Single In Single in February (SiF) 2023: Here we go again ...

[AndyMcD]

Right, after @Acraftman commented on here about my new XT5 purchase, I have been in a personal battle the last few days.

I have decided to change my gear selection for the challenge!

I want to use my new XT5. As for lens, although the TTArtisan 35mm 0.95 was going to be fun to use, it is right bang in the middle of my comfort zone with focal length (50mm FF eq.) and nice wide aperture, for that ultimate subject separation.

So I am going to go with the Fuji 27mm 2.8 MKII WR pancake lens instead. Wider FOV than I am used to, and at 2.8, I will find it harder as I won't be able to use a narrow DOF to hide my bad compositions and subject choice! Ha!

It might also encourage me to not just take portraits of my twin babies for the whole month. You all really would get bored of that, I assure you!

I will however, not limit myself to just B&W, as a caveat to my change.

So @MoonMind if you could please change my entry to: Fujifilm XT5 & Fujinon 27mm f2.8 WR.

Hope this is ok?

Many thanks in advance

Edit: a quick photo of my new chosen gear. Yes, to those of you that may have noticed, I exchanged my silver XT5, for a black one in the end. As much as I liked silver, it was just too “bling”!

View attachment 359534

That looks like a very nice setup and I’m looking forward to seeing your pictures with it. I have to say that I am tempted by (but luckily not able to afford) the X-T5 - such an improvement over the disappointing X-T4 IMO.

 

[gordo]

Well, for better or worse I've settled on a project/ theme for the month. (For now. Life has a way of constantly throwing curve balls and smacking me in the head with toasters, so things might change.)

Background.

Other than health stuff, my most pressing issue has been combining a 1200 sq ft house (mine) with an 1800 sq ft house with a workshop & storage building (Mom & Dad's) into a 450 sq ft apartment (mine). I've had stuff in various states of storage since May 2009, and a handful of boxes un-opened since a military reassignment back in Dec 1994. I had worked things down to a cluttered apartment and one remaining 10x10 storage room. Then I was hit with a large price increase in apartment rent, and had to close the storage room to re-direct that rent money to the apartment. Everything was squeezed into the apartment.

Since November, I have emptied one + row of boxes and removed the cartons to recycle. I've been making regular trips to donation points, recycling, or trash. The place is still overly filled and I have to still move things to get to other things, but there is less of a trip hazard now. I'm working slowly but surely through the piles o' stuff. Goal is to be de-cluttered by June. Not 100% sure I'll meet that, but it should be close. Not sure what later this year will bring, I need to be able to pack and move for as little as possible if needed. Changes might be afoot.

Project.

I'm sure some will recall one of the books I acquired last year was American Surfaces by Stephen Shore. I wasn't impressed. At first. Once I began to understand his viewpoint, it made better sense. And as I paid attention, there were little nuggets like a photo of someone looking at snapshots, and then you noticed the snapshots are Shore's photos from earlier in the project. I'm not a Stephen Shore, and will likely never reach a similar level. But I think I'm going to take some methodology from his book. Instead of doing my usual attempts at making a photograph, I'm just going to take snapshots of what I see, as I see it, showing what I saw. Warts and all.

This is going to be a huge departure for me and way way out of my comfort zone. You're going to see me on good days, bad days, maybe worse days. Same with the apartment - if I haven't dusted in a week you'll see dust, if the trash hasn't been emptied yet today you might see trash in the bin, if the carpet hasn't been vacuumed in a few days you'll see whatever has found its way onto the carpet. Unlike American Surfaces, I will not be showing a toilet as a subject, although mine might be in the background or edge of an image. I doubt I'll have any snaps of other people. I'm hoping to do a short documentary of someone who's not a hoarder forced into hoarder-like conditions, and progress towards returning to a more normal state of being.

I'm going to use a film sim from Mark Adams or the Fuji X Weekly site. Haven't decided which one to use yet. I'll be shooting jpg only, SOOC except to resize for web. Most shots will likely be in the apartment. Some will be out and about. Might be an intentional/ unintentional self portrait thrown in for chuckles. First 3 to 5 days will likely just be showing the situation, setting up for the rest of the month. I'm sure this won't be to everyone's tastes. But that's OK. It's about the only coherent thing I can do right now for the span of a month.

 

[Irene McC]

While this is in general totally not my thing, I've just bought a new Nikon Z fc with kit 16-50 lens and might just make it my mission to do some daily snaps
With a bit of encouragement and a$$ kicking I'll join you

 

[Charzes44]

While this is in general totally not my thing, I've just bought a new Nikon Z fc with kit 16-50 lens and might just make it my mission to do some daily snaps
With a bit of encouragement and a$$ kicking I'll join you

Or you could participate in the Today 10XX thread. I have committed myself to it, and find it quite challenging to take photos every day, even with a choice of lenses! I shall not be taking up the Single in Feb challenge because I have only an XF35 mm f2, and I am not all that keen on it's rendering compared with my XF18-55mm zoom!

 

[MoonMind]

While this is in general totally not my thing, I've just bought a new Nikon Z fc with kit 16-50 lens and might just make it my mission to do some daily snaps
With a bit of encouragement and a$$ kicking I'll join you

Consider yourself kicked

M.

 

[MoonMind]

Or you could participate in the Today 10XX thread. I have committed myself to it, and find it quite challenging to take photos every day, even with a choice of lenses! I shall not be taking up the Single in Feb challenge because I have only an XF35 mm f2, and I am not all that keen on it's rendering compared with my XF18-55mm zoom!

Thanks for the kudos - that's always an option. But to get to the bottom of a piece of kit, nothing makes you explore it as thoroughly as a "Single in" ...

On a personal note, I may have to go back on my own choice: Should the weather turn nasty, I don't want to risk my Z fc - it's not as well sealed as its bigger siblings or other cameras, and the lens isn't, at all. So, it's possible that I'll switch to the Olympus OM-D E-M5 III with Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 II - for better or worse: There are numerous rumors (none of which I could find the evidence for) that Panasonic sealing doesn't work on Olympus bodies; this can only be a matter of sealing at the mount, so I checked the 25mm f/1.4 II against my trusted Olympus 12-45mm f/4 PRO and found Panasonic's seals to be *tighter*. So, I'll risk it. If it fails, at least I'll have evidence instead of hearsay - and should things escalate, well ... I'd rather be without gear I can't trust than in a state of uncertainty about it.

I still hope I can pull it off with the Z fc and 7Artisans 35mm f/1.2 II ...

M.

 

[gordo]

Beginnings of Things. Gear for SiF. After trying and adjusting multiple color film sims I'm not happy. Onward to trying some monochrome sims. If I don't find a setting I like I'll use the RAWs and process the month's images all the same, with no crops. SOOC will be easier.

Subscribe to see EXIF info for this image (if available)

 

[agentlossing]

Well, for better or worse I've settled on a project/ theme for the month. (For now. Life has a way of constantly throwing curve balls and smacking me in the head with toasters, so things might change.)

Background.

Other than health stuff, my most pressing issue has been combining a 1200 sq ft house (mine) with an 1800 sq ft house with a workshop & storage building (Mom & Dad's) into a 450 sq ft apartment (mine). I've had stuff in various states of storage since May 2009, and a handful of boxes un-opened since a military reassignment back in Dec 1994. I had worked things down to a cluttered apartment and one remaining 10x10 storage room. Then I was hit with a large price increase in apartment rent, and had to close the storage room to re-direct that rent money to the apartment. Everything was squeezed into the apartment.

Since November, I have emptied one + row of boxes and removed the cartons to recycle. I've been making regular trips to donation points, recycling, or trash. The place is still overly filled and I have to still move things to get to other things, but there is less of a trip hazard now. I'm working slowly but surely through the piles o' stuff. Goal is to be de-cluttered by June. Not 100% sure I'll meet that, but it should be close. Not sure what later this year will bring, I need to be able to pack and move for as little as possible if needed. Changes might be afoot.

Project.

I'm sure some will recall one of the books I acquired last year was American Surfaces by Stephen Shore. I wasn't impressed. At first. Once I began to understand his viewpoint, it made better sense. And as I paid attention, there were little nuggets like a photo of someone looking at snapshots, and then you noticed the snapshots are Shore's photos from earlier in the project. I'm not a Stephen Shore, and will likely never reach a similar level. But I think I'm going to take some methodology from his book. Instead of doing my usual attempts at making a photograph, I'm just going to take snapshots of what I see, as I see it, showing what I saw. Warts and all.

This is going to be a huge departure for me and way way out of my comfort zone. You're going to see me on good days, bad days, maybe worse days. Same with the apartment - if I haven't dusted in a week you'll see dust, if the trash hasn't been emptied yet today you might see trash in the bin, if the carpet hasn't been vacuumed in a few days you'll see whatever has found its way onto the carpet. Unlike American Surfaces, I will not be showing a toilet as a subject, although mine might be in the background or edge of an image. I doubt I'll have any snaps of other people. I'm hoping to do a short documentary of someone who's not a hoarder forced into hoarder-like conditions, and progress towards returning to a more normal state of being.

I'm going to use a film sim from Mark Adams or the Fuji X Weekly site. Haven't decided which one to use yet. I'll be shooting jpg only, SOOC except to resize for web. Most shots will likely be in the apartment. Some will be out and about. Might be an intentional/ unintentional self portrait thrown in for chuckles. First 3 to 5 days will likely just be showing the situation, setting up for the rest of the month. I'm sure this won't be to everyone's tastes. But that's OK. It's about the only coherent thing I can do right now for the span of a month.

This sounds like an awesome project. I too was enthused and inspired perhaps by American Surfaces. Shore has a subtlety and subversion of expectations without an accompanying pretentiousness that's really refreshing and bears repeated study. The book helped sway me in the direction of the Ricoh GR IIIx because it is a modern digital interpretation of a tiny 40mm camera like his Rollei 35 (though in other ways, of course, they are very different). I like his way of looking at life, not so much in a "new" way, but in a new way of thinking, i.e. the surface of life is itself profound, taken quickly and without a lot of interpretation. There's a lot there.

 

[gordo]

This sounds like an awesome project. I too was enthused and inspired perhaps by American Surfaces. Shore has a subtlety and subversion of expectations without an accompanying pretentiousness that's really refreshing and bears repeated study. The book helped sway me in the direction of the Ricoh GR IIIx because it is a modern digital interpretation of a tiny 40mm camera like his Rollei 35 (though in other ways, of course, they are very different). I like his way of looking at life, not so much in a "new" way, but in a new way of thinking, i.e. the surface of life is itself profound, taken quickly and without a lot of interpretation. There's a lot there.

I gone through American Surfaces three times now, and each time I've seen something I didn't notice previously. On the surface, it's like the snapshots my parents and I took at family get togethers, vacations, etc... But there's more to it than that.

And it's about the only thing I'll honestly have time to do. Shore's work on that book seems to be apropos for attempted emulation on my project. At best an attempt, and likely a poor one. I think once photos of my clutter hell are shown, the reason for a lack of time to go out and hunt for photos will be evident given my timeline for trying to be reasonably free from the mess. Considering the amount of stuff I've already gone through and taken away to donation/ recycling/ trash... I shake my head at the amount that still remains. Downsizing can be a pain in the posterior.

 

[agentlossing]

I gone through American Surfaces three times now, and each time I've seen something I didn't notice previously. On the surface, it's like the snapshots my parents and I took at family get togethers, vacations, etc... But there's more to it than that.

And it's about the only thing I'll honestly have time to do. Shore's work on that book seems to be apropos for attempted emulation on my project. At best an attempt, and likely a poor one. I think once photos of my clutter hell are shown, the reason for a lack of time to go out and hunt for photos will be evident given my timeline for trying to be reasonably free from the mess. Considering the amount of stuff I've already gone through and taken away to donation/ recycling/ trash... I shake my head at the amount that still remains. Downsizing can be a pain in the posterior.

Agreed. Part of it is no doubt due to the passage of time: Shore's experiences happened in the early 1970s, which are a time so far removed from us now that they have a different effect on us when we look at them. Another part is probably that the images were mostly taken on road trips, restless explorations around America, somewhat reminiscent of Kerouac's On the Road (the one self-portrait of Shore on the bed really gives me Kerouac vibes), though (likely) less frenetic and (possibly) less drug-infused. I think that road-trip spirit is part of what makes Shore's vision effective: that "the journey is the destination" kind of thinking that makes us look at normal, everyday things with fresh eyes. not the "fresh eye" of creativity, so much as just the fresh eye of having had different recent experiences, so what was humdrum can be not-humdrum for just long enough to experience it again... yet mixed with a sort of familiarity that comes from knowing what's normal, what's everyday about the very things you're viewing.

I think that ties into your recent experiences... having just completed a move and a downsizing myself, I am feeling some of what I'm describing above. Whether it's part of what's motivating you, I'm not sure, but these things are ringing true enough in my own experience lately. This all comes with a fairly big cultural change: despite still being in the Pacific Northwest, we went from a very small town to the immediate surroundings of Seattle, the largest city north of California on the coast. And from a nearly-1,100 square ft detached house to a 750 square ft apartment. These kinds of things certainly lend the "fresh eyes." I think you'll like your clutter hell photos better than you think you will, because they'll be linked to a time and an experience, which may not be fond in all aspects, but the truth of the matter is that time often softens the hard edges and we become closer to our past selves as we grow more distant from them (as if detachment from our selves makes it easier to be friends with ourselves). I'm sorry, I literally just got done reading Kierkegaard, so I am necessarily existential right now!

 

[gordo]

Agreed. Part of it is no doubt due to the passage of time: Shore's experiences happened in the early 1970s, which are a time so far removed from us now that they have a different effect on us when we look at them. Another part is probably that the images were mostly taken on road trips, restless explorations around America, somewhat reminiscent of Kerouac's On the Road (the one self-portrait of Shore on the bed really gives me Kerouac vibes), though (likely) less frenetic and (possibly) less drug-infused. I think that road-trip spirit is part of what makes Shore's vision effective: that "the journey is the destination" kind of thinking that makes us look at normal, everyday things with fresh eyes. not the "fresh eye" of creativity, so much as just the fresh eye of having had different recent experiences, so what was humdrum can be not-humdrum for just long enough to experience it again... yet mixed with a sort of familiarity that comes from knowing what's normal, what's everyday about the very things you're viewing.

I think that ties into your recent experiences... having just completed a move and a downsizing myself, I am feeling some of what I'm describing above. Whether it's part of what's motivating you, I'm not sure, but these things are ringing true enough in my own experience lately. This all comes with a fairly big cultural change: despite still being in the Pacific Northwest, we went from a very small town to the immediate surroundings of Seattle, the largest city north of California on the coast. And from a nearly-1,100 square ft detached house to a 750 square ft apartment. These kinds of things certainly lend the "fresh eyes." I think you'll like your clutter hell photos better than you think you will, because they'll be linked to a time and an experience, which may not be fond in all aspects, but the truth of the matter is that time often softens the hard edges and we become closer to our past selves as we grow more distant from them (as if detachment from our selves makes it easier to be friends with ourselves). I'm sorry, I literally just got done reading Kierkegaard, so I am necessarily existential right now!

If nothing else, it'll give me some before and after documentation and some progress shots in between. I stopped waxing philosophical sometime in the wayback. Not sure if it enhanced my calm or not.

Downsizing hasn't been enjoyable to me, yet. I do have a sneaky suspicion that once I am done and have just what I need, and a few things for relaxation/ stress relief, I'll be in my zen zone. Way too much stuff for way too many years through way too many moves, things eventually have a way of owning you/ controlling your life. I don't want that, and it's probably been a major source of my frustration over the years. When I was in the Air Force (early years living in the barracks) and could move by tossing my belongings into my car trunk (boot) or the back of my truck and just drive to my next duty station, I was quite happy. Years later and living off-base meant more stuff and larger spaces and more difficult moves coincided with a decrease in overall happiness.

 

[fredlong]

I missed this announcement. I guess I'm just not spending enough time on line. I'm in. The camera will be my new love, the Fuji GFX50R. The lens will probably be the GF 50/3.5. That's how it usually lives in the bag. It's a (relatively) compact, light set-up. It's not the closest focusing lens so I have a +3 diopter that I may use on occasion.

I'm really looking forward to this!

 

[MarkoV]

Signing up with Leica M10 and 50mm Summicron-M. I haven't been shooting enough during the last few weeks, so this might be the kick I need to get myself going again.

I've been thinking I like my 50 way too much for it to be a challenge. My 21mm, on the other hand, sees practically no use. So let's make a little adjustment: my gear will be M10 + Voigtländer Color Skopar 21mm f/3.5.

 

[donlaw]

My travel schedule includes being in Ohio in a conference room from before sunrise to after sunset for the first week of the challenge!
Followed by a mid month trip to Kentucky.

So I am waffling on both my previous choices.
Currently leaning towards the Q2 since is has weather sealing, fits nicely in my backpack, and is very versatile. I will decide before heading out to Ohio this weekend.

 

[Glennn]

After much overthinking and wanting to have the option to continue with Project 41 during the challenge without chaning cameras, lenses, etc, I'll still be using the GX8 body, but with the first lens I ever owned - the Pentax 50mm F/2 that came with my college days K1000. It's a direct link to my photography origins.

It won't be a big change perspective wise in comparison with my Sears 50mm F/1.7, but I may find the nuances interesting. I suspect there may initially be some bumps in the road learning the details of the GX8 vs the GX85 that I normally use.

 

[MoonMind]

My travel schedule includes being in Ohio in a conference room from before sunrise to after sunset for the first week of the challenge!
Followed by a mid month trip to Kentucky.

So I am waffling on both my previous choices.
Currently leaning towards the Q2 since is has weather sealing, fits nicely in my backpack, and is very versatile. I will decide before heading out to Ohio this weekend.

This got me guessing if the Q2 was that much smaller and lighter than the Z 6 with Z 40mm f/2 - and it turns out that it's still quite a substantial difference:

Compact Camera Meter

Compare unlimited number of cameras with lenses, see how compact or bulky a camera is and sort by height, width, depth and weight.

bit.ly

And the Q2 will hold up better in a downpour. That said, I'd trust the Nikon combo in snow and light rain - they even risked much more during their testing at the Phoblographer's than I'd dare:

Nikon's Affordable Gem! Nikon 40mm f2 Z Review!

The Nikon 40mm f2 Z is an exceptional lens in many different ways. And if anything, it's worth buying the system just for this one.

www.thephoblographer.com

And when it comes to versatility, you basically can't fault the Nikon setup ...

M.

 

[Glennn]

After much overthinking and wanting to have the option to continue with Project 41 during the challenge without chaning cameras, lenses, etc, I'll still be using the GX8 body, but with the first lens I ever owned - the Pentax 50mm F/2 that came with my college days K1000. It's a direct link to my photography origins.

It won't be a big change perspective wise in comparison with my Sears 50mm F/1.7, but I may find the nuances interesting. I suspect there may initially be some bumps in the road learning the details of the GX8 vs the GX85 that I normally use.

Grrr.... grumble, grumble, and thank goodness that I did some homework. I saw some numbers after work today and had a go with the GX8 / Pentax F2.... Where it seemed to well yesterday in bright afternoon sun, this afternoon’s overcast and light snow scenario was absolutely awful with that setup, so back to plan A -

GX8, native 30-100 to be used only at 30.

If I need to carry two bodies or swap lenses, so be it.

 

[MoonMind]

Grrr.... grumble, grumble, and thank goodness that I did some homework. I saw some numbers after work today and had a go with the GX8 / Pentax F2.... Where it seemed to well yesterday in bright afternoon sun, this afternoon’s overcast and light snow scenario was absolutely awful with that setup, so back to plan A -

GX8, native 30-100 to be used only at 30.

If I need to carry two bodies or swap lenses, so be it.

Glen, which 30-100mm would that be? f/2.8 or f/4-5.6?

M.

 

[William Lewis]

Still plan on using it but oh my am I getting bit on the a** by the vignetting of the 7Artisans 50/1.1 - learning to deal with that and finding out if it's inherent or in the hood & etc I'm using will be worth it.

 

[Bob T]

Going to change up my chosen tools for this challenge. My previous pick was based on learning a recently acquired camera, but turns out I really don't need to. So instead of using this month to become more proficient with a camera, I thought I could use it to improve my photography.

In 2015 I bought a new Pany 25mm f/1.4, thinking I wanted a "normal" length lens, (mu43 cameras here). Looking in my LR library, it turns out I've hardly ever used it. Just over 550 photos with that lens, while I have newer ones with thousands of kept photos. Most of them with the P15 or P42.5. For some reason I just don't seem to like or understand taking photos with a normal length lens.

So I am going to use the month to work on that.

@MoonMind
I'll be using a dusty Panasonic 25mm f/1.4 on a Pany GX85