The 36 Exposure Challenge

As part of a constant quest to push my creativity, I decided to step back in time to the film days. Well, maybe not all the way back to the film days–I really don’t have the capacity, money or desire to shoot film right now–but back to a slower, more thoughtful way of shooting. I want to spend more time visualizing what the camera is going to record and less time mashing the shutter button and checking the results on the back of my camera. 

So, here’s the 36 Exposure Challenge I’ve set for myself:

• I will be shooting with my Fujifilm X100T, which is a fixed-lens, 35mm f/2 equivalent rangefinder.
• Full manual exposure only.
• Optical viewfinder only. 
• No reviewing images (chimping)… I have to trust my exposure and my timing.
• Images can’t be deleted.
• Only 36 exposures each day, just like a single roll of film. I am using a 2GB SD card that I have pre-loaded with a 500MB file, so there is 1.5GB available. Shooting JPG+RAW, this gives me 36 frames. Note that because of the way JPG compression works, I might get an extra frame depending on what I’m shooting (kind of like the bonus frame(s) you sometimes got when you bulk-loaded your own film).
• Each day I will post a contact sheet of my take as well as larger versions of my favorite frames.

I am a working pro that has many other projects in the work, so I will be shooting other things too, but those shoots will be on other cameras and will be kept separate. I’m excited to see how this challenge changes the way I approach and shoot all of my projects/assignments.