2012 was a remarkable year, from preproduction testing of the Fujifilm X-Pro1, speaking at the brilliant Focus on Imaging through to the release of The Long Exposure eBook it was packed with unique and challenging photo opportunities.
January and February were spent getting to know the very special X-Pro1 mirrorless camera. I released the resultant images in the run up to Focus on Imaging and within a week the images were viewed over 25,000 times. A similar view count was reached with my X-E1 photo set in November 2012.
[box]The photography at the top of this page was shot with the Fujifilm X100 in one of my favourite local locations the R-Space Gallery. R-Space was used as part of the ‘Things that fall in-between’ exhibition.[/box]The same images featured in a window of London’s famous Harrods Department Store. I got to see them in the flesh during Easter and posted my favourite black and white photos of London.
I’ve tried numerous lenses and cameras in the search to find the one perfect combination that I would never need to stray from. A year on I’ve come to the conclusion that change fuels creativity. Sticking with one camera and lens combination for a month resulted in great creative output when I pulled out a lens I hadn’t used in a while.
When I first got my hands on the X-Pro1 the 18mm lens was an almost permanent fixture. Over the summer I switched to the 35mm and was in awe of the output it felt like a new lens and again in the winter it was refreshing to go back to the 18mm and have a new field of view.
I think there are creative virtues in taking the XF 18-55mm lens and locking it at 18mm for a month then doing the same for the key focal lengths. Even jump from 18mm to 55mm and then work torwards the middle ground of 28 or 35mm. A few focal length and field of view can be a great catalyst for creativity.
Top Ten Posts of 2012
1. FlixelPix Summer Lightroom Preset Pack
2. The Long Exposure Ebook
3. I love Free Lightroom Presets
4. 25 Photos taken with the X-Pro1
5. Fujifilm X-E1 Review
6. My Photography would be so much better if….
7. FlixelPix Grit Preset
8. My Favourite Photography eBooks
9. My X-Pro1 Travel Kit
10. How to embed Instagram Photos in WordPress
Top Photos of 2012
These are the top fifty photos of 2012 according to Flickr. I have removed duplicate or variations of a theme in the list. You can see the full set on flickr here or click on any of the photos to view larger.
Lightroom
2012 saw an update to Adobe Photoshop Lightroom bringing it to version 4. As a result I wrote a few Lightroom tutorials and released a series of free Lightroom presets. The Long Exposure eBook has a dedicated section on how to get the most from Lightroom when capturing long exposure images and six free long exposure presets.
Most Used Camera of 2012
Although I still keep a full frame camera for music photography and video work my most used camera of 2012 was the X-Pro1 followed by the X100 then the 5DMKII.
Most Used Lens of 2012
It makes sense that give the most frequently used camera was the Fujinon 35mm lens that the was my go-to lens with the 18mm Fujinon being a close second.
It will be interesting to see what 2013 has in-store.
Links
The Long Exposure eBook
Top Photos of 2011
Top Photos of 2010
