"100 Fujifilm Trials: Challenge GFX" and me

My first blog. Nothing special need to be mentioned. So, I decide to share this news. The "100 Fujifilm Trials: Challenge GFX" holded by Fujifilm (CN) already put me in the list. I'm the eleventh on the list.

Almost onr month earlier, Fujifilm (CN) also asked me for an interview. They publish it on 02 Sep in Chinese (Click for it).

The English translation is as follows.

Challenger: Sihao Fan

Challenge Projects:

GFX as digital back on large format camera to explore the shaping of sense of space and size, as well as the artistic expression of architectural photography

Challenge Equipment:

GFX100S, Fujinon SWD75, GFX to 4x5 view camera adapter.

Challenge Content:

Architectural archival photography, an architectural photography as a recording, is not couldn't be artistic. This is also the PhD topic I am working on. However, in the past, due to the limitation of resolution, as the subject of the record, it was necessary to occupy the entire picture as much as possible, which was used to record the texture details of its own surface. At the same time, in order to illustrate the relationship between the objects and the surrounding environment, it is necessary to capture another image describing the environment. However, the ultra-high resolution that GFX can provide may be able to provide more space for composition while meeting the needs of the details of the building, which could be used to convey different emotional feelings.

In my research, the main objects was chosen as a religious building. The church is characterized by the high interior space. However, therefore, the illumination concentrated on the height of the person will make the internal light ratio extremely large. At the same time, stained glass windows bring great challenges to shooting in terms of color and light ratio. Shooting inside the church, consider both the exposure of the main part caused by the indoor artificial lighting, the exposure of the top of the church without any lighting, and the stained glass where the light is illuminated by the outside. This is undoubtedly a challenge to dynamic range and color reproduction.

Recently, I have been exploring the shaping of space and the sense of size, which brings about the emotional and sensory communication of loneliness, oppression, and solemnity. Using the strong spatial size contrast in different directions, combined with the different contents to shape different emotions.

Therefore, my challenge idea is to use GFX's extreme picture quality, dynamic range, and color gamut to shoot the interior of the church or other architectural structures, etc., while retaining the sufficient resolution and texture detail of the main part, using shooting techniques and composition to create a strong spatial size contrast, and then using the picture content to shape different emotional communication.

Architectural photography inevitably had to use tilt & shift, so I would transfer the GFX to a large-format camera for shooting. Shooting will be done by the Horseman LS45 with the Schneider 47XL, 150, and Fujilon SWD75. And also need to use the 4x5 view camera adapter. Schneider's lens quality can try to feed GFX resolution as much as possible, and the Fujilong lens is also the fujifilm official recommendation for transferring large formats. However, due to the general age of large-format lenses, the sharpest degree in focus is not guaranteed.

The shooting process will challenge pixel shift multiple shooting and stitching composite. According to different viewing angle needs, pan the large format camera and then shoot multiple sets of pixel shift images, and later stitch together into a larger format image.

Q:

How do you think participating in the Fujifil GFX Challenge will help you achieve your project?

A:

My project is related to my PhD research and together will contribute to the my long term future research in visual ethnography and archives of ancient architecture. Participating in the Fujifilm GFX Challenge first allowed me to actually experience the whole process of creating with Fujifilm GFX cameras. This will help me better choose the equipment which I will use for next period, especially the equipment that is best suited for me to complete my PhD research. Secondly, with the help of this Fujifilm GFX Challenge, I can further enhance my popularity and influence. This is important for research and creation in the field of art. Higher publicity and influence will help me gain the right to shoot in some venues.

Q:

How do you accumulate and improve your photography skills? What photography tips can you share?

A:

The best way to accumulate and improve your photography skills is to "practice". When I learn photography by myself at the early period, I gradually accumulated and improved my photography skills by constantly encountering problems in the process of practice, and then trying to consult various literature to solve problems. The answers of most questions can be quickly found online. At the same time, I often browse the various photography knowledge shared by some experienced teachers on the Internet. Even if some of them are not directly related to photography techniques, listening more and watching more every day will also get a lot of technical inspiration.

There are many photography techniques worth sharing, but the depth varies widely. It is recommended that you combine your actual situation and get more targeted skills to share through practice. So I won't share it here in general.

Q:

With the improvement of photography technology, what are your requirements for photographic equipment at different stages?

A:

With the improvement of technology, the biggest change I feel is that the demand for photographic equipment to provide various automation and intelligent functions is getting weaker and weaker, but the requirements for the large output quality that can be achieved by photographic equipment are more stringent. Usually, in order to achieve the convenience and intelligence of use, photographic equipment has to give up some adjustment and manipulation possibilities and flexibility. In the beginning, I focused more on stabilization, focus speed and area. But at the moment, what I need most is photographic equipment that can meet the larger size printing of the highest possible quality. This means that more textures can be recorded and there is more flexibility to use different sizes to shape the feeling that the work conveys to the viewer.

Q:

What are the expectations for your own shooting project and the Fujifilm GFX medium format camera?

A:

Photography is a long road, and I'll have to walk on it for decades. So for this project, I don't have too many expectations. It is only hoped that through this project and this event, I can obtain long-term and stable cooperation that is conducive to long-term research. After all, the power of the individual is limited, and getting more partners is more conducive to the achievement of long-term research goals. For the Fujifilm GFX medium format camera, I expect it to help me achieve the large size and high quality printing I need, help me capture, record, and present real colors, and help me record enough architectural details while leaving more composition space.

Q:

Who would you like to share or influence by the works of this challenge?

A:

First of all, I will definitely share the work of this challenge with the professors who led me to this research direction and other students who are doing research in related fields. For the recording of cultural relics and monuments, better equipment can provide greater help. Especially in the future, when these recorded things are irresistibly destroyed, people will need these records for research or reproduction. Now we are doing not only for the current photography, but also for the future of human culture. Secondly, the city where I currently live, which has a small monthly photography forum in the museum for Contemporary Art, has attracted a group of experienced photographers and artists. They create their own photography from the industry they are engaged in. I will share my work with them, and maybe it will help to intersect photography with other disciplines in other industries.

Q:

What features of the Fujifilm GFX medium format camera will help you with your research?

A:

Fujifilm GFX medium format cameras have relatively short flange pitches and larger lens mounts compared to other similar price cameras. Whether transferring to a large-format camera or using a technical camera for mirrorlessness makes it easier to use a wide-angle lens and stitch the image through the pan rear group. This is very important for photography with architecture. When my other cameras pan after transfer, the image is often obscured by the small lens mount. At the same time, the pixel shift of the Fujifilm GFX and the high pixels that it can provide as a medium format camera help to preserve more of the ambient content while ensuring that the subject is captured at sufficient resolution. As an archive, it is no longer necessary to take multiple photographs as in the past, explaining the building itself and its relationship to the environment. This offers more flexible creative possibilities.