For those of you that know my photography, you know I don’t take a lot of pictures of people. But, I do take personal images, especially of my beautiful older daughter. Before I sold-off my Canon gear, my “go to” portrait lenses were the 85L or even the 135L. Those were amazing lenses, especially on a full frame 5D. But, shooting with them was not an intimate experience – I felt detached from my subject, not part of the action. I was far away using a big, intimidating tool.

One of the things I love about the X-Pro1 is that it’s small, unobtrusive, and non-intimidating. When used with the amazing 35 1.4, it lets me get close to my daughter and be more spontaneous with the images I make. And, that’s why I like using the Optical Viewfinder (OVF) so much. It keeps me close and lets me frame images in a more natural way. I can see not only what’s in the frame, but what’s not in the frame - I feel part of what's happening. I see my daughter with my own eyes – not through an electronic interpretation of her. It’s not artificial. It feels intimate and real. The OVF is definitely more difficult to use when it comes to nailing the focus point, particularly when I shoot wide open. But, it didn’t take long before I became comfortable with the process. For me, the OVF is the only reason for me to stick with the X-Pro1.

I always shoot in RAW. The below images are processed in Lightroom, adjusted for Exposure, then finished with Alien Skin’s Exposure or Rad’s Software’s Replichrome.

35mm. 1/50s,  f/1.4. — 35mm. 1/50s, f/1.4.

X-Pro1 and OVF