[OM-3 Award Winner] Time Spent with OM SYSTEM ~As a Partner Beyond Just Equipment~

I have recently won a photo contest hosted by Map Camera (Syuppin Co., Ltd.) called EVERYBODY × PHOTOGRAPHER.com (hereinafter referred to as Ebi-Photo).

OM SYSTEM Product Exclusive OM-3 Launch Commemorative PHOTO CONTEST

at the

[OM-3 Award]

.

I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to the staff who selected my work and to everyone who supports me on a daily basis.

And happily, I also won the [OM-1 MARK II Award] in this Ebi-Photo contest, which was actually held around this time last year in 2024, the "OM SYSTEM Product Exclusive OM-1 MARK II Launch Commemorative Blue Impact PHOTO CONTEST".
Although it is limited to OM SYSTEM products, I was so happy to have won a prize in a new product-titled photo contest for two consecutive years that I ended up writing this article. (´･ω･`)

Given that, this award feels deeply moving, as if it were a recognition not just of a single photo, but of the time and experience I have accumulated with OM SYSTEM until now.

A life changed by meeting a camera

I first encountered OM SYSTEM (then OLYMPUS) about four years ago. The first OM-D E-M10 MARK III I got started for a careless reason: "because the used double lens kit was cheap," without knowing any preferences or differences.

Before long, I encountered a bird of prey called an "Osprey," which sparked my interest in wild bird photography. I sold my first-ever interchangeable lens camera after 40 days and switched to the OM-D E-M1 MARK II equipped with on-chip phase-detection AF, and spent my days shooting birds in the neighborhood using features like Pro Capture.

Due to my lifestyle rhythm and my reluctance to travel and shy personality, a "camera" that can be enjoyed in single-player mode has become a tool that allows me to express my own unique worldview through art at my own pace without being disturbed by anyone. It is also like a game that satisfies my collecting urge, like when I get a rare character, whenever I capture a rare scene, and it has become an existence that gives me various joys beyond just being a "tool to record memories."

Also, I have had more opportunities to interact with many people through social media, and my shy personality has improved a little, so I have been able to join others in real life, started pretending to be a YouTuber, and recently I have been able to enjoy cameras in multiplayer mode as well.

Since I got my hands on the OM-1, I have been gradually entering online photo contests, and thanks to that, I think I have won awards more than ten times, both large and small. I have a fickle personality, so my past hobbies never lasted very long, but the repeated success in these contests has led to my confidence and motivation, and for now, I don't feel like I'm going to get bored of it anytime soon (´･ω･`)

The Power of OM That Shined in the Field

One of the major advantages of OM SYSTEM (OLYMPUS) equipment is "mobility." It is lightweight and compact, including the lenses, and the image stabilization is so powerful that I can enjoy handheld wild bird photography for long periods. Being able to enjoy it for longer means more shutter opportunities. Increasing my best shots leads to my own self-confidence.

I will withhold the details of the location where this winning work was taken, but it is a place with a fair amount of foot traffic where tripods are basically not allowed. Therefore, I used the OM-1 II and the M.ZD300mmF4PRO for handheld shooting. As I mentioned earlier, it is a lightweight and compact system, so (unlike big cannon lenses) I was able to aim for shutter opportunities comfortably without intimidating the people around me.

However, while the equipment isn't intimidating, I have a large build myself, so maybe I was intimidating people in a different way... (´･ω･`)

Photos cannot be taken with equipment alone. But they couldn't have been taken without the equipment.

The work that won this time is not a shot I happened to take by luck. I have absolute trust in the "Pro Capture" feature that has been included since the E-M1II era. Because of this feature, I came to love wild bird photography, and I also feel that by continuing to photograph varied tits with Pro Capture, I gained a kind of advantage in the wild bird photography community.

The work that won this award was also shot by using the Pro Capture feature in combination with pre-focusing, predicting where the bird would jump out. Pro Capture is an electronic shutter, but in the Micro Four Thirds system, the impact of the rolling shutter phenomenon is small, and it depicts the quick movements of small birds without much discomfort.

Especially when facing subjects that are difficult to predict, such as wild birds, the existence of reliable equipment is as much a reassuring weapon as instantaneous judgment and experience.

The experience of understanding and mastering the characteristics of the equipment. Including those features, I believe it was a work that "could only be taken with this equipment."

In Conclusion

Being able to win the "OM-3 Award" this time feels like my own journey, walking together with my partner, OM SYSTEM, has been evaluated in the form of a single photograph.

Now, OM SYSTEM is not just a tool for me, but a part of my expression and a partner for sharing excitement. Through wild bird photography, the way I see the world has changed, and my encounters and connections have increased. I truly believe that a camera has the power to bring new scenery into one's life, beyond the expression of photography.

With this award as fuel, I intend to challenge myself to take the next shot.

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