Oliver Costier OM magazine

INTERVIEW
OM | ISSUE 001 | JAN-MAR 2021
detail in this scene, I used High-Res
Shot Mode which extended the long
exposure effect from ten to 80 seconds
(eight frames of 10secs combined).
I wanted a really classic photo of
the Eiffel tower, and this shot (4) was a
‘shoot and leave’ situation, so I heavily
relied on the sensor stabilisation so
that I wouldn’t need to set up a tripod,
which would have prevented me taking
the shot quickly before moving on.
The fact that I don’t even have to think
twice while taking a 1sec exposure
handheld just shows what a gamechanger the kit has been regarding the
way I approach my photography.
Has your photography changed since
travel restrictions have been
in place?
I tried some self-portraits and also
some product photography, which
allowed me to play with an artificial
and controlled light source. I also
started learning about videography,
as timelapse photography created a
link between simple photographs and
videos, and I would like to explore
video processing further following this.
How important to you is it to get
outside and capture the environment
around you?
Getting outside is the foundation of my
photography. Even on a small scale
and with the travel restrictions, it is
still very inspiring to see a location
changing so much depending on the
weather conditions. For the past few
months I really enjoyed going outside
on wet days, actually, to capture
the Paris mood a bit differently. And
having weathersealed gear really
does help a lot.

What’s in Olivier’s kit bag

OM-D E-M1
Mark II

OM-D E-M1
Mark III

M.Zuiko 7-14mm
F2.8 PRO

M.Zuiko 12-100mm
F4.0 IS PRO
4
5
What is the first thing you would like
to photograph or a place you’d like to
visit when moving around gets easier?
I will probably stick around Paris and
explore some more local areas. As the
travel restriction was fairly strict, I didn’t
get the luxury to enjoy the city as much
as I would’ve liked to. Also, depending
on the season, I’ll probably try to go
for some mountain hikes in the Alps
or seaside hikes around Normandy or
Brittany; so having such lightweight kit
will be perfect for carrying with me.

For landscape and
street photography, it is
important to learn about
your gear and understand
the basics
8
(4) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 7-14mm
F2.8 PRO
1.0s | F5.6 | ISO 200

(5) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 12100mm F4.0 IS PRO
1/30s | F5 | ISO 64
especially in New York, Massachusetts
and Vermont, so I will keep that on
my list. South America and especially
Patagonia are regions I’d love to
explore and photograph. Also, Europe
has so much to offer like Scotland,
Croatia, Norway, Italy or Portugal to
name a few. And last but not least,
Japan is a country I visited two years
ago but there are still so many things I
would like to see
and experience.
(6) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 7-14mm
F2.8 PRO
10s | F6.3 | ISO 200
(7) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 12100mm F4.0 IS PRO
1/80s | F4 | ISO 64
What would be on your ultimate wish
list to photograph over the next five
years if you had the chance?
This year I really wanted to capture
the autumn foliage colours in the USA,
6
(8) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 12100mm F4.0 IS PRO
1/25s | F4 | ISO 64
(9) OM-D E-M1 Mark
II | M.Zuiko 7-14mm
F2.8 PRO
1/4s | F2.8 | ISO 200

7
What advice would you give to
someone starting out in your field?
I feel that for landscape and street
photography, it is important to learn
about your gear and understand
the basics. Once you’ve found your
groove with your gear, then comes the
observation phase. For cityscapes;
shapes and light quality will probably
be the main considerations, whereas
for street photography it’ll mainly come
down to dynamics and contrast. In
both cases, patience will probably be
your best weapon. This is also very
true if you decide to dive into
timelapse photography as it can
become very time consuming while
shooting and processing.
For an entry to those genres, I
would recommend the OM-D E-M5
Mark III with M.Zuiko 12-200mm
F3.5-6.3. That combination provides
quite a nice focal range while staying
compact. It will also allow for a wide
array of creativity.
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