The year was 2005. Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire was dominating the box office. Mr. and Mrs. Smith had just come out and the world was on the verge of being introduced to Brangelina. Carrie Underwood was on her way to becoming an American Idol.

And I was about to fall in love with photography.

My first “real” Camera was a Canon Rebel XTi. with a 50MM lens. I wasn’t terrible. Before long, I upgraded to a Canon 5D MKII and invested in good glass. I did portraits, I shot some weddings, I did that thang. I loved it until I didn’t.

I could probably write a longer post about all of this but I eventually, about a decade in, lost my passion for photography. It was a combination of things. The bulk of the equipment, the hassle of carrying 15+ pounds of gear with me, endlessly charging batteries. That and mobile photography made huge strides; my iPhone started producing really visually pleasing shots and it was always with me.

After realizing my Canon 5D was spending months in the bag at a time, I sold it. It was a bittersweet moment.

And then this guy walked into my life.

The Fuji X100F. A friend recommended it because it was small, portable, extremely capable and had that Fuji magic.

What is that Fuji Magic you ask?

I have no idea.

I can’t really explained what happened when I started using the X100F. Something about the form factor, the analog controls, the build quality of the camera, the coloring of my images, the sharpness and the contrast…the whole combined experience is just….magical.

I get it - totally cheesy. I feel like a goober even writing this, but it’s the truth. I still get excited, several years later, the second the X100F is in my hands. I want to go shoot; I want to be creative.

At some point, I’m sure I’ll dive deeper into my love of the X100F for you guys. But, for today, I just wanted to share this doodle I made of my trusty little buddy for my Fuji page.

As normal, this illo was created in Procreate on the 12” iPad Pro using the Apple Pencil 2. I hopped into Photoshop CC to make the little animated version you see above (because it’s kind of my thing).

I have another illustration I’m finishing up that I’ll share with you guys this week. It’s fun! I also have a couple client pieces that are almost done; hopefully I’ll be able to share those with you before too long. Happy Friday Eve, y’all!