Retrospective September 2025

There has been a lot going on in our life this month, lots of adventures, lots of interesting things we have seen and ticked off. And to wrap it up my birthday is in September, small world but a friend I have mentioned often Iain Farrell of the Prime Lenses Podcast and I share the same birthday.

Fathers Day

My second fathers day was a really fun one as we went to the aquarium. I have wanted to take Bronte to the aquarium for a long time now and this seemed like the perfect occasion for it. Sydney Aquarium had an offer on where fathers got in for free so off we went. Nothing will ever top being in the shark tunnel while Bronte points at the shark and goes “RAAAAAHHHHHH”, this happened for every single shark so we got plenty of laughs out of our trip.

Case layout

This was talked about in the last newsletter but now I can show it off all organised! I always love having all my gear clearly laid out so I know where everything is. I could probably also make a little bit of room in there for whats next in the newsletter…

I got to try out a grail lens

Ever since I first saw a photo of the Leica 50mm f1.4 Summilux ASPH I decided then and there that I wanted one. It has always been a grail lens for me and when I was at the Todd Hido book signing from the last newsletter I noticed that this was in the used gear cabinet. On fathers day we were close by and had coffee next door to the Leica store in Sydney so I poked my head in and got a chance to finally hold and try one out.

The more I have learnt about this lens over the years in terms of how it was designed and the incredible things they crammed into such a small (yet very heavy in the brass version) just shows it’s very special. In short I am in love, I plan on getting one and will be financially destitute but very happy for the rest of time. Even this shot below I just took in the store has no right looking that incredible.

The cough that nearly got me

Ok so the title is a little dramatic there but I had a rolling cough for a couple of weeks at that point (thanks daycare) and a single cough one morning sent a sharp pain through my side and I worried that I had cracked a rib. Nothing showed up on x-ray thankfully and it seems to be muscle strain but about a week later I sneezed and thought it was my time (again, maybe a little dramatic)

Kodak Sign

I have wanted an original old Kodak sign for a long time but the prices have always just gone up and up and up for some of the bigger and more recognisable ones. When visiting the Picton markets one weekend I saw this from a stall that sold original metal signs from all different companies and knew I had to have this as soon as I saw it.

AirPods Pro 3

My original AirPods Pro have been a daily carry for me since I got them in 2020 so they have very much done their time. I had to swap the earbuds a couple of years ago because of the robot voice and that bought them some more time. They had started to not hold charge very well and the crackle did come back in the right one, this all happened towards the end of last month and there were rumours of a new set at the September launch.

They are a huge upgrade and the noise cancelation is incredible so a very good upgrade from the originals for sure. I tried out the live translation the other day as well and it’s no joke, I thought it would have to be a slow paced back and forth but it was keeping up with a French news report I threw on just to try it out.

More Printing

I am still turning over the printer with some more work here and there. I have filmed the printing part of a new instalment of ‘Pixels to Paper’ but I want to make it a slightly longer video where I can talk more about what went into creating the image so this one will end up on the YouTube channel. The image you may recognise from last months photo walk with Jesse Marlow in at Leica Sydney.

Lens Node

This plugin for DaVinci Resolve caught my eye and I thought would be a great addition to Nitrate from FilmConvert which I use for colour. Seeing an Aussie team building some very cool software really drew me in and I love the idea of producing videos with 2 tools both made in Australia and New Zealand.

I haven’t has much of a chance to play with it yet but there are a few video’s I want to make so keep an eye out in the next newsletter.

Captured my interest

Why photography is the best hobby - I love reading posts from Roman Fox, he has a great writing style and his images are fantastic. This post really hit home because I think if you’re reading this and you’re not my mum (hi mum) then you too probably agree that photography is just the best hobby.

Canon C50 + Nikon ZR - Both cameras look super interesting and like they will be very powerful tools in the right hands. Canon adding an attractive entry point to their Cine line I feel is a good move. Nikon showing a glimpse into what a future where the Nikon and Red systems are much closer aligned gives a very powerful camera I am seeing quite a few people tempted by.

DJI Mini 5 Pro - Drones have always been an interest of mine that I have never had a need great enough to justify the cost of one. This doesn’t stop me from looking at each new one and wondering ‘is this the one?’ The answer is still no but the Mini 5 Pro looks like it would be a perfect entry into a drone that has a lot of room to grow into when it comes to its capabilities.

Lumix 100-500mm - I am really impressed how they managed to cram so much reach into such an objectively small lens, aperture is the obvious sacrifice they made but I think the optical quality of images I have seen mixed with how well Lumix cameras are at higher ISO’s creates a very nice offering of a lens… until you see the price.

This video below from Matt D’Avella was a great way to start the month for me in how he talks about how many, the pace and the quality of the things we’re doing which is a good reminder coming closer to the end of the first year of writing newsletters.

Best of September 2025 Gallery

That wraps up September

Another busy month down as we roll closer to the end of the year. Halloween items are already for sale and I have seen fruit mince pies at the super market so what is time anymore, October to December is just one blob of time.

Onward we go taking more photos and making more things. I have been reflecting a little bit about the year of creative intent I have had and how it has gone which I think could make for an interesting video so keep an eye out.

Bye for now,

Tom