Two Weeks, Part 9

May 01 to 15

I’ve been able to get out with a camera almost every day in the last two weeks. A couple of weekends ago I took a car out to Cle Elum, up through Leavenworth, and back across to the Seattle area. It wasn’t a super succesful photo trip; one of the few photos I did get reminded me of Colorado (ugh).

Nikon Zf, Nikon 24-70 f4

I’m still on the fence about square format. I think it can be done so well, just can’t seem to land it.

Fujifilm GFX 100s II, 50mm 3.5

Also continuing to toy with color. Ironically, after all the time with black and white, it has taught me that working with the light is really important. For whatever reason black and white is more malleable to me: contrasty works, flat works, artificial light works, etc. But there’s a healthy dose of “black and white makes every photo better” (nope) in there too, and maybe trying to get better at color exposes that weakness.

Fujifilm GFX 100s II, 50mm 3.5

I’ve been a fan of James Popsys for a while, his “human nature” idea really landed for me. Sometimes I try and recreate that idea with my own photos and rarely does it work.

Fujifilm X100VI

Fujifilm GFX 100s II, 50mm 3.5

I think more than color or composition or theme, his work taught me that place is an important aspect of photography. Place - his home in Wales - has clearly informed what photography is to him. Many of his photos are clearly Welsh, but that same feeling comes through in other places he goes. I am positive that a lot of this is just recognizing the obvious visual style across his photos but he seems to have unlocked some deeper feeling. Maybe it’s just me.

In any case, it’s made me think a lot about place and feeling and how that could inform my own photos and style. Specifically where I live and spend most of my time, Tacoma and the PNW. Like…let’s lean into whatever that is? Perhaps there’s some consistency there.

Fujifilm X100VI