How I Document My Life with the Fujifilm x100v
Your life is a unique combination of experiences, decisions, and people.
No one will experience the same things as you.
No one will remember the same things as you.
No one sees the world like you do.
No one is you.
Your life is unique to you.
It is an adventure in its own right, regardless of how exciting it might seem to the outside viewer.
If you understand this, you’ll know that no story is the same, and no life is the same.
And despite knowing deep down that we each have a unique life, we look outside - at other people’s lives.
We are invested in the story of others, not our own story.
We don’t care about what we did today because it seems so mundane, so not special, and we want what they have.
Because of this, many people never live their own lives.
They are looking at the movie screen of others, wishing they had what they do not.
And they waste the one thing they do have.
Today, we’re going to talk about documenting our lives with photography.
But it’s not going to be a typical photography letter, as you can tell by the tone of this intro.
In reality, we’re going to learn how to be invested in our own story.
To live our lives, because it is the only life we can live.
Lets get started.
What Does It Mean to Document Your Life with Photography?
When I was a kid, consumer photography was pretty big.
This was before smartphones were introduced and people still shot on disposable film cameras, digital point and shoots, or a fat upper end dslr.
My family and I would take road trips across the country visiting different places and cameras were a must have.
Back then, there was a strong nostalgic element to photography: you’d take a few hundred photos on a road trip, come back, go to Costco, get a bunch of 4x6s printed out for cheap, and make a scrapbook or something to remember the times.
And the photos didn’t need to be “good”.
Photography was a means of documenting and preserving the moment.
Something to look back on and visually remind ourselves of the little details we’ve forgotten about as life passes.
Now of course, smartphones have changed this whole process.
You basically have an unlimited digital album of photos on your phone.
And that’s one way to document your life with photography.
You see, how you do it is a preference.
You can choose to print your photos or share them on social media.
You can build a photobook or simply make a google photos album.
But the point is to continue capturing these little moments from your daily life that you share with friends and family.
The things you did on that trip to a different country.
That time you went out, did something dumb, and regretted your life.
Both the good and the bad.
It doesn’t have to be anything major, just start collecting images.
What you’ll notice is that when you look back and go through your photos, you’ll begin to remember the little details of what happened.
And a smile might creep across your face.
This is the rush of serotonin or dopamine that we get from these feelings of nostalgia.
This is the “Memory Dividend”.
Every time we look back at old photos, we are cashing in on the experiences we’ve had.
And by documenting these moments, we can build a bigger and bigger box of memories that we would have otherwise forgotten.
This is the first step to becoming invested in our own stories.
You see, we all live overwhelmingly interesting lives.
We just don’t think of it as such because its so normalized to us.
But when you snap, take pictures, and look back and see what happened - you don’t care about how little or normal the moment is.
You smile regardless.
And you’re not comparing memories with other people.
Because that memory is yours, not anybody else’s.
And that fact that it’s yours makes it special.
You may or may not be already doing this, but simply taking pictures and looking back on them makes us more aware of our lives.
We are no longer looking outwards but inwards.
And the more aware we are of our experiences, the more we want to live more and acquire more experiences.
It’s then we can start living.
But the first step begins with recognizing the uniqueness that already exists here.
The Camera That Documents My Life
Obviously, you don’t need a fancy camera to document your life.
If we’re being honest, your smartphone is all you need.
The Fujifilm x100v is my camera of choice, but it’s a preference not a requirement.
Even though it’s my favorite camera, if I didn’t have it, I would simply use something else.
Before the V I used a little Sony RX100 iii.
And before that, a GoPro.
And before that, an iPhone.
So don’t think you need this or any other fancy camera to get started.
But I’ll tell you why I prefer this one.
When I first started using the V it was mainly as a tagalong camera to capture moments from camping trips, travels, or hangouts with friends.
I didn’t think of it as documentation - I was just having fun taking pictures.
And that was the fun part about it.
There was no bigger picture behind it.
There was no goal about it.
There was no “good picture this, bad picture this”.
I was just snapping along and I loved it.
Over time I collected thousands and thousands of images from countless trips over the years.
The point is to find a camera that is most convenient to have on you at all times.
A camera that you never get tired of using.
A camera that doesn’t get in the way.
A camera that you can trust.
And it doesn’t have to be the V - but that’s what is is for me.
It’s portable, fast, and reliable for me bring anywhere and never miss a picture.
And I’m so used to it, it’s like the back of my hand, which means taking photos, in a fraction of a second, and then going back to living life and enjoying the moment.
Which is the priority for me.
If a camera is too slow, too clunky, I’m not used to it, I might find myself fiddling with the camera, trying to change the settings, and then I’ve missed the moment.
Which doesn’t happen often if you’re using a camera you’re comfortable with.
There’s an argument that if you’re always taking pictures, you’re not enjoying the moment.
I wholeheartedly disagree with this.
A picture only takes me a second to take.
Depending on my shutter speed, a fraction of a second.
It does not take me out of the moment.
This is because I’ve habitualized photography to the point where I can take photos without thinking about it.
My camera is like the back of my hand.
I’m not sitting here for hours snapping away.
So if you’re concerned about documenting your life with photography, and that’s going to ruin your ability to be “present”, understand that it’s a skill you can develop.
It’s possible to be able to take photos and enjoy the moment.
Here are some tips to finding a camera to document your life with.
If you can find something that matches those criteria, it’ll be that much easier to document your life naturally.
And if all else fails, use your phone.
How to Start Today
The obvious answer for starting today is to bring your phone or camera of choice along and start collecting images.
This could mean one photo a day or just capturing moments whenever you feel like it.
You can even make it a challenge to find the “moment of the day”.
How you want to go about it is up to you, but I’d recommend to make it fun.
Documentation doesn’t have to be serious, the point is to remember and enjoy our lives more, meaning: the photos don’t even have to be good.
As you collect images you can think about what you want to do with them.
My preferred destination for my photos is usually content or print.
I make these videos about what I’m doing and learning right now, and that serves as a way of documentation in itself.
Similarly, I try and print as much as I can.
This is a zine I made back in 2020, which was simply a collection of images from that time.
I used to want to make a yearly photobook of memories, but I’ve found it to be too time consuming.
There are a lot of photography projects I want to make so I’m limited on time and attention.
So I’ve preferred to spend time making projects that challenge me, like “The Sinking Sun”.
“The Sinking Sun” is my first public photography zine which is now available for pre-order.
It’s a collection of images from the past year and a half of chasing sunsets.
And the funny thing is, I’ve been documenting the creative process of building this zine itself.
Simply snapping a photo here and there while I’m doing the work gives me something to remember from that time period.
And that’s a way of documentation as well.
In the future, I’ll be able to look back and think “Oh yeah, that’s when I was making my first zine, and struggled with that, and got worried about that!”
This brings us full circle.
Documenting your life will lead you to appreciate your life more.
Appreciating your life more will lead you to want to live more of it.
This results in two things:
excitement to live and compile more experiences and memories
the stopping of looking at other people’s lives because you’d prefer to live your own
That’s why you should document your life.
That’s how to do it.
If you need a “when”, the best time is now.
Document your life, because no one’s gonna do it for you.
Thanks for reading.
