Shooting in JPEG and an ode to the X100V
In a world that seems to move faster and faster, demanding more and more brain power to “keep up” in our careers, social lives, constant news cycle, I can feel my soul screaming for simplicity. Even my photography, which has for the last 8 years been my source of peace, my creative outlet, and my chief hobby, has fallen victim to the complicated workflow of planning the photo’s time and place, the in-camera settings, the post-processing, digital sharing, and more! Did you notice how long that sentence was? Can you understand why we, including me, seek what we call “simple”?
Enter the X100V and a JPEG-only workflow. It took me until my 7th year in photography to pick up this little fixed-lens, point-and-shootesque powerhouse. Fortunately, it was just before the TikTok craze made the X100V a coveted wardrobe article for the hippest of hipsters. Fuji fans and photographers have known for years the appeal and fun that this camera holds. I’ve been shooting with the Fuji X series since 2017, but always with the X-T’s, because why would I want to tie myself to a camera with a fixed 35mm (equivalent) field of view, when I could get a camera that could use any X-series lens? Well, when your field of view options are seemingly endless, so are your compositions. Which is not always a good thing. Can you challenge yourself to create a real piece of art with only one field of view? Will you move your feet to achieve that oh-so-nice composition that moves your soul? Will you simplify your captures so that you can be present, and so that you can control the photo and not let the photo control you?
When I feel that creative call, that pick up and let’s go, the X100V is the first camera I grab. No need to worry about selecting a lens. When I need to go lightweight, the X100V is the first camera I grab. I just have one “device” to worry about, and it’s always at the ready. When I want to capture those perfect little slices of life that put a smile on my face, the X100V is the first camera I grab. It’s loaded with custom film-simulations that really bring “the feels”.
And now I’ve got this “simple” camera. Do I want to worry about processing this raw image in Lightroom or Photoshop? So I can take advantage of controlling those shadows and highlights, those beautiful Fuji colors, that white balance and contrast? Or do I want to shoot in JPEG with those custom film sims, so that I can capture life happening as it should be lived, in the moment?
If you’re feeling what I’m feeling, I think you know the answer.
