Fujifilm X-Pro1, and nothing else matters!

Hi, My name is Eddy, and I’m 52 years old. I started with photography when I was 16 years young.
At that time, I was really into sk8boarding and just finished my first handmade board. I asked my 13-year-old older brother to take a picture off the board. He said, “You just bought your own camera, go learn and enjoy”. And I did. I had indeed just bought a camera because I had sold my Zundapp. For the money I received from the moped, I bought a Canon A1. This was the same camera my brother had, so I could ask him for tips. After 9 photos of the skateboard, I still had 27 shots left. I went out with the camera and fell in love.

From that moment on, things went quickly. I had just quit from high school because I couldn’t afford to do homework. I was terribly stubborn and did what I wanted. But my strict father demanded that I get a degree, so within two months, I was in photography school. At the same time, I started working in a photo shop, where I converted all my salary into camera gear. This went from a 35mm to an 8×10 inch camera.

When I finished school, I started working as an assistant for a photographer. This photographer did 90% of his photography of cars in a studio with a back wall of 15 meters wide. I soon realized that this was what I liked most. After working for him for 5 years, I decided to start my own company. At that time, I was 24 years old. In contrast to the large cars, I started focusing on small products. I soon came into contact with flower growers and photographed new varieties of flowers. The most important thing about this photography was the color fastness. I came into contact with the people from Fujifilm in Rotterdam. I was able to talk to them about perfect color rendering.

When I was asked to make a number of books about floral art for the largest publisher in the Netherlands, I was sponsored by Fujifilm. The collaboration was good, and the results were astonishing. Through the books, I came into contact with an advertising agency that did a lot of fashion photography. Did was something that was high on my wish list, but that I didn’t dare to dream would ever come true. I was now in a relationship, and we wanted to start a family. The owner of the advertising agency made me a proposal to have my studio become part of his agency. This way I only had to deal with photography and the administration and all additional matters were done by others. Soon I was working for a few major menswear brands, and a number of magazines also became interested. I was still very stubborn and did what I liked. Clients had to get used to this, but accepted it when they saw the first “polaroids”. I had been digital for a long time now, but wanted to have every test shoot printed out. This gave me a better idea of the production we made that day.

The advertising agency grew too fast. All the money earned went to extra staff because we did not complete the work. The economic crisis of 2009 was hard. Too hard. We had to quit the company. I was without an employer and started my own studio again. But after two years it was no longer sustainable. Prices dropped sharply, and many of my customers went bankrupt. I had to make a decision and started working for the government. In my spare time I did some assignments for existing customers.

In 2022 I made the decision to stop doing commercial assignments completely. I sold my cameras, lenses, flash equipment and everything I had collected over the years. I was no longer a professional photographer. After two months without taking photos, I decided to buy a camera again. I had two wishes: it had to be a small camera, and I had to be able to send the captured images immediately to my phone. I wanted to show the photos I took to interested parties via Instagram.

I saw an Olympus PEN-F which met my expectations. I bought the camera with a 45mm F1.8 lens. While traveling in Istanbul, I discovered that the PEN-F was not the camera that made me happy. It was too small, but above all, it had far too many options. There was a Turkish man with a black suit sitting under a tree. I knew I had to underexpose the image at least 2 stops. I had to go through all kinds of camera menus to get to the right setting. Luckily the man stayed still, so I was finally able to take the photo. From that moment on, I knew I had to get another camera. I wanted to go all the way back to my base. A camera that shoots a beautiful “flim-like” image. Preferably in black and white.

During my education I had my own darkroom where I developed my films and printed my own photos. I wanted to make beautiful images, without post-processing. I was done manipulating the truth. The world is beautiful as it is. No filter or editing is required. On the street I often look for rough and real people to make a portrait of. I like a lot of contrast. So really black and white without too much gray. I would make it easier for myself by not shooting in JPEG.

Because this allows me to “save” a photo in post-processing. But thanks to the exposure compensation button on the right under my thumb, I can switch quickly and always have the correct exposure. The aperture ring in the lens gives me control over the image. I only shoot with aperture priority. My shutter speed is chosen by the camera. If I quickly want a long shutter speed to show movement, I close my aperture. My ISO is almost always set to 320. With the bright 56mm F1.2 I almost always get away with that.

When I worked as a professional photographer, I lost my hobby. I didn’t feel the need to walk around with a camera in my spare time. What should I do with the photos? I was a commercial photographer and sold my work. But after two months without a camera, it turned out that taking photos made me very happy. I now regularly go into the city to take portraits. I have even adjusted my upcoming holiday accordingly. I am going on a road trip with my camper through 5 capitals in Europe. I look forward to immortalizing beautiful characters on the best X-Trans sensor.

When I go out to shoot I grab my Fujifilm X-Pro1 with the fantastic 56mm F1.2. I worked with the 35mm 1.4 for a while – a great lens with a lot of character. Unfortunately, this lens was just too short for taking portraits. I also spent an afternoon walking around with the 16mm F1.4. Taking photos from the hip seemed to me to be the way to (unseen) record events. But that didn’t work for me. I discovered that I was better at addressing people and then taking a portrait.

In addition to the Fuji with the 56mm, I have another X-Pro1 with a TTArtisan 27mm2.8. This was the first X-Pro1 that I bought. There is something wrong with the shutter button that sometimes requires me to press hard to take a photo. Selling was not an option. Letting an X-Pro1 collect dust in the closet should be punished. That’s why I gave this camera a new look, and it is the camera that is always in my bag. Everywhere I go, I take this camera with me. I think I have developer running through my veins. I just can’t live without photography.

The reason I stick with the X-Pro1 is that I’m all about real photography. I don’t miss anything about the camera when taking street photography. I don’t need new gadgets like WiFi, Bluetooth, image stabilization, 8K video, or anything else. I want pure photography. Speaking of pure; I am a big coffee lover. Preferably espresso. And then pure. That’s how I came up with the name of my Instagram account. Black_without_sugar. Just like my photography; Black (and white) without sweet filter.