Fujifilm X-E1

Dan did a bit of research before deciding which camera system we were both going to use. Once he concluded that Fujifilm was serious about its system - both with the cameras and with the lenses - the choice wasn’t hard. I was the first one to get an interchangeable lens camera and it was the Fuji X-E1 with the kit 18-55mm zoom lens.

It was my introduction to using manual controls for aperture and shutter speed, as well as configuring a modern complex digital camera. To say the least, it was a steep learning curve.

I continued my solo photographic outings and sharing my efforts with Dan, while he was still in Liberia. I can still remember, a few months after starting with the X-E1, telling Dan on a Skype call that Carlos and Korenza had asked me to photograph their wedding and I was terrified because I hadn’t yet mastered the manual controls while spontaneously shooting. He was calm as can be, saying he would coach me into using auto modes to let me focus on the images - we had a couple of weeks to practice so no worries. His tone changed when I told him that the wedding was the next day. In the end, it turned out fine, but I’m never doing that again.

Instead, I stuck with photographing the things I want to photograph - the landscape.

When Dan returned from Liberia, we went out photographing together, with me showing him some of the interesting places I’d discovered while he was away and the both of us finding many more.

I photographed with the X-E1 for about a year and a half. During that period Dan had decided that, to get back into photography, he was going to photograph only with his X100 and its fixed 23mm lens. So for that first year back, that’s what we did, go out and photograph whenever we could. He even has a picture of me and my X-E1 taking “the photograph” of “the tree” at the Portland Japanese Gardens.

Of course, neither of us knew that’s what it was at the time, so you can’t call me a copy cat. Still, it’s funny to think about it now.

After that year, Dan was ready for a camera where he could swap out lenses, and Fujifilm had recently released the X-T1, so it was time for a step-up for both of us.