The Beginner Photography Podcast

Mastering the Tools That Transform Your Photography with Christopher Gilbert

• Raymond Hatfield

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#472 In this episode of the Beginner Photography Podcast, I chat with nature photographer Christopher Gilbert to dive deep into the importance of matching your gear with your unique photographic style. Christopher switched from medium format to APS-C, not because of sensor size, but to find a system that complements his creative vision. Through our conversation, you’ll learn that the technical aspects, like crop factors and lens focal lengths, should enhance your storytelling, not hinder it. I’ll share why mastering the settings that suit your needs can transform your shoots, guiding you to choose tools that truly embody your artistic expression. This is a journey to making every click of the shutter count!

THE BIG IDEAS

  • Embrace Simplicity: Your best photos can emerge from using simpler, more intuitive gear. Less complexity allows more focus on capturing moments.
  • Focus on What Matters: Prioritize your vision and expression over technical perfection. Focus on how the photo feels, not just how it looks.
  • Experiment Freely: Allow yourself to make mistakes and learn from them. Each error teaches you something valuable about your own style.
  • Seek Tools That Fit You: Choose gear that complements your way of seeing the world. Your comfort with your tools translates into better photography.


PHOTOGRAPHY ACTION PLAN

  • Experiment with Different Lenses: Rent or borrow lenses in various focal lengths to explore how they transform the perspective and composition of your photos. Take the same subject and photograph it with different lenses to clearly see the difference each lens makes to the image.
  • Dial in Camera Settings: Start using aperture priority mode to gain better control over depth of field and understand how it affects your photos. Practice shooting in different lighting conditions to learn how ISO and shutter speed interact with aperture.
  • Focus on Composition: Concentrate on incorporating the rule of thirds into your shots to create more balanced and engaging compositions. Try out leading lines, framing, and the use of negative space to add more depth and interest to your photographs.
  • Explore Post-Processing: Download a reputable photo editing software and familiarize yourself with basic adjustments like exposure, contrast, and color correction. Watch online tutorials specific to your software to efficiently learn various editing techniques that can enhance your images.

Resources:
Follow Chris on Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/fujifilm.christopher

Sign up for your free CloudSpot Account today at www.DeliverPhotos.com

Connect with Raymond!


Thanks for listening & keep shooting!

Christopher Gilbert:

The people that are looking at your images that are connecting to those images are more than likely not photographers and they're not seeing the dynamic range they're not seeing the noise they don't care because if the message and the creative intent is there and you create something that the viewer can experience and it makes them feel something that's what they're going to remember

Raymond Hatfield:

Hey, welcome to the beginner photography podcast. I'm your host, Raymond Hatfield. And today we are chatting with Christopher Gilbert, a Fujifilm rep and nature photographer about how to use our camera as a creative extension of our eyes. But first the beginner photography podcast is brought to you by CloudSpot. Impress your clients with a beautiful gallery that is easy to view, share and download on any device. Control image size at a watermark and download limits. Grab your free forever account today over at deliver photos. com and only upgrade when you're ready. Now, before we get started, want to address the elephant in the room. While Christopher is a representative for Fujifilm, I. reached out to him. Okay. So Fuji didn't reach out to me. This interview is not an advertisement. Uh, no money exchanged any hands. and honestly, if anyone did offer me money to, be interviewed, I think that'd be a huge red flag. I'd, definitely say no. but whether you shoot, I mean, Fuji or Nikon or Canon, if you shoot DSLRs, or even if you're just using a smartphone, I promise you, you're going to walk away learning quite a bit about cameras. Now in today's interview with Chris, you're going to learn why aspect ratio should probably pay a Bigger role in choosing your next camera than simply sensor size. How to choose the right camera that aligns with your creative vision, rather than just technical specifications, the difference between crop and full frame cameras, and also how today's marketing and consumerism affects photographers negatively. And, uh, you know, especially beginners and obviously how to avoid it as well. So there's a lot in this one with that. Let's go ahead and get on into today's interview with Christopher Gilbert. I just simply want to know, when did you know that photography was first going to play an important role in your life.

Christopher Gilbert:

So I would have to say going back to college. So I went to school for graphic arts. This is 20 years ago. Photoshop was just getting started within the creative suite series. I think CS1 is really where my mindset was and trying to find a way to create design work with other people's photos. And knowing that I had to be reliant on stock photos. In order to do that and that pay barrier or that quality barrier, I got into the field, I got, a really small digital camera to start creating my own images for my own graphic design. And I found that, Hey, I didn't know what I was doing. Cause you know, it was just, Go, for it. But I found I could be so creative and it made my process much easier because I could say, this is my craft from start to finish in terms of design. And I wasn't reliant on other individuals. It was like kind of more self exploratory kind of thing. And so. I didn't really fall in love with anything until I got away from school and I purchased my first interchangeable lens camera because it was a point and shoot at the time. I mean, digital was first getting started and it was over a thousand dollars to even get invested in it. And there was one particular camera that came out first digital camera under a thousand dollars. I bought it and I literally took this camera. I was a park ranger at the time. And that's a story for another time. And it allowed me to explore so much and it filled my heart with so much joy because I could be creative and not know what I'm doing and have kind of a surprise every time I took an image because I didn't have any idea as far as the exposure triangle yet.

Raymond Hatfield:

I find that that's a very similar journey to many new photographers is that you know, they say that they're not good at painting, they're not good at drawing, but like this camera almost gives me instant access to some sort of creative release, right? Creative creation, rather. But as you said, you know, you were shooting on auto, so you'd go out and you'd take these photos when you got back to, you know, the computer and you'd load them up on there, did you think? Yes. Bangers got it. It's all figured out, or did you run into some trouble?

Christopher Gilbert:

I would love to say that I did and got a perfect pictures every single time. The first time I've tried it. And as we all know, that's just a, a falsity. you know, I made so many mistakes. Because I didn't know what I was doing. I was fine tuning controls, not knowing what I was changing. It was lightning and darkening. I'm like, cool, but what does this do to that? And I found that once I brought them back to the computer, when I had an LCD screen, cause this is the time the LCD screens were a fourth of a megapixel display. And it was soft or it was blurry, or potentially the focus was off just a little bit. And so I wouldn't say I was comfortable. getting what I wanted out of camera, uh, maybe like six or seven years into my journey, if I can be transparent,

Raymond Hatfield:

really,

Christopher Gilbert:

uh, and part of that was just to have forcing myself to learn these controls and, you know, obviously photography is, can be a technical field and it doesn't, but it doesn't have to be. And so I've found my niche creatively and that vision that I had creatively. You know, what I love to photograph was landscapes. What I love to exaggerate was small subjects and having the scene behind it be betrayed so that there was a kind of immersive sense of the image. And, uh, I found I didn't have that control. And so it forced me to learn step by step, by step, by step. And, over the course of the years, I became a little bit more proficient and a little bit more proficient, but, I'm still making a, maybe instead of a thousand mistakes, it's 900 mistakes instead of 900 mistakes at 700 mistakes. And I still do that every day. You know, I've been in the, field, as a professional educator for over 10 years now. And I make mistakes every day, and that's what I love about the process, because it's that self exploration and knowing what's right or not is a lot of feel because as a photographer, you're determining your output, and that can be only done through self exploratory.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, of course. So when it came to trying to figure out how to start making less mistakes, was that getting into manual? You said that it was learning more about your settings. What did that process look like?

Christopher Gilbert:

you know, I kind of take the same process as I do as far as I teach my students now and I, some, some teachers say go to full manual right off the bat. And that's, good. And that works for some students. But I found that gradually progressing into each portion of the exposure triangle allowed me to have a lot firmer grasp on it. And so I started off with program. And so first started there, I now have exposure compensation that I could play with. I had some, aperture control. It's a point and shoot at this time. really just two settings and they're kind of almost simulated it felt like, and as I kind of figured out little by little, I'd go to aperture priority, concentrate on that. Okay. Now depth of field, can determine what I want in focus. And I'm not worried about shutter speed as of yet. And then finally work in shutter priority a little bit, stop and start action. And so it was a very much kind of a hill climb in order to get to manual, just because I was teaching myself. And I knew that if I had three exposure settings to worry about, knowing the intricacies of how they interact with one another, because it is huge, was harder for me to understand because I'm a visual learner. And so having to, I can change all these items in camera and they could, the image could be dark or light, but I didn't know what it was exactly doing. And those gradual steps allowed me to be more concrete in the foundation of the exposure triangle.

Raymond Hatfield:

Mm hmm. I know that you work for Fujifilm, so I want to know, like, how did that come about? Did you just love cameras and then this job became available? What was the in between for you?

Christopher Gilbert:

Ah, so, part of it was, so prior to me getting into the photographic field, I worked as a park ranger, was taking images out there. there was a natural disaster that happened, uh, almost gosh, maybe 10 years ago. the Waldo Canyon fire, basically burned down, a whole bunch of houses and kind of devastated the route in order for me to get to my job. And so I had to, look for something else. I just had family oriented. So I started at a camera store. And that's really was the foundation. And it intimidated me. You don't know what you don't know until you have to explain it to somebody else. And it was frightening because I had all this experience with my personal gear and no experience with any other brand. And so to answer your specific question, I. After six years at a camera store using multiple brands, I had to be an expert at everything, and that's just not feasible. No one can do that. And so I wanted to be a specialist and Fujifilm spoke to me both, tactilely interacting with their cameras. Everything was on the outside of it. Color science wise, the color fidelity. I mean, Fujifilm is now in its 90th year, 90th year, and who knows color better than someone who produces film? And so I found that because I love this so much, I was starting to peak interested. Maybe I could be something more, maybe I could be affiliated with the brand and, you know, being an ambassador often comes up first, but I found that incorporating my level of education with the blend of the camera system that I loved. And I'm going to be honest talking to one of the technical representatives that were a part of Fujifilm already, Louis Navarro, he's our representative in California and has been for a while, he asked me, what do you want to see in Fujifilm cameras? And let's be honest, what brand asks you that? And so it made me feel like I was part of something greater and my feedback was important and it may or may not have been, but that aligned with who I was photographically. And I was like, need to be a part of this. I love the education. I love the product. I love the ideology behind the brand. And I got lucky. There was an opening and I had to move across the U S in order to get here. So now I'm in Columbus, originating in Colorado. I moved from my job.

Raymond Hatfield:

So, I love that story. I love when there's a product or a service or just a company that like aligns so close to your values, and then for them to reciprocate, right. And say like, what do you want to see? Like that's important to us. Uh, it's so cool to hear. But I want to know, cause one thing, I've talked about my journey within Fuji since 2016 here on the podcast. And, I found that I love Fuji for a few reasons when I first got into it. First, it was the size, right? It was the physical controls. And then third, it was just fun to shoot. And like, I couldn't explain that with any other, camera, but when listeners would ask me, they'd be like, right, right, right. Like we get all those things, but. why? Why is it fun to shoot? All these questions, I really didn't have a very direct answer. And as you know, It's personal. It's personal. Right. Okay. Okay. Perfect. So, that leads me perfectly into this question because so many times, as you know, in the photography space, especially working at a camera store, there's always photographers, Trying to battle it out between like, what is best, of course, which is subjective, but like, you know, Canon photographers, Nikon photographers, Sony photographers, even, like, like Leica and Hasselblad photographers are always competing. I shot all the brands, I get it. Yes, yes. But all of those photographers, it seems today, still seem to carry around a Fuji camera with them. Right? And that is what is so interesting about Fuji. Like, so clearly to them, it is fun to shoot with as well. So, from your perspective, can you tell me, like, why is it that Fujifilm seems to have this appeal that other camera manufacturers just don't have? You know, from beginners to professionals. It's like, everybody seems to want one.

Christopher Gilbert:

So we can kind of incorporate the change in the industry from SLR to a mirrorless camera. And the first originating factor was size. That was the importance. SLRs are huge, bulky, they could take you out of the moment. And so when mirrorless was first getting developed, I had something that image quality was just as capable, maybe not as well refined. I mean, just like electric cars, when they first get developed, there's a lot of kinks as you discover what works and what doesn't work, but the soul of the camera was already there because, and I'm talking about Fujifilm directly here. Because of their history within large format, medium format, 35 millimeter that carried over. And that was what was lacking in the industry at the moment. What kind of camera that was digital, that gave me great image quality straight out of the gate, almost instant gratification that felt like I was still shooting film, but this just didn't exist. People are emulating it now. And so there's a lot of different camera companies that have a singular camera that offers those tactile controls. But when you look at the camera, because let's be honest, they're incredibly complex. I know there's 20, 30 menus, depending on what system that you're shooting. It's just the exposure triangle. I can look on the outside of the camera. Aperture's on the lens. ISO is going to be on a physical dial. Shutter speed is going to be on a dial exposure comps on a dial. And now instead of a thousand things to worry about, I have four. And let's be honest, As someone with ADHD, those controls, having that feedback, that's what made me feel like I was in the moment. And you're right, I should have said that earlier too. It made me want to shoot. And there are cameras that took great images, and we'll probably get into the conversation of full frame versus APS C, because I've navigated through those off and on. leaving full frame to go back to APS C or the 35 millimeter sensors, I should say. And it was something about that feel that I had where I was more confident I could bring more. So creatively being a smaller system at the time, I could have more looks because the lenses that were a part of that were less complex and a lot smaller because they didn't have to take account of the mirror box that was inside those cameras. So, you know, someone that was very, very technical and that's fun about this journey. We find that often beginners might not know a whole bunch. Then you get this bell curve where, you know, a whole bunch. And as you get more proficient, it starts going down what you want to know, what you need to know. And I felt that I could be more in the moment with it and the results that I got that immediate results or not having to be reliant on a computer in order to get my vision, Made me fall in love with it. And I know the photo that made me fall in love with Fujifilm, you know, I was in your Ray, Colorado, which is called little Switzerland, which is, you know, close, close to the million dollar highway, if I remember correctly. so I was there during the winter and I forget the Canon, it might be a box Canon, it might be that don't quote me on that, but I took one image on this gorge. looking downward. The sharpness was there. The color fidelity was there. And I took an image and I said, I was done right. 10 years prior to that, I was never done when I took the image. And so for me, that's what was my journey. And I'm going to be honest, a lot of Individuals journey that I encounter through that, six years directly with Fujifilm and the six years prior to that working in the camera stores, people getting acclimated with, the product. And when I was getting acclimated with the product as well.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah. Wow. That's so interesting. I feel like, photography can, be a difficult thing to talk about because, uh, as you know, there's so many different ways to go, right. and even with like editing. So if we were to just take like a hobbyist, say 20 years ago, shooting on film. A hobbyist would go out, they'd shoot, and then when they got home, they'd be done, right? Like, the hobby of photography was the photography. It wasn't the editing. It was the professionals who'd be in the dark room and, you know, obsessing over these, details to get perfect prints. But once we switched to digital, and once we, you know, were offered RAW, it almost seemed like, Now, everybody had to start editing their photos. We had to spend this time in Lightroom. We had to spend this time in Photoshop before that, to get a photo that, that we were happy with. So now we just extended this time in which our hobby took, and that, you know, for many people, myself included, like, I'm not a huge fan of the, the editing process. Like I can do it. I did it for a long time. I'm not a huge fan. So I, like you, love, love that feeling When you get it right in camera and you look at it and you say like, not only did I do that, right? That's that personal, fulfillment that you get, but then also now I don't have to spend the rest of my afternoon away from my family and kids to edit up these photos and make them look great. That's just a, unless you want to, unless you want to. Yeah, exactly. Unless you want

Christopher Gilbert:

to. And like, that is what is what I love about it. Same. That's what I love about this journey is because. You don't, if you want to be in the digital dark room and that's where you find your creativity is, discovered, it's not wrong. If you're in the field and that's where you find your creativity is discovered, it's not wrong. And so this was one of the sole creative outlooks that I felt that we could blend technicality and artistry. And not feel like one was more important than the other, but to kind of go off what you said earlier, you know, obviously we had to edit because digital cameras in the beginning were garbage, absolutely garbage. White balance is horrible resolution. It was okay. Uh, you know, 0. 2 megapixels. I remember I got a Hewlett Packard camera, 2. 1 megapixels, and it was 900. And now 900 gets you in an interchangeable lens system or possibly a really high end use camera. And now I found since all the camera companies make such good cameras these days, I can take the approach of film again. And that's why I fell in love with Fujifilm because I had to make those corrections with other brands in order to get what I wanted. And don't get me wrong. I'm a raw shooter and a JPEG shooter more JPEG than raw because of my job. Cause I don't want to show what the camera, I want to show what the camera can do and not what I can do with the experience. And it's kind of invalid. It's a misrepresentation when like, here's my image and raw, or I determined the color, I determined everything. And this is exactly what you're going to get straight out of camera. And so it forced a different mindset on me because I wanted to demonstrate all the opportunities that you could be within the moment. and get a great image. And yeah, that takes cost, filters, tripod, you know, as a landscape photographer, circular polarizer, graduated neutral density filters, that's what I still know and love. That slows me down in the craft. but the digital cameras, Even though I, that's really where I discovered my love for the craft. It took me up until eight megapixels where I felt I could actually use it and do it, deal with it on a professional level.

Raymond Hatfield:

I had never really thought about it that way, that essentially digital files were such garbage in the beginning that you really had to, tweak them, to make them look good. And now cameras are just so good that, we, or the technology is great that we can, uh, rely on them to still get a great image out of camera that makes a lot of sense. But you mentioned something there, which of course I really want to get into because one of the things that drew me to Fuji and of course other photographers as well, aside from just how fun it is to shoot with, is just how beautiful those files are, right? Can you walk me through like, Kind of a behind the scenes, like what is going on there? Because as you said, I mean, I know y'all have been making film for 90 years, but like, what is, can you explain what that magic sauce is? Like, how do you achieve such beautiful colors?

Christopher Gilbert:

Well, we never share secrets in this industry I'm kidding. But so it's a culmination of a lot of things. And again, I'm not directly speaking for Fujifilm on this. It's more my creative interpretation of it. But, But Looking at the digital cameras, all the film stock is still based in that. And it's meant to carry the essence of that film. So Velvia is going to be contrasting, saturated. Astia is going to be a little bit more subdued in terms of color change in totality is just a little bit different. It gives you a little, a subtle softness. And so. When the cameras were first coming out, X 100, then X Pro1 that was a way for film shooters that gravitated towards those film stocks to be able to shoot that again in a digital format. Cause they technically existed in a non mirrorless format. I mean, we had SLRs, S5 pro. I mean, those were great cameras that we worked with another brand, but it still had our color behind it because it was easily identifiable. A, uh, just because of the tone curve and contrast. Yeah. But also part of it is kind of the difference in sensor tech that we do. If I can get a little nerdy for a second.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yes, let's

Christopher Gilbert:

do it. And so, uh, your typical Bayer sensor, which is available on pretty much 99 percent of the brands out there. It's a two by two pixel pattern, right? And so every two pixels, your pattern is repeated. And so your noise is going to be more repetitious as a byproduct of that. And so you will get pattern noise as a byproduct of that. It'll be more digital feeling when you look at that photo, as you elevate those ISOs and so Fujifilm has done something different. I'm going to stick to the mirrorless setup. Cause that's what we do now. Not necessarily the SLR setup that was distinct in and of itself. but our pixel pattern is six by six. With more green dedicated pixels. And so this pattern is now repeated three times less often. The pixels feel more sporadic, and there is more pixels that are dedicated to green that capture a larger light spectrum. And so, this offers the opportunity through A, the processing of the color science, the information off the sensor itself, having this different pixel pattern, gives me more of an analog type feel, and it feels less digital and more organic as I raise those ISOs. And so because of that, we can talk about sharpness now, that doesn't need an aliasing filter anymore because of this, uh, pixel pattern. Aliasing filters, if I can kind of make a lame analogy, with computer games back in the day, if the resolution wasn't high enough, a circular line or a diagonal line would be kind of blocky, right? Almost look like a stair step. And so the images were technically blurred slightly as a byproduct of that to make it less obvious. And now that we're such high resolution 1624, we've got 102 megapixel camera. We don't need that ALC filter anymore. And so that without blurring that image to compensate for those pixels, I get a much sharper result and because of our. Basically our, pixel orientation, we more is less of an issue. You know, that false pattern that you get when there's not enough resolution with complex patterns, like trees, plaid, a hundred percent corduroy trees. Exactly.

Raymond Hatfield:

That was always a difficult thing at weddings. cause people like to get married outdoors, sometimes lots of trees and, sometimes. Family members have very questionable clothing choices and corduroy made it more than I thought that it would. So, yeah, that, that makes sense. And I guess, cause I've thought about this before when you think about, say an old. This is probably another lame analogy here, like an old like Super Nintendo game, there's no like round balls because the resolution is so small, like you can't get it round enough. So obviously, the more pixels that you introduce, the higher that it can resolve the image and it doesn't need to look all blocky. is that right? It's the same kind of concept? 100%. Okay. Wow.

Christopher Gilbert:

Same kind of idea because, uh, you know, when resolutions were first out there, I mean, they're what, eight megapixels. So as you enlarge that image, the, any sort of diagonal line or curve line, it would be more obvious that it was a pixel because a pixel is not a circle. It's a square, right? So how do I represent something that's circular? When I don't have enough of those blocks in order to do so. And I I'm sure we've probably seen examples before online as you introduce more and more blocks and zoom out just a little bit further, because you can, with the resolution to have that detail, it becomes less obvious of those jagged edges. And so it makes it easier to remove that filter and not have it as obvious. And so a sharper image as a by product of that. And one of the other things I fell in love with Fujifilm about being a lens manufacturer. So those coupled together, sensor tech, lens, technology, and, uh, yeah, having shooting other brands, I shot another brand for 15 years, moved to one brand that, basically not necessarily started mirrorless, but started the first full frame mirrorless. It just wasn't for me, right? I found that this type of setup and Fujifilm lenses were as good as they are, I no longer had to second guess myself and pick and choose the lens. I just picked up a focal length that I wanted. And so the first lens I bought, was the 16, 1. 4. And I have, I have, 3000, 4, 000 lenses before that. And this was a sub a thousand dollar lens. And I've got just as good, if not equal and sometimes better results from it. And I'm like, I'm sold, this takes so much out of my process. I don't have to worry about what lens to choose or what people have to tell me in order to get what I want. I just think of what I want. And it's there within the brand.

Raymond Hatfield:

And the, uh, the focus ring, uh, iconic that in the 23, two of my favorite tools of all time, which brings it so close to the whole, analog experience. So, uh, so much focus

Christopher Gilbert:

way to go. Yeah. 14, 16, the 23. Unfortunately, most of those have changed. Only the 16 and the 14 are left. And that's because the industry has changed so much since the beginning of digital. Sure.

Raymond Hatfield:

Sure. Well, let's go ahead and, talk more about the sensor tech, because you had brought up sensor tech a moment ago. And this was one of the things that I was scared about when I switched from, you know, shooting weddings on a 5d Mark three to going to Fuji. And that was going from full frame to, technically a smaller sensor. but I think. that whole idea, you know, is being forced upon us that we have to shoot full frame if we want quote unquote professional quality images. so can you talk a little bit more about sensor technology in terms of size, maybe not pixels rather, but size? Yeah. and how, is that still even a conversation that needs to be had?

Christopher Gilbert:

It happens every day. for the same reason. I mean, it's marketing. Go through the levels of digital process and the digital wars. What was the first thing that came first? Well, first thing came to mind was pixels, right? Then it was frame rate. Then it was video capability. And so for me, shot full frame, went the whole APS C route. I bought it, loved it, and I found that the tools within APS C in this particular, and I'm going to talk about Fujifilm just for a second, it made for an easier result because there's things that benefit my style of photography to a greater degree. Now, the qualifier is, do I need it? The answer is no, because the camera is the tool and an iPhone is a professional camera. point and shoots are a professional camera because a lot of the advertising that you see these days could be taken with either of those products. I was under the misconception because I was told that I needed that, that I gravitated towards that in the first place, because as you said, that was what defined professional cameras. Now us now, especially being in 2024, how do we digest our images?

Raymond Hatfield:

On our phone, right?

Christopher Gilbert:

Digitally. So unless it's for creative purposes, like defocusing the background, or I'm in scenarios where the dynamic range is so huge, I need that extra stop in the third difference, that might make me push towards 35mm sensor. But I, I don't encounter those images. I've got an image in front of me right now. That's 40 inches by 60 inches taken with a 24 megapixel APS-C camera into the sun and the dynamic range is great. And so I found that listening to other individuals tell me what I need, didn't allow me to see everything that was available. And having a camera that is smaller, what, because sensor size dictates lens size, right? And so having a camera that's smaller and having more lenses to choose from that were smaller, allowed me opportunities where I could be in scenarios for photos that I wouldn't get otherwise, because a, I'd be too scared. And B, it would be too heavy. And so APS C route, I went from 36 megapixels down to 16 and my images never look better. Wow. And so for my style, being a landscape photographer, I'm not trying to isolate the subject from the background very often. That's, portraits, you know, I'm trying to defocus the background to concentrate the, you know, the focus on the subject. And yes, larger sensors do that to a better degree. Yes, there's better noise performance. Obviously that's the physics. I mean, Fujifilm makes a medium format camera that is 102 megapixels. It's 60 percent larger than a 35 millimeter negative, and it creates great image quality. But there are limitations to everything. And so if I'm shooting 40 frames per second, it's probably not on a medium format camera. If I'm shooting sports or wildlife, having a smaller sensor works to your advantage. And so it's defining the tools within those sensor sizes and aligning with those tools that would made me gravitate towards a system or not. And so leaving full frame wasn't a question for me at all. I could have cared less because my style of shooting was at base ISO at the time was 200. And obviously there's crop factors associated with everything, right? You can't just pick and choose what the crop factor is associated with. You got to apply it towards your ISO, field of view, depth of field, not necessarily light gathering capability. And so trying to get everything in focus. It was easier on a smaller sensor. And so that's why cell phones have to use, you know, but computational, means in order to defocus the background, it's just physics. I never encountered any of the limitations or the perceived limitations of APS C. And so I'm not the type of person that says, yes, APS C is the same as full frame, because obviously it's not, or I'm going to say 35 millimeter negative. Technically everything's full frame if we want to get into it. but I can see where some individuals, both professionally and amateurly need to have that look of a larger sensor camera for their creative means. And if they gravitate towards that, because it is their style of craft. I see that and you can still get that look on a PSC on micro four thirds and on one inch sensor. It's just because of that crop factor that wider apertures have to be developed. And that's why Fuji count film came up with a 50 millimeter 1. 0. I mean, that's one of the fastest autofocus lenses in existence. I think there's only one other out there. That's autofocus oriented. And so you can get there. But it was a little bit harder in order to get that route. And product became a little bit bigger as a by product of that. Do I worry about it? No. Do professionals worry about it? Some, but I, there's, people in the industry that have, I've followed for quite a while. Most of which are ambassadors of Fujifilm. The one that comes to mind is Tony Corbell. I'm not sure if you're familiar with him. He is a master of light and. He has worked with Fujifilm for a long time, and he's shooting, I believe, X T3s, and if you see his work, they're just, it's amazing, because he knows what to pick and choose in that repertoire of tools in order to get the image for his customer or his client. And that rarely has to, at least for his scenario, involve a sensor size. I mean, I, I literally don't care about it whatsoever. Sensor size doesn't really mean anything to me. I think aspect ratio was more important surprisingly than sensor size because visually allowed me to see things differently coming from, you know, I went to medium format from APS C, when Fujifilm introduced that six years ago, uh, And I'm like, Oh, wow, this now makes even more sense. And so once again, even though we have medium format within the lineup and I have that, I shoot a hundred megapixels every day. For certain items, I need a smaller, lighter, portable, longer reach camera. And the APS C sensor is kind of that nice Jack of all trades kind of scenario where it does everything really well. And let's be honest, the noise differences these days with how good the noise software is, it doesn't become as much of an issue. And so I try to tell individuals, how does it look? How does it feel? what are the settings that you need within the camera? Does it accomplish your asks? whenever I buy a camera, I write a list. What are my demands? What do I need out of this? And I put it in this hierarchy. And for me, hierarchy, for my style of setup color, sharpness, and for landscapes, Fujifilm specifically was a distance scale, for choosing my focus range. And so that actually gave me better image quality than a full frame camera. Because of this particular tool, I could now choose the appropriate aperture value rather than guessing, because that for landscapes, it was 16 and B there. That was the phrase, right? And now maybe this scenario that calls for my creative choice in this individual image. Might be only F4 because I can visualize and see the depth of field on a visual scale on the back of the camera. And now I know the starting point and end point of my depth of field. And as a byproduct of that, if I can choose a wider aperture, what else does that allow me to do? If I can let in more light, ISO can drop because my exposure time can now be different. And so those results impacted my image a lot greater. Then sensor size ever did, because they're still the same bit depth. There's still 14 bits. You're seeing some dynamic range difference, but that's a stop a light. And what's the difference of a stop of light? 200 and 400 ISO, obviously, as you get higher and higher, depending on your craft and what you do, that may be more of a scenario where you concentrate on another sensor size, but for most individuals, I rarely find that this becomes a topic unless they are told that they have to do that in order to get a good image. And then as we both know, that's just nonsense, right? Of course.

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, I feel like it's, one of those things where, when it comes to this whole for full frame versus crop or whatever, it always seems as though like, oh, full frame is better than crop full frame. But now that technology continues to advance, and now. Thanks to Fuji, medium format, is more accessible than ever. Why isn't the conversation becoming, medium format versus full frame? Like if that, if that's the game that you want to play, let's always pick, the biggest thing regardless of. But as you said, it really comes down to like, what are your needs? You know, are you shooting in the dark all the time? Are you, you know, shooting super close up portraits all the time where you need, the eyelashes out of focus, but the nose in focus, like, no, like nine times out of 10. No, 99, 999 times out of a thousand people aren't doing that. I would even say it's more than that, but you know, we get the point there. Um, yeah,

Christopher Gilbert:

obviously defocus in the background, you know, that I'd say what, maybe like six or seven years ago, Bocca become, that became this terminology that everyone kind of talked about. And the defocused areas, was the only way to portray a professional image. But as professionals know, Why would I want to do that in every single scenario? And don't get me wrong. Every sensor size can defocus the background, larger sensors. Let's look at film days and eight by 10. What lenses were there? F8 was really, really fast in terms of, you know, in depth of field. It was so razor thin because it has a reverse crop factor comparing it to 35 millimeter. and I'm not going to do any sort of calculations because my brain think it doesn't work that way. F8 might look like a, I don't know, 0. 8 if I'm looking at a 35mm sensor. The image circle is just drastically different.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah.

Christopher Gilbert:

And so a lot of things changes the overall sensor size, even focal lengths to get a similar field of view, you know, APS C, that focal length of a 16 may look like a 24, but it's still technically a 16. Optically, that rear portion of the element is closer to the sensor. that's mirrorless technology. Everyone has sharper images as a byproduct of that. They can be much more simple. Because they don't have to account for that space within the SLR where that mirror had to take place and we're reorienting the light become much more problematic.

Raymond Hatfield:

So then, that was a lot of very technical talk, right? Well, like I'm sure that some people are listening and their eyes just kind of glazed over, right? Trying to listen to some of that. So can you help me kind of figure out how can we use that information? To create better photos. How can those people who are more creatively focused, who are maybe trying to learn some of the technical elements, how can we use that information to again, create better photos?

Christopher Gilbert:

Perfect. If you have one camera, don't worry about the information because it doesn't matter to you. Easy as that. And so the only reason to worry about crop factor is if you're shooting multiple brands with multiple sensor sizes, and you're trying to match them up because 16 millimeters is 16 millimeters in APS C. There it is. And so trying to navigate that whole scenario where mathematics comes into play, where I'm trying to match another system when I don't necessarily have to, it's convoluted. And I'll be honest, it gets in the way. I use it as an analogy because I have to, in the technical terms, Because of a lot of individuals that have shot film that makes sense to them. If we're talking about field of view oriented with a standardization. Now, how do I use that in a practical sense? You know, more importantly is to discover. What lenses speak to you rather than what sensor size speaks to you. And I'm talking about creatively, how do you like to represent your subject? And so focal length was a lot more important to me in terms of how do I, and then kind of talked about this maybe prior to starting, the podcast was, I like to photograph small subjects and still see that world behind it and a wide angle lens allows me to do that. And obviously that's available on any sort of platform. So why should I worry about what 16 millimeters looks on a 35 millimeter sensor and what 10 millimeter will look on an APS C sensor if I have one camera? Now, if I decide to make that jump and go to a 35 millimeter sensor, having that knowledge when I'm purchasing is important because I can replicate the focal lengths that I've come to know and love. But this is all can be applied backwards too. And that's what I did. You know, I went from a 35 millimeter sensor to APS C. And being able to pick and choose the focal lengths that I like, I like gravitating towards wide angle. So I know the 10 to 24 from Fujifilm was the one that had probably used the most. I knew that 24 millimeter field of view is the perspective that I love. So I purchased the 16 millimeter 1. 4 and that was it. I don't need to make it unnecessarily messy with additional information. If it doesn't pertain to me. And some people love it and some people don't, but does it help your craft knowing all this information when you're owning one camera? Probably not. Are you worried about what an APS C sensor looks like if you're shooting a 35 millimeter sensor and have to for 10 years? Probably not. And so on a day to day basis, I'm going to answer that question with, I don't care.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah, I

Christopher Gilbert:

don't, I don't use it maybe for my job, teaching other individuals. But I find that showing is so much better than telling. And. Looking at two different lenses on two different cameras and matching the perspective and showing what the lens number is on each one gives a much better idea of what they can do creatively than just telling them some mathematics that they're going to have to calculate in their head.

Raymond Hatfield:

Yeah.

Christopher Gilbert:

Well,

Raymond Hatfield:

I think, it's difficult because like, as you were mentioning earlier, the, uh, the Dunning Kruger effect, right? Like when you first start off with something, You realize that you don't know anything about it. You learn a little bit about it and suddenly you think, man, I know a whole lot about this thing. And then you learn a little bit more and then you realize, oh, I actually don't really know anything here. I think a lot of listeners are at that point to where they've learned a little bit about it. And now they think, Wow, I actually know like quite a bit about photography. And when that happens, your world becomes expanded of all these different options. And there's a very consumerist society where we do want the best thing possible. So when people are telling us, this is the best thing, this is the best thing, this is the best thing. It's hard to not focus on, well, but I do have This thing it may not be you know quote unquote the best thing that I'm being told is the best thing But I do have a thing being a camera in front of me And I need to get out there and just shoot because this is the thing that I have Let's not think about where I want to be in terms of, this is getting really convoluted and like very hypothetical. So, let's not think about Well,

Christopher Gilbert:

I mean, it's the best

Raymond Hatfield:

at what? What is

Christopher Gilbert:

it the best

Raymond Hatfield:

at?

Christopher Gilbert:

Yeah.

Raymond Hatfield:

Well, people are there are so many criteria. That's the thing is that people are There are so

Christopher Gilbert:

much criteria. Yeah. Yes. Yes. And so the criteria is you define on what makes something better than another. Cause I will be honest. Yeah, you might get better dynamic range out of certain sensors, but if color accuracy is important to you, having the ability to have great out of camera color, as well as camera color within whatever raw processor that you're using. Does that make it better? Does it make it more portable better? Does making high, you know, the bit depth of the file better. I mean, there's so many arguments and what is better. And the answer is none of them. None of them are better. None of the brands are better. There are reasons why I gravitated towards this brand. And I hope that other people will gravitate towards this brand. Because I love it so much. And I find that it really allows me to be more present while I'm shooting, because it's a lot more simple because of the customization and that aligned with who I was as a person, make it my own, not changing my craft for the camera. And a lot of brands do that these days. I think we're intimidated because like anything, it's the Ford versus Chevy scenario. We are constantly comparing ourselves to other end users. And when we're using a small camera and we look over and someone else is using a 600 millimeter lens that costs 16, 000 on a 7, 000 camera, it's intimidating. Cool. You know, that's a huge investment and will their pictures be better than yours? Who knows? Cause that's just money. That's not craft. And so you're going to get much more out of it, finding what you need out of a camera system and you determining whether that sensor size is a byproduct. Because like I said, prior, aspect ratio, when I went to medium format, everything clicked. I'm like spatially aware within the constraints that I can see within my image, it didn't feel as obvious that I was using the golden ratio or the rule of thirds, things weren't offset. And now that I go back to three to two aspect ratio, you know, like what a four by six would look like. I find that items feel like almost widescreen. Yeah. And so, it might be even that sensor because micro four thirds exists. And if you need that reach, it's absolutely usable to have a smaller, lighter system that offers you the benefit of the reduction of field of view, basically that magnification almost to get that far away subject closer to you. And that's a professional tool and a professional means just like a 35 millimeter sensor was a standardization for a while, but before then 35 millimeter wasn't professional. Medium format wasn't professional. Four by five wasn't professional. Eight by 10 wasn't professional. Do you want me to keep going? I mean, it's like all this perception on what does and what doesn't make a professional camera and all that has to do with the standard. It's the photographer and the creator and the person that is crafting that image and how they use that tool. And so it is, for me, it's marketing. I find that sensor size is easier to represent and differentiate because it's seen as a starting point and the cost is so much greater. So a more expensive product might be better, right? Well, if that was the case, we'd all be shooting one particular brand with the biggest sensor out there on the market, and it's not good for everything. And so case in point, what really solidified this, was actually two scenarios. if I can, name drop someone, from the Canon realm, Rick Salmon, who was an ambassador of light. I was able to view, one of his presentations. And he told something, he said something that made me really think. And it was that if people were paying attention to the noise in the image and not the image itself, that's on you as a photographer and you didn't craft a good image. So for me, that was an aha moment. Like, The people that are looking at your images that are connecting to those images are more than likely not photographers and they're not seeing that they're not seeing the dynamic range they're not seeing the noise they don't care because if the message and the creative intent is there and you create something that the viewer can experience and it makes them feel something that's what they're going to remember not what sensor size you shot with because that's just another photographer and they're not going to buy your work they're just going to tell you how they would have done a better job.

Raymond Hatfield:

It's all a personal journey. It's all a personal journey to figuring it out. it's so funny because, uh, the first wedding that I ever shot, and I've shared the story on the podcast before I was of the mindset of, if I can deliver the best image quality, then the images are the best that they can possibly be. Right. And the photos that I deliver, if I go back and look at those photos today, there's no, there's nothing special, in these images. They're just all shot at like ISO 100 shot at like F 1. 8, you know, and that was it. And unfortunately to my detriment, the entire first dance I shot at a half a second, because I thought I got to keep that ISO as low as possible. Every single one of those photos, super blurry. You have no idea who the bride and groom are. and my thought was, but they're going to see how beautiful the image quality is, and that's going to be it. And that's not what they said. Technicality

Christopher Gilbert:

doesn't equal artistry. Exactly. and I've, I'm going to be honest. That was part of my route as a photographer, cause I fall victim under the same kind of sense where, when I worked at a camera store, I didn't look at other systems because it was beating in my head. That I had to be technically perfect every single time. So ISO 100 F eight to get the max or F 5. 6 or discover what the maximum sharpness is before I hit diffraction. And, uh, yeah, that was creatively restricting and look at the images. Throughout go through time magazine. They have their top 100 images or whatever. What's in focus. What has motion blur? What is even identical and identifiable in some of those images. And a lot of it is going against the grain, not to use a film terminology, of what's been beaten in their head as photography and what is correct photography. Experiment with it. Do whatever you want, because if you create something that someone can connect to. That's all that's your means you've just created something that is completely viable and you have now found your voice and that can be complete Absent of what is right often. They say find the rules and break them, right? yeah, the rules allow you to get that vision in your head But once you understand the mechanics of everything and how to get those images, that's where you can start exploring and let's be honest You know over exposing underexposing your image doesn't necessarily mean it's wrong What are you trying to highlight? Shadow detail? Highlight detail? It's up to you.

Raymond Hatfield:

Christopher, I don't know how to end it any better than that. That was about as motivational, as inspirational as I think that you could get, when talking about, you know, obviously a lot of the technicalities. so I appreciate you honing in that we need to kind of figure these things out for ourself and go on that personal journey of photography to discover what it is that we love. So, First, I want to say thank you so much for coming on today. I know that listeners are going to be thinking to themselves, got to see some of Christopher's photos here. So, where is the best place to find you online?

Christopher Gilbert:

that's quite a funny journey. I, uh, removed myself mostly online, because I found that I was chasing the game rather than chasing the craft. but I am present on Instagram, fujifilm. christopher is my handle. You can find me there and I have a lot of my work. I post every once in a while. I use it as a means to connect with end users, but I find that, and I discovered this in my journey, people that purchased my work or more in person. And so find me at an event with Fujifilm, go to Fujifilm dash X. com. Go to under the events page. Look at some of the options that are on there. If you're in the Midwest. Why don't you send me a DM? I can't answer all the time, but I'm there to help out. Um, and we can chat. And so connecting with other photographers is really one of the highlights of my job because so many of you out there and to use this loose term, inspire me. Because as a teacher, as an educator, it's taken a lot to discover that your students teach you just as much. And that's what I love about the different demographics that I get. Casting this large net through Instagram. So find me out there, FujiFilm. Christopher.

Raymond Hatfield:

Thank you for tuning into this week's episode Podcast. If you enjoyed today's episode, please share it with a friend. Start a conversation. Grow together. That is it for this week. Remember, the more that you shoot today, the better of a photographer you will be tomorrow. Talk soon. Thank you for listening to the Beginner Photography Podcast. Keep shooting and we'll see you next week.