Falling in Love with Photography Again. And Again. And Again (new camera).
How a new format, a new camera, and a trip to Lanzarote reminded me why I keep coming back to the image.
There’s something about picking up a new camera that reminds you why you fell in love with photography in the first place. It’s not about the specs or the gear talk. It’s about the feeling. The spark. That quiet fire that makes you want to go out, wander, frame, and create. (youtube video down below)
For me, that spark reignited recently with the Fujifilm GFX100R in Lanzarote. More specifically, with a mode I had never truly explored before: the ultra-wide 17:9 aspect ratio. I’ll double-check the exact numbers, but it’s that super cinematic frame that suddenly changes everything. The way you see. The way you compose. The way you move through a landscape.
JPG in 17:9 Straight out of camera (like the rest of the images in this newsletter)
It’s strange how one small change can open a whole new world. This wide ratio doesn’t just stretch the frame, it stretches the story. It feels like film. Like you’re capturing scenes instead of photos. I found myself not just thinking in single images, but in sequences. Diptychs, triptychs, five-panel stories. It made me want to shoot more. To explore how far one frame can reach.
Even more surprising: I was shooting straight JPEGs. No RAWs, no post. Just the built-in black and white simulation that works beautifully with the 100-megapixel sensor. The files coming out of camera feel finished, balanced, and full of depth. Like small sculptures of light and shadow that live right there in your pocket. Yes, your pocket. That alone is wild.
And no, this is not a sponsored post. I don’t do those. This is just one artist falling back in love with the medium. Sometimes, that’s all you need. A new perspective. A new tool. A place like Lanzarote. And the quiet reminder that photography never really stops giving.
I made a short video about the camera. You can watch it here:
I love your writing Bastiaan…refreshing and down to earth. The wide format on the Fuji camera you’re using reminds me of the 6x17 film format. Very cinematic and indeed a very different way of viewing the world.
The 17:6 and 16:9 panoramic perspectives lend themselves perfectly for landscape photography. Although I have no experience with the camera you have, the fixed lens is similar to that of the Leica Q 28mm lens, the latter camera having the advantage of a wider aperture range down to f1.7. In turn one can argue that the 102MP sensor in the Fujifilm camera has an advantage over the 60MP CMOS in the Leica Q3, but this is a bit silly as both give exquisite detail despite their compact size. Thank you for sharing your beautiful images.