Diggin' in the Crates Vol. 3

Greetings from Dartmouth

Welcome to volume three of Diggin’ in the Crates. A short series where I share select photos from the past few years. Some, if not most, of these photos from the archives might never see the light of day except for in a post like this.

Nothing big, no deep dives or anything like that, just some photos I wanted to share.

This series includes shots that were either fun to take, or reflect trying out some new (to me) techniques. It will feature some good, some bad, and some ‘just ok’ (my bread ‘n butter), but the key is keeping it simple and just sharing a bit of context to set the scene.

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The following photos are from my first few weeks with the Fujifilm X-T30II, my first mirrorless camera. I had been solely using my phone camera before this, and while using it had grown on me over the years, it wasn’t the experience I wanted when taking photos. I wanted something more tactile…I missed a physical shutter button; something more substantial in the hands and, most importantly, something without built in distractions.

I was recently chatting with

Razlyn Lysaught

in the comments of one of her latest posts where she talked about using the X100V for the first time. That was the model of camera I initially wanted, but, as I quickly found out, so did everyone else. This popularity has made it - and its successors - almost impossible to find, so I shifted my focus to another Fuji model (…stay focused, friends).

I landed on the X-T30II. The specs were identical to the X100V, with the added bonus of interchangeable lenses. This feature was unfamiliar to me; until this one, my history with cameras included only fixed lenses and point and shoots.

Unlike the X100V, this camera was readily available almost everywhere. So, I got it ordered and it showed up a few days later in the mail, coupled with the severely underrated XF-18-55mm f/2.8 kit lens. Shortly after this, I also picked up the XF-35mm f/1.4 (a 50mm full frame equivalent), which has since rarely left my camera.

I cannot state enough, how much I love this camera. In less than 5 years, it’s been with me through a lot - big adventures, walking the dog, and everything in between. It’s perfect.

I took a ridiculous amount of photos in these first few weeks, quickly getting familiar with the camera and learning how to use it.

I think because I shot so much - pretty much every day for the first few months of owning this camera - I moved through what I assume are “the motions” of a new Fujifilm user pretty quickly. I was experimenting with tons of recipes and it didn’t take me long to realize there was a point where they went too far for my taste. So, I started scaling back, focusing more on real world film simulations. These photos were taken with a Kodak Portra 400 recipe.

What was the first camera you added to your collection that you considered a ‘significant upgrade’ - something you felt took your gear to a different level? Let’s chat about it in the comments!

All images are SOOC and shot with Fujifilm XT-30II w/ a Fujinon XF 35mm f/1.4 lens.

Stay focused.