I fell head over heels for photography during my final year of college. Like many before me, I started with the beloved “nifty fifty” lens – you know, that magical piece of glass that makes everything look dreamy with its buttery background blur. While I managed to snap some decent shots, I was still trying to figure out what kind of photographer I wanted to be.
Then came the mirrorless revolution, and boy, did that change everything for me. I couldn’t resist jumping on the Sony Alpha 6300 bandwagon. With a couple of lenses in my bag – both zoom and prime – I finally had a setup that could keep up with my wanderlust.
Here’s where things got a bit… expensive. I caught what photographers playfully call GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) – a condition where you convince yourself that the next piece of gear will somehow transform your photos. That’s how I ended up with the Sony A7R3, a full-frame beast that promised to take my photography to new heights. Don’t get me wrong – it was an incredible camera that could produce gorgeous, creamy bokeh. But I soon learned that fancy gear alone doesn’t make you a better storyteller.
Feeling a bit lost, I turned to Instagram for inspiration. That’s where street photography caught my eye and wouldn’t let go. There was something magical about capturing genuine moments in the urban wild – just me, my camera, and the endless stories unfolding on city streets.
Life has a funny way of throwing curveballs, though. When the pandemic hit, my enthusiasm for lugging around professional gear started to wane. My beloved A7R3 spent more time on the shelf than in my hands, and I knew something had to change.
That’s when I decided to simplify everything and picked up a Fujifilm X100. Talk about a game-changer! There’s something special about those physical dials and film simulations that just makes photography fun again. The JPEGs straight out of camera have this gorgeous character that I never quite got from my previous setup – less clinical, more soul. (And yes, I did feel a bit validated when the X100 series became TikTok famous, but I promise I loved it before it was cool!)
I’m not claiming to be the next Henri Cartier-Bresson, but I’ve found my happy place in photography. This little corner of the internet is where I share my visual diary, and I’d love for you to tag along as I continue figuring things out, one frame at a time.