Now stick with me on this one.

Specifically, I’m talking about the Ricoh GR III, which has a reputation for having really poor battery life.

But I think it’s all about how you use the camera and how you think about taking photos.

If you use the camera the way I believe Ricoh intends this camera to be used, you’re going to get a crapload of battery life.

I’m getting 600, 700 photos per battery.

The way I think Ricoh intends you to use this camera is to just beat it into the ground.

Take as many photos with it as you possibly can.

Never turn it off.

Use snap focus.

That’s why they have snap focus.

You can just snap, snap, snap, snap everything around you.

And that matters because snap focus isn’t constantly using autofocus. You’re not using that extra power to focus and lock onto your target every single time.

And if you never turn the camera off, you’re not constantly powering the motor to retract the lens and then bring it back out again.

Another thing?

Don’t chimp.

Take the photograph and keep moving.

That’s the mindset.

If you see something you’re interested in, don’t take one photo and walk away.

Take four or five photos.

Move around.

Then move on to the next thing that interests you.

Today I’m on my second battery and I’ve already taken almost 1,000 photos.

And my second battery still has plenty of juice left.

So turn the camera on.

Leave it on.

And snap away at anything and everything that’s interesting to you.

See something?

Take one photo.

Take another.

Take three.

Take five.

Move on.

Maybe the next interesting thing is one foot away.

Walk one foot.

Take five more photos.

Walk another foot.

Take another five.

But here’s where this gets more interesting to me.

This isn’t really about battery life anymore.

It’s about how you’re photographing.

Because when you start shooting like this, you’re going to get home with so many damn photos that you like that you didn’t even know you were going to like.

You’re photographing with a completely different mindset.

You’re following instinct.

You’re following intuition.

You’re not standing there analyzing every photograph before you take it.

Something interests you.

Snap.

Something else interests you.

Snap.

Follow that instinct.

What’s the goal of street photography?

For me, it’s to make photographs that I like.

So what’s one of the simplest ways to increase my chances of making photographs I like?

Make more photographs.

The more I shoot, the more chances I give myself.

So maybe the Ricoh GR III doesn’t have bad battery life.

Maybe battery life is a mindset.