Photographing the Ordinary: A Late Afternoon with the Fujifilm X100VI

A great way to end the day.

Some days don’t start with grand plans (actually very few of my days start like that). This was one of them.
It was late afternoon, after a swelteringly hot day. My eldest daughter and I decided that a short walk on the local beach was needed. . I brought the X100VI for its simplicity and ability to just let me shoot. No expectations, just the thought that if I didn’t carry it, I’d regret it.

It was one of those afternoons where I wasn’t fully in photographer mode either. I’m one of those people that just shoots better wehn I’m on my own. I always feel a tinge of guilt when I’m holding others up with my photography. But even on quieter days, a few moments always rise to the surface.

My daughter loves animals. She never misses an opportunity to make friends with the local dogs.

Walking with the X100VI

I’ve said it before, but this camera just fits into the rhythm of everyday life. It’s small enough to go unnoticed, quick enough to respond when something catches your eye, and familiar enough now that I don’t have to think about it much.

I didn’t expect too much at this location, it’s quiet at this time of day and not what I would call a honeypot type location. Still, its by the sea, the light was nice, if not spectacular and I just needed to get out of the house and take some pictures. You walk, you observe, and occasionally, something lines up.

That’s what happened in one frame: a set of huts, geometric lines and harsh side light, just enough contrast to anchor the image. It’s not a portfolio piece. But it made me stop and look, and that’s usually enough.

This composition didnt immediately jump out to me. But I worked the scene.

The photo above looks incredibly obvious now that you see it. However, it did not immediately jump out at me. For one, this angle is not where you would naturally walk by. Secondly the huts are painted various bright colours which is what attracts your eye. Thirdly, the beautiful ocean is just opposite which inevitably draws most peoples attention. The huts are scruffy and not kept in particularly good condition but that is actually what drew me in made me want to make something of them that wasn’t the obvious shot of their facades leading the eye to the beach or ocean.

After a bit of observing, and seeing all the usual shots I could make, the light suddenly intensified and caught my eye. The shadows being cast across the huts by the strong sidelight gave me the idea to use them to enhance the repeating pattern of the beams as they pull your eye towards the vanishing point. This shot was a lesson in making sure I observe properly, think about different angles and try out different compositions.

These steps reminded me of some of the ones I’ve seen of Santorini, Greece. This verison isnt so pristine.

I’ve long been as in love with printing as I am with photograpy. In fact, in my mind a photo is only complete once I’ve printed it and got to feel it in my hands. As much a part of the process as taking the photo and editing, for me, is making that final paper choice and watching your photo roll off the printer.

I’ve got an archive of tens of thousands of images on hard drives. Guess which photos I look at more, those or the ones hanging on my walls and stored in physical albums. I had a thought the other day. When I move on from this World, what will happen to those hard drives full of photos. Will my wife or daughters ever look at them or will they be consigned to history… I have no way of knowing but I suspect some of the prints that I made will be kept as treasured memories.

Whenever I go out and shoot with intention, I now select one photo to print. It might not be the best technical photo, but one usually speaks to me or sparks my curiosity as to how it would look, beautifully printed on my Canon Pro 4100 and a museum grade cotton rag or Bartya paper.

I chose to print this photo.

You might look at the above photo and wonder why I chose to print this one.

I look at it and technically, I’d agree, it’s not the best image of those that I took that day. It is using the highest ISO of any of the shots, the focus is very slightly off, and my daughter is not fully visible. But I shot it intentionally that way (well, not the focus). I wanted to shoot at their level and try and give a feeling of experiencing things the way that they do.

So why did I print this one? It stood out to me. It is very different from most of the others I took that day. It tells me something about the two central characters and in particular my daughter (or at least the child in the photo). The similarity in body position of the dog and my daughter is interesting to my eye. It suggests a bond in a shared moment. The dog isn’t afraid of my daughter and likewise, she’s comfortable with the dog. I also like the unorthodox composition, leaving out the identifiable features of my daughter, makes this an image that says something, rather than just a record shot of her.

A simple everyday scene here.

I have noticed one thing in my photography recently, I am more observant and more interested in the mundane. This shot really highlights that change in the way that I see. I mentioned in the Youtube video that I find myself drawn to the everyday, the things that most of us never notice in our day to day life much more so than the Instagram worthy locations and shots. This photo was right at the end of our walk, as we were getting snacks form a local store. As The shopkeeper went to get our drinks, I noticed the light hitting inside the store and being picked up by various objects in front of me (the bottle, the fridge, the plastic bag) contrasting with the dark interior of the store. It’s a mundane everyday scene and yet I found myself compelled to capture it with the X100VI. I backed off a touch with my feet to partially frame it within the window of the store. What I really wanted from this was the storekeeper in the middle, also being illuminated by a shaft of light. That would have been perfect and I did take the shot below to capture that but unfortunately, on this ocasion the light didn’t hit the spot.

This may have worked if the shopkeeper was in the light.