So, here we have it: 2016. Another year, another 365 days of our life, our goals, promises, hopes, ups and downs. It is all in front of us, unknown and about to get revealed. Where does your photography fit into the entire picture? Have you given it a thought? If not, let me take you together on my own 2016 photographic journey. Let’s enjoy 2016 together.
If you are reading this blog, you are most probably a Fuji X shooter, or maybe someone about to become one very soon. We are truly blessed (and it is not only my opinion) with how Fujifilm has been treating photography and photographers in general. As a camera company they have managed to create a momentum, a photographic movement that inspires and attracts more and more photographers. But not through loud marketing slogans and colourful ads. Not at all. They make us fall in love with photography again in a deliberate, almost instinctive fashion full of attention to photographers’ emotions and to our inner passion. They listen to us. And I hope so much that they will keep listening in 2016.
I have been lucky enough myself to discover the Fuji X system somewhere in the middle of 2014. X100S stroke my emotions so strongly that after several months of using it and acquiring another Fujifilm cameras and lenses, I felt like I had to share my passion with the rest of the world.
FujiLove was born.
Today, after 10 month of running the site, I am so happy to see a thriving community of you, FujiLovers, sharing the passion and devotion to the X system, gathering around the site, the Facebook page and group, sending me emails, getting involved in conversations and sharing your photographs.
Let’s take a moment and think about what we want to do with our photography in 2016.
I have come up with a few ideas and I would love you to join me on them in this upcoming year:
- Take some quiet time (like an hour or two) on this upcoming weekend and think about what it is that you really, really enjoy photographing. Think about it realistically. Have a look at your daily routine, at your working hours, your family and household duties and think about what it is that you would really enjoy photographing once or twice a week. Remember: keep it realistic. Write it down.
- Starting on Monday (January 4th) make sure that you photograph your subject of choice at least twice a week, at least for 20 minutes at a time. It may be landscape around your area, it may be your family, it may be your workplace, your pet, it may be details (fragments of the walls, bicycles, fruits, eyes….) It may be WHATEVER. But IT MUST BE something you really like and enjoy in your life. Something of importance to you.
- Participate in FujiLove bi-weekly assignments. Every second Sunday (starting January 3rd) I will be announcing a FujiLove Photo Assignment. This will be an additional task, inspirational kick for you (and for myself). Try to participate. It will broaden your horizons, your way of seeing the world and it will help you (guaranteed!) working on your own personal project from above.
- Every Sunday choose your best photographs (one of your own personal project and one of the FujiLove assignment) and keep them in separate folders. Share them with us in the FujiLove Readers’ Group. At the end of 2016 you should have a portfolio of 52 best personal photographs and 26 great photographs as a result of participating in the assignments. Together you will have 78 (!!) photographs representing your very best work. You will feel great. You will be able to make a book, to print them out, to share them with your friends and other photography enthusiasts.
- Become a member of the FujiLove community and subscribe to the FujiLove magazine as soon as I will announce it (end of January / beginning of February). My goal is to support you along your photographic way with the absolute best Fuji X related resource on the internet and I am working really hard now on offering this new option for the lowest possible price. But there will be so much inside:
- informative articles by Fujifilm X photographers and other renowned photography experts
- live webinars/workshops where Fujifilm experts will be sharing their knowledge and answering your questions
- practical PDF handouts
- photography contests with prizes
- Fujifilm discussion forums
- member galleries
- and more
Share your photographs with other members of the Fuji Love Readers’ Group and follow the FujiLove Facebook Page. I hang out there quite a lot myself so we can get in touch personally. I would love to meet more and more of you in person and already today I am thinking about organising some actual meetups.
Join the FujiLove mailing list.
This morning MirrorLessons published a list of 10 mirrorless camera blogs we should follow in 2016. Have a look at number one 🙂 It wouldn’t have happened without you, FujiLove readers, real FujiLovers. Thank you so much everyone. Let’s make 2016 just great!
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