Getting Over Creative Block - Fujifilm GFX 50R

It happens from time to time. No matter how amazing the world around us may be, sometimes we just cannot seem to create. In this video, I'll walk you through a simple technique I use to get myself out of a creative rut and begin making images again.
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Gear Used in this Video:
GFX 50R - amzn.to/33cJRPD
GF 45mm f/2.8 - amzn.to/3o2mCQr
GF 45-100mm f/4 - amzn.to/3jdAKUi
Mitakon 65mm f/1.4 - amzn.to/3bUvAvb
GF 110mm f/2 - amzn.to/2GfLxig
My Current Gear List:
Fujifilm X-T4 - amzn.to/33b2iEp
Fujifilm X-T3 - amzn.to/3jdBSY2
XF 23mm f/1.4 - amzn.to/3mYuKRG
XF 35mm f/1.4 - amzn.to/2EG2nq4
XF 50mm f/2 - amzn.to/3jh9FzG
XF 56mm f/1.2 - amzn.to/3jiwEKU
XF 10-24mm f/4 - amzn.to/3cBOXrO
XF 16-55mm f/2.8 - amzn.to/33dis06
XF 50-140mm f/2.8 - amzn.to/2S7G1AV
XF 55-200mm f/3.5-4.8 - amzn.to/3rGSQmq
Laowa 9mm f/2.8 - amzn.to/2S782Zt
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Godox AD200 - amzn.to/2MdBrBo
Westcott Orb - amzn.to/2P7RaU2
Haida M7 - amzn.to/30iszyD
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[@marcosny2010]

Dylan , THANKS , I have been in photography for 60 years and never have thought on this perspective .It is Simple and will keep me out of automatic click .

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Glad it helped! We tend to go through cycles in my experience and these are just some of the things I like to try when it happens.

[@ChrisGower]

I graduated to a 50R purely because I'd bought an old Ricoh R1S point and shoot purely to shoot in its faux-panorama mode. Loved it so much that I discovered this digital X-Pan option on GFX cameras and had to take the plunge!

[@erikleypoldt8275]

how is thr 50r? Not slow like ive heard? I want to buy it as an everyday

[@sunbab]

Dylan thank you for this video, have always been so drawn to medium format so I invested in a 50r, love the simplicity and specificity of your videos, am a big fan !

[@chenmunn]

I don't want to just snap, spray and pray... I want to compose. Thanks for helping me to decide.

[@zenonbillings9008]

excellent approach to keeping our image taking fresh. about 18 months ago I began exploring this elongated format. I was so taken aback that l had a black and white print made thats 18 x 41.5 inches and immediately hung it in my library/study/scriptorium ! so seeing your prints is such a huge treat. zen billings in canada

[@jluispereira]

Thanks for the video.

[@misterkrispy8010]

Thank you Dylan for the good suggestions. Beautiful images!

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Thanks, Christian!

[@Wjguin]

I love the 65:24 panorama which is why I'm still saving up for the gfx 50r. Always excited to see your videos.

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

No need to buy a camera so you can use an aspect ratio! Jump into your post-production software and you can apply it right there!

[@dereklee9972]

Thank you for the great insight and tip Dylan! Will for sure try this next time!

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Glad it was helpful!

[@williambarco7144]

Excellent presentation and fantastic compositional ideas.

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Glad you enjoyed the video.

[@pauljobson554]

Thanks Dylan. A thought provoking video. I have found myself drawn to the 65x24 crop. I often apply it in post and it can lift some otherwise ordinary scenes. I hadn't thought to use it in environmental portraiture though. Jonas Rask commented that in combination with the 30mm focal length on GFX this crop gives you a digital X-Pan. Food for thought. Thanks again.

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Glad you enjoyed it, Paul. It's a good one, for sure. I really enjoyed it for cityscapes when I had the 23mm, as well. I'm sure that 30mm would play really nicely with it.

[@ruaangrobler3035]

I'm not going to lie, I wasn't expecting much when I clicked on this link. Most of this advice is 'take a break, find inspiration' but this was actually really cool and great images. Thanks - I'm new to your channel but will be watching more. subbed.

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Thanks for taking the chance, Ruaan! Glad to have you on board.

[@Gallery90]

Totally agree on seeing through the 65:24 crop. Even though we know (at least some of us do) that we can crop almost any image more than one way, working within an unusual aspect ratio does change your approach and decisions. I'm in the process of selling my X-Pan and switching to GFX -- 65:24 has made that transition something to look forwards to. Another way I've kinda rewired my photographic approach is to use the B&W mode in a mirrorless camera. I shoot Fuji X and those cameras make it easy. I started shooting in the late 1960s where we saw everything through a viewfinder but learned to know almost exactly what our shots would look like in Tri-X. I first thought that I was "cheating" viewing in B&W with the Fujis, but earlier this year, working on a long term project, I shot 1800+ frames over the period of a week. As the shooting went along, I realized that my decisions on when to press the trigger became very much influenced by the monochromatic aspects (light, form, and composition). I guess that wasn't so much getting out of a rut as it was changing my perception -- which is almost the same thing.

[@demetrizuev258]

Great video! I love the 65:24 aspect ratio of my 50R as well. What are your preferred setting for street photography on 50R? I've been trying to work out my best ones and it would be great to hear your experience

[@scottgray4877]

I will give it a try...thank you!

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Hope it helps you think in a different way!

[@ruudmaas2480]

Due to the realy bad weather / lighting conditions and local shooting i got the feeling i did make all the possible compositions of my local surroundings. By going on a bike out with my full spectrum converted xt2 did change that a lot. I found a lot of new compositions in harsh lighting conditions. Infrared Black an white does give you another look at the world. Change dies make familiar surroundings again interesting and challenging

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

YES! That's a really big change to the way your camera renders and can make for a very interesting way to look at the world. Glad you found another spark!

[@sphaera3809]

I love your Blues Brother shirt! :-)

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

It's a hundred miles to Chicago...

[@sphaera3809]

As a designer, I tend to have multiple problems in parallel, and jump between them when I’m stuck on one... Or sometimes just allow myself to take a break and change environment, go find “inspiration”... In a way that’s what you did, you changed your creative environment by changing the format and perhaps not worrying too much about whether or not you’d have a good outcome. I think the trick is really to break the routine, force your brain to deal with something different.

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

That's it! Switching gears is a great way to get things going again. I'm typically working on a client shoot, some writing, a video, and my personal projects all at once. Sometimes, when one isn't seeming to go anywhere, all it takes is switching to another to get the flow back.

[@walterlopez1924]

HELLO .. a question .. what do you think about the black and white photos with the 50 r.?-- is it better to turn them from color to white and engro with the lightromm ..? or take direct with the filter that comes with the gtx50r? If so, what filters do you use?

[@nsavch]

Hm, definitely an interesting idea. I love to do panoramic crops in post, but I never thought that it could make sense to preview them in EVF...

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

It's definitely something worth considering if you use different aspect ratios from time to time. I have a couple of clients who require square crops as well, so it's useful for that as well.

[@johntravena119]

The 65x24 crop reminds me of a Chinese landscape scroll. I wish the X series cameras had it.

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

I couldn't agree more. I find myself cropping like this quite a bit in post anyway. I wish they'd add it to the options in camera for composition purposes.

[@johntravena119]

@@DylanGoldbyPhotographer Maybe they didn’t want to put it on cameras with lower resolution.

[@REMY.C.]

To get out of a creative rut I watch your channel 😂

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Bwahahaha! Appreciate your time!

[@roycruzphoto]

Shout-out to the plate! ;)

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Hopefully, it will grow taller sometime next week.

[@erikleypoldt8275]

How would you rate the 50R as an all round every day doc camera. Not into sport etc. Auto Focus ok? Great shots

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

If you want that MF image quality, it won't disappoint. I used it for a couple of years for documenting the everyday, commercial work with Volvo, and my Tattoos of Asia project. Never had any complaints.

[@Rios278]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on 65x24 and these beautiful pictures! May I ask how to get this aspect ratio uploaded to Insta and other social media? Can't seem to find a way- thanks 👋

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

You'll need to add borders. Outside of KZbin, I've almost stepped away from social media at this point. There may be better was I've not explored.

[@Rios278]

Thanks a lot for your answer. Any particular reason, why you stepped away from social media? Take care.

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

@@Rios278 That's a topic for a beer at some point. Let's just say I find it hard to interact with machines when I want to show my work. The algorithms, for all their positives, result in too much gamification for my liking. I don't have the energy to participate.

[@bar_288]

Lovely images...have you traveled to south India too? the cultural difference between north and south India is huge..

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Years ago I was down south, but it was summer and I didn't last long. Haha!

[@martinsivakov1481]

So I have to try next when my brain gets stuck😅

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

Ha! Maybe as a preventative measure?

[@kurotaka007]

Nice f’n shirt! Are you on a mission from God?

[@DylanGoldbyPhotographer]

I'm getting the band back together. It's quite a way to Chicago, though.