Hello and welcome back to my humble little blog where I discuss all things photography and how it shapes my experiences and world. I’ve just started a new blog series exploring the process of getting back into photography after a two year break. In my last entry, Rediscovering The Light – The Gear, I broke down my methodology and processes for the photography I shoot with and take with me on street walks. It’s been an incredibly liberating experience discovering that I still love photography, I still have a knack for it, and I still have the brain capacity to think and write about it. After two years on heavy opioid based pain medication, you end up a little foggy – to say the least. I was scared that fog would never lift and I was petrified about what that meant for my creative future. Not to mention how I was going to find work – more on that in a minute.

In this entry I’ll talk about the all important photography community and how its an essential part of my journey. Photographers can either be lone wolves or they can hunt the light in packs. The lone wolf photographer prefers their own company and the ability to move about freely without hindering or waiting for another photographer. It’s not a strict rule, just my observation. Street photographers tend to hunt alone and I have to agree that it’s my preferred method to take street shots. Working alone means that you can follow the light, your instincts, and not be distracted by others. Plus street photography is quick and dynamic as you move across streets, or weave through pedestrians. It also means that you’re a lot more discreet just strolling along with a small camera in your hand – compared to a group of photographers.

The kinds of photographers that hunt in packs benefit from the company of their peers in many ways. Landscape photographers may choose to move in a pack to first get to a location, set up, and work their magic. There’s comradery in the journey as it’s a slower moving hunt. Plus, there’s the added safety of traveling to remote destinations with a mate or group of fellow enthusiasts. Wedding photographers will sometimes work alone but many team up with another tog or videographer to capture larger weddings, engagements, and events. I guess that there are other factors too such as personality types, and the needs of the job. Like I said, it’s not a strict rule but just a way of looking at it.

Despite being a lone wolf street and travel photographer, I still depend on a community as part of my experience.In turn, I contribute to that same community. While street and travel are my jam, I enjoy many other genres and more often I’ll participate in them with friends and like minded creatives. There’s a lot to gain from being a part of a photographic community. And, more importantly, there’s a lot that photographers have to offer their peers. The two way street of photography community involvement is a key part of personal growth in this art form. Let me explain a bit more.

I’m a member of the Fuji X Aus Facebook community. It’s an Australian based group that has an ever growing community of Fujifilm photographers and videographers. It’s a closed community on Facebook with membership requiring agreement to positive standards of conduct. They don’t tolerate abuse, hate speech, nudity, scammers, and are quick to moderate disagreements that are getting out of hand. As a result, the group is a highly engaged, supportive, tolerant, accepting, and friendly bunch of people who love Fujifilm and photography in general. Being a part of this community since around 2015 has lead to many opportunities and experiences for me personally.

I became actively involved in the group in the early days and as a result was offered an admin position. Our group was focused on being a highly supportive, respectful, and safe place on the internet for Fujifilm photographers. That resonated with me. From inception the group was dedicated to providing a platform for members to share their work without fear of harsh and damaging criticism. Admins and members alike fostered a supportive space where people could ask for feedback, opinions on gear choices, and general help in all aspects of photography and Fujifilm gear.

As a group of admins, we created and nurtured a relationship with Fujifilm Australia, brand distributors and camera stores to secure deals, events, and support for our members. There was a lot of great Fujifilm merchandise provided to our members to support the brand. Fujifilm Australia also conducted roadshows and events especially for our group as a means of support and good will. It was through this channel that I met Leigh who worked for Fujifilm Australia. Years later, my relationship with Leigh grew and we became partners in our blog writing business at the start of the pandemic. Leigh has been an incredible friend and support over the years.

When I started this blog site, I was already a Fujifilm shooter, but had only just joined the Fuji X Aus community. I shared my own blogs on that platform for the interest of my peers. I also started writing unique blogs specifically for, and about, the community. I was sharing my knowledge and experiences, as well as those of the countless photographers I interviewed for blogs. I was contributing to the community that had welcomed me and provided so much support over the years. I’ve a lot through this group of highly creative people. They’ve inspired me to push my skills and output to new levels. They gave me the confidence in my knowledge and writing to pursue a career in that same craft.

Another big part of my community involvement was the face to face time with my peers – many of which I have become amazing friends with. We organised many meetups in major Australian cities and invited anyone that wanted to take part. Some of those meetups involved evening walks in the city, trips to the country for landscapes, studio shoots with models, and even weekends away to other states or locations. If we had a member from another state visit us we would hold and event just for them. What’s more, thanks to our relationships with Fujifilm and industry folk, our group was often invited to events such as product launches, and People With Cameras. PWC was an annual event run by Fujifilm Australia – like a trade show but with activities and casual competitions.

My community is large and it continues to grow – especially now as I rediscover my photography and immerse myself in it once more. Two key community focused opportunities have presented themselves in the past week or so. The first is that I have been offered a new writing position with Shotkit.com. I have written for Shotkit over a number of years and they have been such an incredibly supportive part of my community. When I became unwell and wasn’t able to work anymore, they held hopes of my returning to write for them on all things Fujifilm. Over the two years that I was out of action they checked in on me regularly. They continued to hold hope not only over my recovery but getting back into the blog game. I am now in a far better place and have made the decision to pick up the pen once again and get back to work. I’ll primarily focus on Fujifilm content with a range of camera and lens reviews, educational pieces, and general articles on photography with Fujifilm. I am so incredibly grateful to India and Mark for their continued support and belief that I can do this – my confidence was pretty rocky there for a while.

The other community focused event that has taken place is a street walk organised by Ted’s Cameras Melbourne and Fujifilm Australia. One of my mates – Charlie, who is also a member of the Fuji X Aus group, is now working for Fujifilm. He was down in Melbourne for the Fujifilm X100VI Touch and Try events being hosted by Ted’s stores. The night kicked off with a little lone wolf street walk before I met up with Charlie, the Ted’s team and around 15 other photographers interested in the event. Charlie delivered a slide show presentation about the new Fujifilm X100VI and took questions from the group. And yes I got to touch it. We then all headed out on a two hour walk around the Melbourne CBD. The store had also organised two amazing models who joined us on our walk and were willing participants in our shots.

The images shared with your here on this blog are from that night. I walked with the Fujifilm X-E4 and the Fujifilm XF23mmF2. I handheld the camera with a strap,and carried a spare battery in my bag and little else. I love street photography and it was the first time I had been in the city part of Melbourne, with a camera, in a very long time. We moved as a pack but on occasion I wandered across the road as a lone wolf.

It was such a great night with lots of comradery, sharing of experiences, and stories about photography. I realised just how much I had missed hanging out with my community in person. I caught up with old friends and made a number of new ones that night. We shared our images with one another and celebrated everyone’s efforts. I also spent time with fellow Fuji X Aus admin Megan and caught up on all the goss. Megan, Charlie, and I ended our night with a dinner to catch up and talk about our craft and lives. It was such a delight and I cherished that time – despite my body being dead tired. I’m still building my stamina but it was well worth it.

I’m currently in a retrospective phase as I rediscover the joy of photography and all it involves. I’m far more observant of all the little elements that me me who I am as a creative person. I have missed my community and am glad that it is still just as welcoming, accepting, and support as it always was. Often times we take for granted the people around us and limit or discredit the impact they have upon us. In photography, even the lone wolves need to return to the pack for support and companionship. Or at the very least, they don’t stray too far away.