Introduce yourself and tell us how photography came into your life. Where did the journey begin?
My name is James, and I have been taking photographs on and off all my life, really. My dad had a very simple old camera – a Halina – which I’m pleased to say still sits on my shelf. I don’t really know much about it, but I distinctly remember the flash he had to use was a bulb. Once it fired, it had to be thrown away! My first “proper” camera was a Minolta X300, which I bought with part-time wages in the mid 1980s. When I married, my wife bought me a Canon, an EOS 600. I still have both of these cameras too on my shelf. I used Canons for the next 30-years or so, with many models along the way. The ones I still have are film EOS 300, EOS 30, along with the original EOS 5D from around 2005. The rest have been traded away at various stages.
Photography was quite an expensive hobby, and with work and children, I went through a period of many years of really only shooting holidays and family events. I suspect many people experienced this. But I always enjoyed being the photographer, and there are photos from this period that I like, especially some of the children. I guess I was never very experimental, but on holidays I always “tried to tell the story”, looking for the details or nuances that were different to just shots of us. Even though I didn’t get the camera out very regularly, I did read magazines regularly. I think I always had a subscription to one or another.
I started to realise two things as I approached retirement. Firstly, I found it odd that I read so much photography stuff and yet didn’t really take that many photos! I didn’t go out just to take photos. So I resolved to try to change that, not really knowing how I would do it! I also was finding my kit big and bulky. At this time I had the EOS 5D MkIII (I think!) and lenses which had the lowest f-number I could afford; this meant they were generally quite heavy, especially for travel.
My first attempt at reducing the size of my kit was trading a lot of stuff in for Canon’s mirrorless system; at that time it was the “M” system. This was quite nice, and I did take more photos, but I found it hard to get what settings I wanted quickly; the lenses were small and light, but I was frustrated with capability, having had full-frame and fast lenses before. Then Canon really made the decision for me – they decided not to continue this series. There were to be no camera upgrades or new lenses, and so I decided the time was right to look around for an alternative system.
I fancied a change, and I read a lot and visited my local store and traded the “M” system along with some other Canon stuff in for a Fujifilm X-T5 and initially the XF16-80mm zoom. That was 3 years ago, and I loved it from the start. I found I actually wanted to go out and use it. It is so tactile and flexible. I have taken thousands of photos (it helps that we’re both now retired and are travelling a bit more!) and can’t imagine now having anything else.
How would you describe your photographic style today, and how has it changed over the years?
I find that a hard question. I guess I don’t really analyse what I take. I am extremely self contained – I only really take photos for me; Of course I’m delighted if my wife or kids like them but I have no desire or interest in sharing more widely. What I enjoy is going out for a walk with my camera and taking a series of shots, so that that walk has a photographic record, if that makes sense. More often these days I will restrict myself to one lens and I always decide up front what simulation or recipe to use (one for colour, one for black and white), so that the sequence of shots has consistency. I also hate editing on the computer, and I have no real interest in changing what I have shot – being out with the camera in my hand is what I like. You have asked for some shots to be included, maybe you can help define my style if there is one!!
Over the years I’m not sure if I have changed my style much. I was looking back recently at a family holiday from over 20 years ago and there are definitely echoes today of similar shots, but as I said I was always trying to find the details as well as the grand panoramas. I do go through stages on focussing on certain aspects, be that composition, exposure etc.
Which photographers have shaped the way you see, and what exactly did you take from them?
Again, not something I really pay much attention to. Very boring, sorry! I could probably only name a few. I know other people love the history of photography and I will read an article with interest, but it’s not something I pay a huge amount of attention to. Maybe I should. Having said that I do like Ansel Adams and have a couple of his books.
If someone could see only one of your photographs, which would you choose to represent your work — and why that one?
That is virtually impossible!! But I will choose one from when I was a teenager as I feel it spoke to me that I could do this. It’s a very simple composition of 2 hay bales in a field. (Probably taken on my Minolta X300 with a Tokina lens).
Which area of photography best describes your work?
Travel Photography.
What drew you to travel photography, and what keeps you exploring the world with a camera?
I don’t really think I fall into just one of your areas. I don’t think about the genre when I have the camera in my hand, I shoot what I see. I chose travel from your menu because I think travel photography can include virtually all of the others – landscape, street, portrait etc. We are travelling a little more now, and to places that we probably wouldn’t have taken the kids. It’s a challenge to try to represent the country in the photographs distinctly.
When you arrive somewhere new, what catches your attention first?
It can be anything. In India it’s the noise and colour, The US it’s the scale, the med has lovely light, so probably the light – is it summer, winter, sunny, cloudy; and the general environment – are people going to be receptive to having their photographs taken? I will have done a little research first as well.
Travel photography mixes landscape, people, culture and everyday life. How do you decide which story to tell?
I know I will be taking lots of pictures. I will probably produce a photo-book of our trip and so I am initially on the look out for things that can define a place, or repetitions that can flow through the book. This could be street signs, clothing, building styles, animals etc. And so I guess I have one eye on a collection of photos that work as well as shooting what I see that is interesting.
Tell us about a journey that changed the way you see travel photography.
Sorry, not sure there is one!!
How much do you need to immerse yourself in a place before you can photograph it honestly?
I’m usually travelling with my wife or family and so I don’t really have that luxury! I have to fit my shooting in around other stuff – which is absolutely fine.
What camera and lenses are at the heart of your kit right now, and what makes them right for the way you work?
So at the moment I am discovering the joy of Fujifilm’s small prime lenses. I know I have been shooting for over 50 years but I have to be honest and say that was mostly with zoom lenses.
My camera is my X-T5 which I love and have set up just how I like it.
My primes are:
XF14mm f2.8
XF23mm f2
XF35mm f1.4
I feel these give me excellent sharpness and are so small they are easy to throw in the bag, or even a pocket. I also have my eye on the XF50mm f2. I do need to be careful as the 14 & 35 are not weather sealed.
I traded my trusty XF16-80mm in recently after 3 years or constant use and I acquired a used XF16-50mm partly to gain the full resolution of the 40MP sensor from the newer technology, but mainly because it is so small and light!! It’s not much bigger then the primes. I was finding that travelling with the 16-80mm and 10-24mm was just a little bit bigger than I would like. I also have now lost the 50-80 range but the sensor is so good a little cropping is easy.
I also have the XF10-24mm f4 and 70-300mm f4-5.6. I might trade the former as I don’t use it very much now that I bought the used 14mm. But the latter is a must for any wildlife, travel etc. It’s a great lens.
I think for our next trip it’ll be the 16-50mm as the workhorse, with the 14 and then either the 23 or 35 thrown in for their sheer enjoyment to use. And depending where we are going the 70-300.
Which Film Simulation, colour profile or custom camera settings do you keep coming back to, and why do they suit the way you see?
I keep trying to change these and keep them fresh. For each holiday I will choose and use a different simulation or recipe from other trips. The idea is that each holiday or visit has its own “feel”. For our most recent trip to China I used a base recipe that I used before and had found online at “rossandhisjpegs”, but then I decided to alter it to my own taste. I actually switched the simulation from Provia to Velvia as I felt China has that intensity of landscape and colour that Velvia might suit. I then played with the tones in the garden until I was happy with it; I was was really pleased with the results and that I could (sort of) call it my own!!
If there are recipes that I keep coming back to, it would be Tri-X from Fuji-X-Weekly. I find this so reliable and dramatic, especially when shooting into the sun. Also, I have used the Classic Cuban recipe quite a lot, and I think everyone else has too!!
I have the camera set more or less how I like it and rarely have to go into the menu systems. I shoot in aperture priority (it’s worked for me for nearly 50 years!). I have the ISO dial set to C, and so using the front command dial I can effectively play with ISO/shutter speed really quickly. The compensation dial is used all the time – I’m waiting for it to break!! On the main “D” buttons I have white balance, Film simulation, multiple exposure and ISO Auto setting (which I don’t use very much). For everything else I use the Q menu. I should note that, as a left-eye shooter, I can’t use any of the touch screen functions, and so those are switched off!
What keeps you working with the Fuji X system, and what would you miss most if you switched away from it?
I guess I don’t know what I would miss, until I try! My experience in switching TO Fujifilm is that my camera is a joy to use. I simply want to pick it up and use it! Probably sounds corny!! But it is so flexible. It’s so quick to adjust on the fly. And I just love the feel of the images. I’ve seen it said that this is all about fuji colour science. I think there must be something in that. But also the lenses have such character, especially a couple of the older ones I have picked up. The 35mm f1.4; I do not have the technical capacity to explain why the photos from this lens just feel different. And I have only recently picked up the 14mm, but it is similar. I can’t see any reason why I would change.
Walk us through your editing workflow — which software do you use, and how much of the final image is made after the shutter closes?
I don’t really do any computer post-processing. I like being out with the camera, not in with the computer. If it’s not good enough out of the camera then the light wasn’t right, or I have to try harder next time!! Also I’m not entering competitions or looking for recognition from anywhere, and so I really have no need to do anything other than what I enjoy, and that is taking photos.
What I do do is some cropping in-camera. So typically, let’s say I’m on holiday and I have been shooting during the day, I will review all the photos in camera that evening and aim to delete around 20-40% depending on circumstances. I might go into the raw processor to amend tone or exposure if I feel I got it wrong and save these as JPEGs. Then it all gets loaded to the Fuji app, and the JPEG SD card gets replaced for the next day’s shooting. So I have a backup of the raw files, JPEG SD cards, and also on the phone, albeit in lower resolution (and by default then Google as well).
If you could leave a single piece of photographic wisdom for someone picking up a camera today, what would it be?
I don’t feel qualified, but my daughter is showing an interest, and I’m trying to teach her the basics, keeping it simple. Too many people don’t really understand the exposure triangle, and how the camera is metering. At the end of the day, we’re opening a small hole for a set length of time and if we can understand how that works, there’s not much more you need to know to take great shots!
Looking back, what is the most valuable lesson photography has taught you?
As I get older now, it is the memories in albums and printed pictures that bring us together, and we have these because I always recorded events and holidays. Everyone now takes photos every day, but how many of them ever see the light of day?
Which single accessory could you not work without — and what would you lose without it?
I must have a polarising filter for every lens.
How has your relationship with gear changed over the years, and what drove those changes?
I’m not sure it has much. I only ever had one camera at a time. I often read of photographers with 2, and sometimes many more cameras; I think that would confuse me!! We did run business briefly about 25 years ago, and I did find that having 2 bodies with different lenses on them was extremely useful during, for example, a wedding. But even then it was the same body, set up very similarly (EOS 3’s since you ask!). So from a professional point of view I get it, but as a hobbyist, I don’t see the need.
I’ve always felt that lenses were king, and I always tried to get the best I could afford.
What are you working on right now, and where can readers follow it?
At the moment, I have 2 little things I have come back to. One is trying to get the best sharpness from each lens, so I am experimenting at trying to find the sweet spot of aperture; the second thing is increasing my exposure value a little as I wonder if I drifted into under-exposing a little too much.
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