Well now you know; yes I am going to do a third year - well I'm going to start anyway - but it's going to be very different from years 1 and 2!
So what's OCOLOY? It stands for One Camera, One Lens, One Year.
Those of you who've been following me for a while will remember that in September 2014 and 2015 I did a project I called NF-SOOC - I shot for the whole month using a 50mm (FF equivalent) lens and uploaded the image as it came from the camera without any additional processing. OCOLOY is an extension of that; I'm going to shoot all images for this album using a Fuji X100T which has a fixed 23mm (35mm FF equivalent) lens. All posts in this album will be in B&W and I intend to try my best to ensure that I upload the JPEG as delivered by the camera with no additional processing, usually known as SOOC, as this image is.
I'm also going to run a Project 52 alongside where I will shoot in raw and post-process my images as usual.
It's going to be a long year I think!!
A Happy New Year to all my friends and followers on here - thank you for your wonderful support in my first two years.
Finally, this views best on black... but you guessed that!
Following your ocoloy project this year will be intriguing. I certainly enjoyed the SOOC challenges. Some restrictions, however arbitrary, can be paradoxically liberating. And there's lots to be said for snapping up the bargain x100 I have had my eye on. Tempted? You bet.
Well now! I've drifted away from 365 in the last few months, and today being the start of the New Year, I thought I'd give it a go again. I've just now read your description of your OCOLOY, and this is pretty much what I plan to do, right down to using my FujiX100t! Love this photo!
I am finally back to posting on 365 and have committed to doing a year with my cell phone as my everyday album, but as @nanalisarocks knows I have been tempted by the x100t and was sure I was going to get it on more than one occasion, but keep putting it off for the XT1! I look forward to following your projects this year!
Interesting shot. For me it represents the many varied ideas, notions and projects you've been considering. Having made a decision, these complex strands are unfurling and thus reducing the myriad of options that for me are seen as dark and impenetrable earth at bottom left of shot.
Everything above leads to light, clarity and joy. Definition has yet to arrive!
Alternatively it's Winter twigs against a cool sky.
@kali66 Thanks Kali. Sorry you misread and gave yourself a shock... But if you read my profile, you'll see that I've been there, done that - in fact, it was the trigger that got me finally started on 365 two years ago. I wish you a happy and serene year, comfortable in your own skin.
@s4sayer I like both kinds of poetry that you propose! Perhaps we don't have to choose: all we have to do is replace the word "alternatively" with the words "in addition"!
Hi Richard, long time no speak. Pleased to see you're still going - very strong from what I can tell. Back in a team as you can probably see. Best of luck with your new venture - now that's going to be a challenge, but best of luck! Kev @snaggy
What a wonderful idea. Doing sooc all the time you should learn a lot about your settings on that camera for all situations. My plan for the new year is to participate in more challenges because I think I can learn from them. I also want to take more inside pictures this winter. Wish I could find the black hole that has taken my flash. I am sure when I find it I will think - oh yeah I remember putting it there. So maybe it is my memory that is in a black hole.
@pasttheirprime Hi Kev, pleased to see active again here... not many of @se7en left - I do miss that group. Your confidence in me after just 3 months on here, meant a lot to me... without that, I probably wouldn't still be here, setting myself bonkers challenges! Good Luck with the new project.
@vignouse I really missed the group, big time, which is essentially why we're back in a similar format. I had a quick look at the names to see who was left, and I see there aren't many. I hadnt posted much, but I didn't delete or let the ace account go either - I always knew there was a good chance I'd come back I guess.
Your shots are great by the way. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think your photography has definitely improved looking through your work. Can't wait to see how you get on this year! @snaggy
@pasttheirprime Well thanks for the compliment - I'd be more than a little worried if my photography hadn't improved after 2 years and 1200+ posts on here! I've plateaued over the last few months though through chasing PP entries - 118 PPs in the last 102 days of the year... but that's taking pics that others will like, not necessarily those that might please me or advance my craft - hence the change of direction this year.
What a great assignment! I am coming up on the completion of my third year in Feb (in time, not photos) and I need yo set new goals. My issue latelybis amassing so many photos without doing something with them. So I turn to editing more these days. But I love the discipline you are setting out to do this year. I plan on watching and learning from you! Happy New Year Richard!
@darylo Thank you for the good wishes Daryl and I wish you and yours all the best in 2016. As to my project, it's only Day 4 and I'm already beginning to realise the enormity of what I've taken on. Obviously, taking 366 photos and posting them as they came out of the camera is child's play - it's the inherent understanding that they need to be good (if not outstanding) photos that raises the bar ;-)
In a sense, I'm trying to do today what I failed several times to do over the years. Fifty years ago an SLR would be come as standard with a fixed 50mm lens; we went out and shot a roll of film... and got what we got. I have several large cardboard boxes in the attic full of evidence that what we got - or at least, what I got - was usually not that good! I'm trying to acquire now the photo taking skills that I have failed to acquire over the years.
Most people on here seem to think I am mad to do this... of course, they may yet be proved right.
Love your narrative and identify with your new project goals. I've struggled with the same issue: Making a snapshot each day isn't too demanding, but making an image that meets my own criteria of "good or progressively improved" on a daily basis I haven't been able to achieve. And so that's why I also switched to a 52 project a while back. I think OCOLOY is a great notion - it develops a truly intimate knowledge of that camera and lens. Such that one can begin to compose in their mind without ever lifting the camera because the mind begins to automatically translate the scene into the perspectives and limitations of that camera/lens. I will have to give some thought toward OCOLOY as my next project.
@nanalisarocks@vignouse ...OKEY DOKEY I'm up for OCOLOY! Just posted my first image (not a glorious start but a journey of 10,000 miles and all that.).
I'm really pleased you showed me up with your new year's resolution... or at least I'm pleased at this stage! I may be cursing you before the year's out...
@dbj If it can help coax you into the OCOLOY club - my self-imposed rules will be a little less arduous than Richard's in the sense that time constraints simply mean a daily post is unrealistic for me. A foursome?
@jasperc@vignouse@nanalisarocks Alright, I'm in! :). I'll definitely be adhere to the OCOLOY part, but due to my camera/lens choice (Sony a6000 with Sigma 30mm f/2.8) where there are no lens corrections in camera, I'll shoot raw and do limited processing. I'll also try for a daily post and hope that I can get past my mental block of posting subpar images and instead take the approach that Richard presented where for better or worse, on that given day it was my best photo!
@dbj@jasperc@nanlisarocks And then there were four! Before I splashed out on the X100T I had thought about using either my NEX 6 or NEX 7 with either the Sigma 19mm or the 30mm, so I think you've made a good choice... apart from the 'limited processing' bit ;-))
I set my project guidelines for me knowing how weak-willed I am; it's so much easier to correct in post than get it right in camera that I would quickly again succumb to the siren call of the Goddess Adobe if I allowed myself any leeway. I'm taking a leaf out of the book of that profound philosopher... Yoda, who said "Do or do not, there is no try."!
Good luck everyone, I'll be following your progress with interest.
This is a fabulous idea for your 2016 project. I look forward to seeing your images. The X100 series has always fascinated me. I really want one, but they are too pricey for my current financial state.
@soboy5 Thanks for your support Danny... yes the X100T is expensive - I deliberated for quite a while before splashing out. What finally decided me is that it was only $150 more than buying just a 23mm prime to use with my X-Pro1/XT10. I had some savings and Mrs S chipped in the rest to get it for my birthday.
You have an interesting year ahead. I'm sure you'll success on that. I took a lot of pictures last seasson ( +/-250/365 ) with a X-E1, many of the with an 27mm, and I found It a superb camera. I'll look forward for your postings ;)
I read your profile and I'm really looking forward to viewing all your ocoloy photos this year...such an interesting challenge...love this shot also :o)
Everything above leads to light, clarity and joy. Definition has yet to arrive!
Alternatively it's Winter twigs against a cool sky.
ps i thought that said oncology and that wasnt a nice moment....
Your shots are great by the way. Don't take this the wrong way, but I think your photography has definitely improved looking through your work. Can't wait to see how you get on this year!
@snaggy
Love the tangle here
In a sense, I'm trying to do today what I failed several times to do over the years. Fifty years ago an SLR would be come as standard with a fixed 50mm lens; we went out and shot a roll of film... and got what we got. I have several large cardboard boxes in the attic full of evidence that what we got - or at least, what I got - was usually not that good! I'm trying to acquire now the photo taking skills that I have failed to acquire over the years.
Most people on here seem to think I am mad to do this... of course, they may yet be proved right.
I'm really pleased you showed me up with your new year's resolution... or at least I'm pleased at this stage! I may be cursing you before the year's out...
@dbj If it can help coax you into the OCOLOY club - my self-imposed rules will be a little less arduous than Richard's in the sense that time constraints simply mean a daily post is unrealistic for me. A foursome?
I set my project guidelines for me knowing how weak-willed I am; it's so much easier to correct in post than get it right in camera that I would quickly again succumb to the siren call of the Goddess Adobe if I allowed myself any leeway. I'm taking a leaf out of the book of that profound philosopher... Yoda, who said "Do or do not, there is no try."!
Good luck everyone, I'll be following your progress with interest.