Macedonian trip - Pocket camera and the travel

It goes without saying. I took a bit of gear with me for a two-week photography trip around North Macedonia. But amongst other things, I took my Olympus E-PL7. Why? So that I’d have something pocket-sized for when I’m too tired to carry my whole backpack, for when I’m just popping round the corner to the bakery – after all, something interesting might happen – so that I’d have something typical for street photography and, finally, perhaps most importantly, so that I could capture that vintage look which might be significant for post-Yugoslavian subjects.

The pocket kit

So, perhaps a few words about what I took with me. An Olympus E-PL7, a 7artisans 18/6.3 ‘UFO’ lens, a Brightin Star 10/5.6 fisheye lens, a spare battery, lens caps and a camera strap. Everything you can see in the photo below.

Why the PEN E-PL7 still works

OM Digital Solutions has recently released a new version of the PEN. Fortunately, I still have a fully functional PEN 7 Lite. Yes, it’s only 16.1MP, and the image stabilisation is only 3-axis (but it works effectively). Admittedly, having to remember to go into the menu and set the focal length after changing the lens is a bit annoying, but it’s something you can live with. And in that case, the stabilisation is sufficient. You can only shoot videos in Full HD, so we’ll focus on photos. And this is where my choice of lenses comes in. The 7artisans 18/6.3 is thinner than a lens cap and lighter than a feather; it gives a fantastic vintage look with slight softness at the edges, a touch of distortion and the potential for cascades of flare when shooting into the light. And that’s exactly the nostalgic feel I was after. The Brightin Star 10/5.6, on the other hand, adds a touch of whimsy, fisheye-style distortion and a wide angle – though not quite as wide as a classic fisheye (I’ve described it before). Brightin’s anti-glare coatings are noticeably better, so both the colour rendering and backlit images look much more modern.

And finally, that’s why the MFT was invented: for its light weight and portability.

Yes, the whole thing weighs just under 450 grams (15.84oz) ! And you’re practically invisible when you’re taking photos. Admittedly, this isn’t really a problem in North Macedonia, where people often ask you to take their photo, but you don’t attract any attention.

The 7Artisans 18mm pancake

All the photographs shown here were taken by me in North Macedonia in the first half of September 2026. They depict the cities of Skopje, Ohrid, Bitola and Prilep and their surrounding areas.

Let’s start with the photos taken with the ‘UFO’ pancake.

The first and most obvious use. Street photography. Something’s happening – just point and shoot. It’s small, fits in your pocket, with a second lens in another pocket, and switches on instantly when you press the button. It works. What’s more, the 18mm focuses to infinity from about 3 metres, and the 10mm from one metre. You’ll have to work a bit harder at closer distances. You can’t see all that much on the display, especially in sunlight. You have to zoom in on a section and focus precisely. But in most cases, you just keep it set to infinity and that’s fine. After a while, you get a decent enough feel for the settings. Above is a promotional event in the centre of Prilep. I hadn’t yet reached the place where I was staying, so having my camera in my pocket came in very handy.

In the next scene, we see a man walking towards the shore of Lake Ohrid. The sun was directly behind me, and the man was approaching at a brisk pace. I had to deal with the problem of my own shadow, so I made it the central element of the composition.

Ohrid again. The town is extremely touristy in its centre, so there’s no shortage of scenes of all kinds there. And I’ve got two fixed-aperture lenses with a huge depth of field – just point and shoot. Sometimes, not thinking can be relaxing.

Bitola, a nut seller. The buyer stands still, whilst the hands of some of the other people are blurred. It’s already evening, and dark. Generally speaking, when photographing people in Macedonia, you shouldn’t encounter any hostility. Provided, of course, that you don’t cross any lines. Which ones? I don’t know, because I haven’t crossed any… Generally speaking, the advice is not to photograph other people’s children without permission, or the police, or the security services… That’s fairly obvious.

Bitola, a man waiting at a bus stop. It’s close enough that you don’t need to adjust the focus. Neither the 16.1MP sensor, nor the TruePic VII image processor, nor, indeed, the lens itself are particularly high-spec. However, they are sufficient to capture the moment clearly whilst also conveying the atmosphere of the past.

City details and visual character

Another use is to document distinctive features of the city – particularly those with historical roots, or which are simply strange or unusual.

The murals of Bitola.

Bitola Cars.

Buildings in Bitola.

Vending machines selling all sorts of bits and bobs for children on the lane leading to Lake Ohrid. This is how the 7Artisans 18/6.3 might behave when the sun shines directly into its eye. A rainbow-coloured flood of light rays and bubbles. It might add to the atmosphere, but it might also ruin the photo. Sometimes it creates a unique mood.

Vignettes from Prilep and Skopje

The next shots were taken in Prilep. I slightly enhanced the lens’s natural vignetting in post-production. This emphasises the distance between the viewer and what is being viewed. It’s like the world seen through the window of a slowly rolling train, or the Earth as seen by an astronaut from outer space.

Here are two photos from Skopje. First, an architectural detail: a section of the glass ceiling at the Museum of Contemporary Art. The museum itself was deserted at the time, being prepared for upcoming exhibitions; there were very few current ones – just two displays. That is why the ceiling seemed all the more interesting.

A view from the hill on which the Museum of Contemporary Art is situated, looking towards the city and the Todor Proeski National Stadium.

The tonality, vignetting and softness of the image leave us unsure whether this is the past or a dreamlike reverie.

The Brightin Star 10mm fisheye

The second lens in the set is the Brightin Star 10/5.6 fisheye. The second lens in the set is the Brightin Star 10/5.6 fisheye. On an MFT sensor, it doesn’t produce quite as full a fisheye effect as it does on an APS-C sensor. It therefore offers a very wide angle of view whilst allowing you to control the distortion in the image to some extent. The first example is, once again, Lake Ohrid in Ohrid.

There’s a slight curve of the horizon, and there are some distortions, but this only enhances our sense of space whilst preserving the natural appearance of the man cycling past.

As I mentioned, this is a lens with a more modern design and slightly better build quality, so using it for subjects that require accurate reproduction of rich colours is no problem. Ohrid again.

This lens is ideal for photos like these. German Military Cemetery. A memorial. In the foreground, a book of names. In focus. The surroundings in the background. Clear and recognisable, although only the letters embossed in the book are in full focus. Despite this being a fisheye lens with a fixed aperture of f/5.6, there is noticeable depth of field.

Another example of using one’s own shadow as a compositional element. The fisheye lens irresistibly lends itself to such effects. Here, one’s own shadow serves as a humorous element, heightening the surrealism of the subject. Scooby-Doo, where are you? The Mystery Machine and the shadow.

And once again, the car and perspective distortions. Let’s just take it with a twinkle in the eye.

Vending machines and Ohrid again, but in a different place and giving a different impression. Placing the main subject centrally in the middle, in an area free from significant distortion, results in its contextual detachment from its surroundings. What’s more, it’s backlit and colourful, which enhances this effect.

Road sign has poked its arm into the sky. Skopje, and its double deckers.

We are drowning in information but starved for knowledge.

A lightweight kit worth carrying

I didn’t expect the pocket-sized PEN and two miniature lenses to prove so useful. With a second-hand PEN Lite E-PL7 costing around €/$ 200–300, a brand-new 7Artisans 18/6.3 for $59 from the manufacturer’s website and a brand-new Brightin Star 10/5.6 for $70 also from the manufacturer’s website, this makes for an extremely interesting, ultra-lightweight kit. Of course, we could pair the lenses with the recently released OM SYSTEM PEN, but that’s in a different price bracket altogether. And we don’t need superb AI-assisted AF if we intend to use simple manual lenses. So, for a vintage, surreal or quirky look – they’re irreplaceable.