It’s a daunting task to pick a favorite lens among the stellar lineup that Fujifilm offers in their GFX system. However, this year I have been inspired by the Fujifilm 30mm lens. I am mostly a portrait and wedding photographer so the classic portrait lenses like the the GF80mmF1.7 and the GF110mmF2 have been my go-to choices to pair with my GFX100S. The gorgeous bokeh and the separation between my subject and the background has become part of my style on every shoot.
However, when you decide to look at something differently than before, the world opens up. That is how I feel about the wide angle of the GF30mm lens. I have always composed my images to only allow the most important things into frame. Shooting wide was a change for me. Then —of course — there are rules that say you can’t shoot portraits with a wide angle lens.
Breaking the rules with the Fujifilm 30mm lens
They say rules are meant to be broken, especially in art. One sunny morning at 6:30 a.m., I found myself in field of bright canola flowers. I had asked my friend the evening before if she would meet me there the next morning at sunrise for a few quick photos. There wasn’t a cloud in the sky that day. I used the sun to light up Michaela’s face as I ducked down into the field among the blooms. I pushed myself to not rely on the dreamy nature of a 1.7 aperture, and I tried not to compose an image to only frame the things that told the story. This was a fun exercise. The gorgeous tones of the yellow and the blue popped in my view finder. The color science within the Fujifilm camera lit up and I composed my image. Being able to see the entire scene of my beautiful friend and the gorgeous morning came together so perfectly.
If you have ever shot with Fujifilm’s GFX camera system then you know exactly what I’m about to say. When I downloaded my SD card and opened the images on my computer, the files were beautiful. The warmth of the sun and the feeling of being in the field that morning came flooding back. The sharpness and rendering brought by the GF30mm lens was perfection. The fact that this image is 99% straight out of camera reminds me just why I love Fujifilm so much.
This lens is always on my camera or within easy reach. It reminds me to tell an entire story and see the world in a much wider view. It has taught me to think bigger and to take in the entire scene. This, in turn, allows for more thorough storytelling and reminders on how beautiful the world is.
