Over the last 3 years I selected/culled, titled, tagged and, sometimes, edited 2,844 photos from my Pixel 4a and later Pixel 8 for my private hike/run/adventure log. I tried workflows with Lightroom Mobile, Dropbox, OneDrive and tried various apps for taking photos.

The convenience of taking photos with your phone is undeniable - unexpected moments, utilitarian photos and quick memories, unbeatable! But after carefully curating, editing and storing so many photos I'm also finding it a joyless, disappointing, tool if you care about the craft of photography.

Of course fair criticism to think that I didn't have the right phone/camera, the right app or the right process, that I didn't embrace the medium or that old habits are dragging me down. Regardless, 3 years and 2,844 photos feels like an honest try.

Over the last 3 months I selected/culled, titled, tagged and edited 156 photos from my OM SYSTEM OM-5 camera with M.Zuiko Digital 17mm F1.8 II lens for my private hike/run/adventure log. My workflow includes software that I have written myself (to manage file names, summaries, tags and geo-tagging), DxO PureRAW and ON1 Photo RAW.

The OM-5 plus 17mm prime lens fits comfortable into a run vest, is weather resistant, has a very functional set of physical controls, produces images that make me happy and, for me, is expensive, but not so expensive that it couldn't be replaced if it was damaged. It lacks the resolution of modern monsters like the Sony A7Rv, but the images are a joy to edit and hold up quite well on a larger monitors or in print.

It has been a joy to have the OM-5 - neighborhood runs are a chance to look for a new photos, and unexpected moments are documented with photos that I actually care about. For a hike specifically to take photographs I will still take my A7Riv - but as an everyday, more casual camera, the OM-5 is amazing. I'm so glad that I stepped back from the constant cycle of more megapixels, bigger sensors and more hype and found the Om-5!