Chillin
Is there any better way to ring in the new year than by setting an extremely daunting goal? A goal so outrageous that you yourself even wonder why the hell you are doing it. This year I am making one such goal, a goal that I know will be brutally trying at times, yet (hopefully) rewarding in its difficulty. My goal is simple, at least in concept anyways. For the next 365 days I will shoot a single focal length. That focal length will be 23mm (on APS-C, 35mm on full frame) and will be shot using one camera, the new Fuji x100T. That’s its, nothing else. No wide angle, no macro, no zoom, no glorious 56/1.2, nothing but 23 measly millimetres and my own two feet.
baby boy blues
If I had to pick what about this project is most worrying for me it would be my typical subject matter. I have three young boys and they occupy a large chunk of my photographic free time. I take pictures of them at home, at school events, sporting events, and on and on. With only a single focal length at my dispersal I can foresee times of extreme frustration mixed in with moments of sheer panic. My goal is to get past this initial phase and enter what Steven Kotler describes as the flow state. A state where the focal length and I become one. An indistinguishable melding of man and machine. I don’t shoot at 23mm, I am 23mm!
The long way home
I should clarify I don’t just sit at home and take photos of my kids in the rare moments they are sitting still. I do get out and shoot some landscapes, street, etc. on occasion. These realms of the photographic world don’t cause me anywhere near the panic however, as they seem perfectly tailored for the focal length I have chosen. It’s missing important shots of the kids, and facing the ramifications of such when my wife asks to see the photos, and sadly, the photos do not exist. The bright side is that with struggle we grow and that is the ultimate goal here. To grow as a photographer and hopefully not piss off too many people in my life along the way.
angry birds
waiting for the bus
This was originally posted new years day on another site I had. Due to endless problems with that site I have moved it here. The lesson I learned from all his was in the future to avoid squarespace like the plague. I plan on posting weekly updates to this entry to keep anyone interested abreast of the challenges, and those “light bulb” moments, when I finally feel things starting to click. Thanks for joining me on this journey, only 365 days to go.
Mr. Casual
photoGENYKstudios 
Gorgeous post! 🙂
Thank you very much
This is an interesting post, for a few reasons. First, I applaud the “extremely daunting goal.” At the same time I wonder if you’ll think it so daunting task a year from now or perhaps will have discovered your best and most enjoyable photography. If you are looking for a camera to shoot sports at a “professional” level then this is not your camera. On the other hand to capture you familys’ life I can’t imagine a better choice.
I bought an X-100 shortly after introduction and it almost immediately became used 95% of the time. In fact except for 8mm fisheye fun and a 12mm I use for astrophotography it’s the only camera I use. My large collection of film cameras haven’t been touched once since. 99% might be a better estimate. My only problem with the X-100 is that my talented 12 year old granddaughter has “borrowed” it and she’s quite a bit better than I ever was. It may be T time for me.
Charles,
Thank you for taking the time to comment. My favourite focal length is 18mm on a crop sensor (28 on fullframe). I actually find 23mm focal length quite boring. This is what makes this a real challenge for me. I really, really wish the x100 series was 18mm. I like the idea of having no choices as a way of making me think outside the box. This will force me to alter my style, move more, think more, and be infinitely more creative. All good things imo.
enjoy…and share please
I am looking forward to this, but “no macro, no wide angle…” no CROPPING either!
Good luck and I’ll be following along!
Matt,
I never said no cropping lol. I need a little wiggle room. I will try and limit it however.
Great look to your photos and I applaud your efforts to take this challenge and share with others. Would you mind sharing your in camera and post processing techniques?
Niles,
First off I always shoot jpeg. I just can’t be bothered dealing with raw files. The reason for this is I do 90% of my processing using my Samsung Pro tablet and its nearly impossible to use raw files on it. Besides I find the fuji jpeg’s plenty good enough for the most part. There is one exception but I will discuss that in an upcoming post.
With my original x100 I used the “astia” film simulation most of time. I then fine tune using either vsco or snapseed apps.
With the x100T I have been leaning to “classic chrome”, then again fine tune in either of the aforementioned apps.
I hope this helps.