One camera that I keep by the front door – and one that I failed to mention in my camera lineage a few months ago – is the Olympus E-PM1, also known as the Pen Mini. It originally came out in 2011, but I picked up a used copy for around $100 back in 2014. It was released at the same time as the E-P3, and while it doesn’t have many external dials or controls, it can do everything the E-P3 can do via the menu, and both cameras share the same sensor. With a pancake lens like the Panasonic 14mm f/2.5, or the little Panasonic 12-32mm zoom that collapses down to pancake size, it’s a convenient little setup to grab when heading out with the dog. Its diminutive size really does make it a “no excuse” camera in terms of always having one handy.

But even with something so convenient, it’s still sometimes hard to gin up the inspiration to grab that (or any other) camera, go out, and shoot.

Towards that end, I’ve recently re-discovered Flickr. I was an early member before Yahoo acquired the site in 2005, but didn’t use it much in the intervening period. In 2018 SmugMug acquired Flickr from Yahoo, putting the site squarely back into a dedicated photography sphere.

As a repository of photos from all around the world, I’d forgotten how much Flickr can serve as a source of inspiration. One can either jump right into the vast photo stream, or peruse various groups centered around assorted topics, geography, or specific camera gear. I did a search for “E-PM1” and found a handful of groups featuring photos taken with that specific model.

 

So now, if you’ll excuse me, I’m grabbing my E-PM1 and heading out into the yard to practice some “creative seeing”…