JPEG-only with Fujifilm

I am certainly not the first to talk about it, but Fujifilm cameras are known for their film simulations. Although Lightroom can apply similar profiles to the RAWs automatically, it is well-reported that the straight-out-of-camera (SooC) JPEGs have the best implementation of the simulations. So much so that Fuji themselves provide software that will convert a RAW to JPEG on your computer… by using an actual camera.

Partially because of all of this, there is a sort of underground group of folks that have taken to shooting only JPEGs with their Fujifilm cameras. They opt to replace sliders and color profiles with in-camera adjustments and film simulations.

Storing JPEGs is also much simpler. The files themselves are drastically smaller and more portable: pretty much anything with a screen can handle a JPEG. Handling your camera’s specific RAW files correctly might only be possible with a select few pieces of software. There are many types of freedoms by letting the camera handle all of your post-processing for you.

I think there is more to it than simply any potential technical reason, though.

A Snapshot on Film

Like many others, I am enamored with the film era of photography. The degrees to which some folks went in order to capture that one great photo is astounding. Who isn’t amazed at the photos Ansel Adams managed to get out on a mountain with a tripod, a light meter, and a small box of photosensitive paper?

But I think the likes of a Polaroid or a disposable film camera can tell just as many amazing stories. Sure, it’s hard to show the wonders of a gorgeous landscape with such tools, but there are so many other wonders to show. Some of my favorite photographs are ones quickly snapped by a relative who knew nothing of how their camera worked. They were certainly no Ansel Adams, yet I often feel more when looking at some of those photos than I do with his.

Today’s camera phones have all but replaced the Polaroids, disposable cameras, and Sears-specials of yesteryear. The march of technological advancement is unstoppable, and that’s okay as there are already younger folks who are enamored with the look of the 2010s. Nostalgia is a hell of a drug.

Shoshin-ing

As photographers, we tend to believe that our explicit choices matter more than the accidental ones. Choosing an aperture or shutter speed makes us feel the photo has more meaning. Meanwhile, you have to check the EXIF data to recall which settings you used on a shot.

The tools and choices of course matter, but they are the means, not the end. How you took the photo is inevitably lost to time, but the photo itself can last forever.

The concept of “the beginner’s mind”, or shoshin, is not locking yourself into how an expert would see or do things. To see things as a beginner is to see a world of possibility. This pairs quite nicely with the thought that made me fall in love with photography: that the photographer is crafting a story by recording some of the light while experiencing the story.

Photos can’t capture the moment, but they can certainly describe one. How you choose to tell a story is often more important than the events therein.

Faces of the Solar Eclipse

For a lot of photographers, shooting in JPEG-only mode might as well be called amateur-only mode. Perhaps there’s some truth to that, but in a good way.

One such example might be the recent solar eclipse in the US. My wife and I traveled to Texas to view it. Being a photographer, I did of course bring my camera, and of course considered trying to learn all the proper ways of photographing such an event.

I took my camera to our viewing site, but only took a couple of photos of the sun (with proper sensor protection) with my phone. There were several guys (yes, all men) out there with their tripods and giant lenses, suffering under their jackets in the heat so that they could see the preview screen.

I genuinely hope that they had fun, but most didn’t venture more than a few inches away from their setups. It was annoying enough to feel tethered to the table that we arrived early to snag. I couldn’t imagine spending all day feeling tied to what must have been thousands of dollars in gear. All to capture a shot that is virtually indistinguishable from countless others. It’s not as though one can find a different angle to the sun.

What’s more, in the several hours that they were there, I didn’t see a single one of them point their camera at anything but the sky. Meanwhile, I did most of my photographing of other people and the area we were in. Especially during totality, there were some really neat shots I managed to get of adults with looks of pure childlike wonder. The eclipse itself was amazing, but I think the more interesting photographic story is in people’s reactions.

After all, you can look up countless photos of the eclipse, but it pales in comparison to seeing it in person. Capturing a face at the moment of viewing such an event tells you far more.

Balancing Act

Trying to shoot SooC is a bit of a purist ideal. I don’t think you should go shoot your next wedding or sporting event armed with a Polaroid or even a Fujifilm camera in JPEG-only mode. Be realistic.

However, I intend to do my next walk through a park with my camera perhaps with JPEGs only. I still like the options that changeable lenses afford me, and shooting on actual film is just too impractical these days. But making my color and exposure choices while taking the photographs feels more authentic and raw (heh) than editing the same RAW file for hours after the fact. I will probably still shoot in JPEG+RAW mode for a while, but I also want to try removing the comfort blanket of being able to do more than just basic cropping afterwards.

Forcing myself to commit to decisions about how I want to tell the story in the moment sounds wonderfully immersive.