my post-processing in the camera, and this pushes my creativity - that’s the mark of a great camera. I’ve found myself being much more intrigued shooting in color since I’ve been using the PEN-F. That said, my regular shooting mode of Black and White is not forgotten. This camera is a street shooting dream machine.
The Profile Control combined with the classic PEN-F feel and street shooting design (like the left-positioned electronic viewfinder and top-mounted rotating exposure compensation wheel), all with 20 megapixels makes the PEN-F my new go-to camera for the streets. Olympus has differentiated this camera from its fantastic OM-D line up by listening to its street shooting customers. If your desire is to be in the street practicing your craft, the PEN-F is for you.
Mike’s Profile Control Explanation
When I hit the streets with my camera, I have a certain vision in mind. I want this to come through in the final product. I look to be creative with composition along with the overall feel of the image - color or black and white. The first presets in the Profile Control for both color and monochrome are completely customizable. If I want to accentuate images with color filters and adjust those filter strengths, I use the new top lever to instantly display my options. I typically like to shoot with a small vignette; by toggling the switch again, I have full control over this as well. With one more flip of the switch, I can adjust curves with highlight and shadow controls. If I’m out and decide to accentuate certain colors or shoot through a yellow filter in Monochrome, it’s so easy now. I see the scenes inside my camera that I intended to shoot without spending time at a computer in post-processing. More time to create within a photographer’s natural environment is a benefit every street shooting camera should provide. The new PEN-F squarely hits that mark.
PEN-F
A timeless beauty with with its rangefinder style. For the true camera enthusiast. The masterpiece: PEN-F