Photography Goals, 2022 Edition

For the first five months of 2021, I only took photos with a Fuji X100V. I picked some settings I was happy with, set it to auto or aperture priority, and just carried it with me everywhere. My other cameras sat in a box. Some of my favorite photos I’ve ever made are from those five months, and I am forever sold on the idea of one-body-one-lens-carry-always as a method of improvment.

img Fuji X100V, Provia, +3 Color, +2 Shadow, +1 Highlight, -4 Noise Reduction

(It doesn’t hurt at all that the X100V is an incredible camera. Probably my favorite camera ever, even though I don’t love the 35mm equivalent focal length.)

So, naturally, I spent quite a bit of time at the end of 2021 trying to think up a similar goal…and haven’t been able to. I’m not sure why, but I decided not to sweat it too much. Photography is supposed to be fun, not some set of goals you have to meet.

That being said, there are some goals guidelines areas I want to actively focus on this year.

0. Take photos

This sounds silly, but it’s a reminder to myself to get off the couch and go take pictures of things. Travel down the Oregon coast, walk around the block, hit that Saturday morning farmers market you always forget about, etc.

img Fuji X100V, Provia, +3 Color, +2 Shadow, +1 Highlight, -4 Noise Reduction

1. Composition!

Composition is really hard for me; I get the basics (rule of thirds, negative space, shapes, etc) but it just doesn’t click like I want it to. I’ve started picking up photo books, reading/watching compositional guides, and I’m looking into some fine art classes (or at least picking up a textbook).

img Fuji X100V, Provia, +3 Color, +2 Shadow, +1 Highlight, -4 Noise Reduction

2. Shapes over subjects

This is really just another way of say “composition”. I love the idea of a photo being a good photo even if the subject isn’t there; when the subject is added, it becomes even better.

img Fuji X100V, Provia, +3 Color, +2 Shadow, +1 Highlight, -4 Noise Reduction

3. Black and white

I’ve never really clicked with black and white. I just like colorful things. I did, however, choose to shoot most of my family’s holiday festivities on black and white film and I love the results. Along that vein, I’ve set up my X100V to shoot a black and white simulation and use it for day to day documentary shots.

img Leica M6, Minolta M-Rokkor 40mm f2, Ilford HP5+ @ 800

So that’s it. I’m not sure if these count as goals, but hey, it’s on paper now so it must mean something.