Dumbfoundead hates your DSLR

Last week, Toronto was blessed by the return of Korean Jesus, aka Dumbfoundead. That was my first time seeing him perform live, so it definitely wasn’t an experience that I was willing to pass up on. So there I was on a cold, Friday night, in a middle of a crowded bar watching Dumbfoundead perform. My weapon of choice for capturing the night, the Ricoh GR.

In the four years that I’ve been shooting, I quickly realized how annoying a DSLR was. Hauling a chunky DSLR and lenses (just in case you want to capture every single possible moment) is taxing. It was uncomfortable, bulky, and in my experience, dealing with a DSLR simply gets in the way of you enjoying what you set out to do. What does this have to do with my time with Dumbfoundead? In this intimate little bar, this is where the little Ricoh GR shines. In almost every situation, I can pocket this little bad boy and take it wherever I go. 

What’s the point of having a small camera like this? Yes, I do have an iPhone that I carry with me at all times. And yes, I also do constantly repeat to myself the quote from Chase Jarvis, “The best camera is the one that’s with you.” But we all have to recognize the technical limitations that comes with an iPhone. Photos that come straight off the phone look great on the camera roll, Instagram feeds, on the web, whatever. Anything beyond that, often times my iPhone does nothing but disappoint me. The photo might be great, but the image itself is terrible.

I’ve been burned by lugging a DSLR around and I’ve been burned by just having my iPhone. That’s why I have a compact camera. That’s why the following photos at Dumbfoundead’s performance were taken by one. That’s why my Ricoh GR is so damn awesome.

Don’t think the DSLR is the end all be all of extending your experience in photography.

tl;dr Dumbfoundead hates your DSLR*

*not really