Time to start thinking about photography-related New Years resolutions again! What are you planning to do in 2023?
I'm already embarked on my own plans, and for once I think it's going to stick. The reason is that 2023, finally, is the year of my OC/OL/OY. The term, if you're new here, means "one camera, one lens, one year," and it refers to a deliberate suspension of complication for a defined period of time combined with a temporary moratorium on shopping. A reader loaned me his Sigma fp-M and 45mm ƒ/2.8 back in August of 2022. By the end of August I had bought my own, and by October 23rd it got back from being converted. These two identical monochrome Sigmas were really the only two cameras I used throughout the Autumn season of good light. Of course I'm still taking visual notes with the iPhone—and the iPhone is what I use for illustrations here, mostly—but that's "work," and it's not getting in the way.
"Bar of Soap" (large version with description text)
Setup documentation. Carl Weese taught me to do this.
So my resolution this year is simply to keep my OCOLOY going, through to the end of the good light next Fall. Given my level of enthusiasm, which is high, I think I stand a pretty good chance this time. I'm usually one of those "New Years resolutions are made to be broken" kind of people.
No rush. You have till Sunday to decide. Which might include deciding not to fuss with New Years resolutions. But why not make a big bold grab, just for the fun of it?
Mike
Flickr page / New Yorker author page
Original contents copyright 2022 by Michael C. Johnston and/or the bylined author. All Rights Reserved. Links in this post may be to our affiliates; sales through affiliate links may benefit this site. As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases. (To see all the comments, click on the "Comments" link below or on the title of this post.)
Featured Comments from:
Nicholas Hartmann: "I’m about to start a similar project involving a Sony RX100 Mark 5A, a little camera that is about the size of a chubby flip-phone and fits into an unobtrusive belt pouch. Despite being no-excuses portable everywhere, it possesses a very sharp lens with a zoom range equivalent to 24 to 70mm, and a 20-MP sensor. The Mark 2 predecessor of this camera—almost identical in size and with an only slightly less capable sensor—has been my go-to (mostly color) travel camera for years; its only failings are a slow lens and the need for a bulky add-on electronic viewfinder, and the 5A solves both of those problems. But it’s the built-in 'film' that is so important: the Sony sensor has none of the artifacts of a cell phone camera, but at high ISOs is has just enough noise, and of just the right character when correctly processed, to recreate the kinds of images I treasured back when I was shooting with T-Max 400 and a good lens: pictures in which grain functions simultaneously as an overall abstract texture and as a carrier of very fine detail. I have recently found myself craving that effect, and I cannot get it with my 'big' Micro 4/3 Olympus: monochrome conversions from that sensor are just too smooth and pasty, with no tooth or grit.
"Maybe the correct term here is OCOY rather than OCOLOY, since the lens doesn’t come off the camera but its focal length can be modified. Once I simplify the interface—the PDF manual is over 500 pages long and devotes hundreds of those pages to functions and capabilities that I have never heard of—I hope to end up with a modern, digital version of the Olympus XA: a camera that goes with me everywhere and does everything I need. I’ll report next year."
Richard Alan Fox: "I will try not to purchase any photographic equipment except paper and ink for an entire year."
Mike replies: A good one! But tough.
Mike,
Love the bar of soap photo.
Happy Holidays!
acg
Posted by: aaron c greenman | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 01:05 PM
Mike, have you ever thought about taking one photo daily of found objects in your home? It might make for some good indoor shooting in the winter temps. I have a few shoeboxes of things I keep on the shelf, with items like sea shells and other objects I pull out and shoot sometimes. I have my granny's button box and have always wanted to incorporate it into an image and make jewelry with all the buttons (lots of antiques in there)—my photography-related New Year resolution is to self-publish a book this year. I like your soap image and feel the soft light adds to it.
Posted by: darlene | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 03:25 PM
I'll officially retire end of January 2023, so my income will be severely cut from then on - so one of my resolutions is to cut all unnecessary costs, including my unlimited Flickr space, which I already cancelled. I removed everything except cat photos, and I plan to get better at those, although my favourite model passed away in early 2021. This one was a manually focused photo which I took with a 4/3rds macro lens on my wife's µ4/3rds camera (E-PL5):
Now three other neighbours' cats are visiting us, but I still have to get that close to any of them... so that's my resolution: make the best possible image with what I have, maybe even with one or two of those studio strobes...
Posted by: Wolfgang Lonien | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 03:58 PM
Mike! Don’t complicate things. The best camera is the one you carry with you. That can vary. The important thing is the picture. I’ve done this oc/op/oy now for nine years. Will never stop doing it.
Posted by: Bengt Carlsson | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 04:04 PM
Hello Mike, that recent photograph is just wonderful. It draws me in, makes me think what is that at first glance. That is what photography is all about. It would make a very nice framed print in your home, a fitting environment would be of course the obvious room. Hope you are still exploring printing your own B&W images. Does the one camera, one lens, one year include a zoom lens by chance ?
Very sorry to hear about your recent power and heating issues, I would not have handled it as well as you did, all the best for the New Year
Posted by: Peter Komar | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 04:17 PM
I was thinking about this just a few minutes ago. I want to do something to better display my Covid lockdown project photos.
As you will know, Mike, this here blogging platform doesn't display photos at their best, but when I started I didn't realise the project would get so big, so they all went on my TypePad blog.
Now there's over 280 of them online and here's the first ones:
https://www.northbuckswanderer.com/the-distance-project/page/8/#gsc.tab=0
I'll be looking to have a photography type website where they can be displayed in a better quality. Maybe I can get a book of them published.
Posted by: Roger Bradbury | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 04:30 PM
Very nice. I revisited 1C1L1Y last year with a used olympus omd em5 mk2 and panasonic 15mm (originally did it with a GF1+20mm. This time around, I used jpeg and square format only.
I switched my camera choice to the ep5 (which I shoot with the screen flipped up -- medium format waist finder style) and have resolved to expand my lens choice to include the 45mm 1.8. This time around, I have switched to monochrome and committed to print once a week per your original recommendation. Interestingly, I have also foregone any post processing. I have the Olympus app on my phone set to download full size jpegs and then send them MPIX via their app. Have been at it with the new rules in place since November.
I'll probably eventually do this with a film Leica as prescribed, but I'm having a ton of fun doing it as is.
Posted by: Vadim Gordin | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 04:32 PM
I just bought the Fujifilm XF 30mm f/2.8 macro. I really like the 27mm pancake, but was constantly bumping up against the minimum focus distance which was too long because of the small lens tube of the pancake design not allowing enough extension.
The 30mm gives a very similar field of view, about 45mm-E, the same maximum aperture, a weather resistant body and lightning fast focusing. All I sacrifice is the compact size of the tiny 27mm.
I've had this new lens for a few weeks now and it is first rate in every way. I assume 80% of my use will be in the "normal" range, but it will be nice to not have the limitation of the 27mm when I do wish to go close, even when not in the true macro range.
So I believe I can use the 30mm for most everything for a year. It will go on my X-T3 because the flip out 2-axis LCD will make low angle macro work easier than laying on the ground to use the viewfinder.
I've never have been able to complete the OY part of the challenge. It's hard to ignore the thousands of dollars worth of gear sitting unused, but I'll make the effort.
Posted by: Albert Smith | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 04:33 PM
That’s nice looking soap. What sort is it, for those of us who may be far enough away to not recognise it?
Voltz
[It's glycerin soap. Semi-transparent. --Mike]
Posted by: V.I. Voltz | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 04:56 PM
I just hope for good health, good light and time to shoot and print. The gear, and the preferred workflow, were thankfully resolved and brought to fruition years ago, with minor tweaks along the way. I do, however, need to buy a new computer and Eizo screen, both last bought in 2009 (with DIY upgrades since). I’ll reserve my bold resolutions for other life areas.
Posted by: Jeff | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 05:20 PM
No 1C/1L/1Y for me… life is too short. To paraphrase The Poet,
“As I'm one too many cameras, And a thousand miles behind”…
Posted by: Bob G. | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 06:24 PM
I guess I have to be the contrarian but no seasonal resolutions for me. If I conclude that something in my life needs to change, I change it. There is no reason that it should coincide with 1 January. In fact waiting till January increases the chance of failure. It seems that your project is not really a New Years resolution either as you started it in late summer and seemed to have already stuck with it for several months already to the benefit of your photography and this blog.
Posted by: Terry Letton | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 06:42 PM
I’m obviously missing something big here, but I don’t understand the advantages of going through so much trouble and expense (had your camera converted to b&w, get a new camera and sort of “cripple” it, etc.) when you have a full array of software designed specifically to do b&w work.
Is a mono-converted camera that much better ?
I’ll follow closely your OC/OL/OY posts to find out.
[ https://tinyurl.com/y3swuwf9 --Mike]
Posted by: Gaspar Heurtley | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 08:25 PM
This post is actually an excellent example of the powerful role that context plays in photographic meaning. A casual visitor to TOP who's not a shutterbug and didn't read the post might imagine that you're resolving to "clean your act up" in 2023.
(I don't make new years resolutions.)
Posted by: Kenneth Tanaka | Wednesday, 28 December 2022 at 09:55 PM
Your choice of camera and lens are important factors for a successful experiment and your outcome as the year progresses. I tried a similar experiment a few years back with a 4x5, but lost my mojo after a few months… I kept talking myself out of setting up the camera due to size, weight, and time.
I’ve since switched to revisiting my Leica M3 and 35 Summaron combo with HP5. I still take the 4x5 out occasionally, but the Leica is my daily driver. My other New Year initiative is to get my shuttered website back up and running…
Good luck and best wishes for 2023!
Posted by: Loughton Smith | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 07:23 AM
Sounds about as appealing to me as "I will only eat kale for an entire year."
Whatever happened to the oft repeated, "Variety is the spice of life?"
Posted by: Kirk | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 10:39 AM
Maybe I’ll resolve to start using a tripod, and long exposures.
Posted by: Jonathan Katznelson | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 12:56 PM
I use my iphone the same way, except I think of it as making sketches like landscape painters used to do. Although, I think many of them now make photos from which to work.
Posted by: David Drake | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 01:27 PM
I'm too scatter-brained to commit to one camera and one lens. I love shooting film, video, and digital stills.
Posted by: Bob Rosinsky | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 01:45 PM
I just spent Christmas +2 days in the hospital, first overnight stay since I was born! That was a jarring event (home now, nearly better), such that my photo/GAS symptoms may have met their match. I've an a7r2 that hasn't arrived yet, and though I'm not dying do I want my widow to unwrap that?? @RAF and @bengt would agree perhaps: buy a single camera that is excellent and carryable.. and carry it. Well, maybe not in the ambulance.
Posted by: Jim R | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 05:53 PM
Discipline. I have it in most every area of my life. Often, there is little choice. When I started my interest in photography just before my fifth decade, I have accomplished very little in those 7 years since. Too much buying and playing briefly before selling and starting all over again. I even have a borrowed M4 with a 50mm Summicron that would give me no excuse not to follow the "Leica as a Teacher" article Mike originally wrote back in '09 if I am not mistaken. The cost of film and lack of a meter (I am simply not good enough without one) would end up being a very expensive lesson. I have always returned to the camera I started with almost 8 years ago. An old Nikon D2h with just the 17-55 DX lens. No video. No need to dive into menus once set up. All the important adjustments are on the outside of the camera. Small files at only 4MP. Fairly easy and limited editing in LR4 on a 2012 MacBook Air. If the light is good, it just works. I should probably start to print as suggested by many readers here. That may be what keeps me in the game sort to speak in the coming year.
Posted by: Paul.s | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 07:01 PM
Printing! I've had good intentions before, but this is really going to be the year. One or two images each month seems do-able. And yes, I will get a box for the keepers.
Posted by: Lisa O | Thursday, 29 December 2022 at 10:29 PM
Reading how you use the Sigma and that you appear to take very few photos with it, I sometimes I think that you could have stuck with 4x5 film, scanned the negatives or made contact prints since I think you’ve said you also like small prints. :)
Posted by: Richard Parkin | Friday, 30 December 2022 at 09:36 AM
Yeah. I have and like to use too many small digital cameras and lenses ever to go OC/OL/OY, but I do observe Lent annually. This year I will use one FOV (28mme), and one 'rendition' (B&W) during Lent. I shoot very day, all year around, regardless of place or weather, so this should be around 42 days of 1 & 1. Looking forward to it.
Rube
Posted by: Rube | Friday, 30 December 2022 at 12:23 PM
I have considered the OC/OL/OY a few times but determined it wouldn't really work for me. I take a camera out for a walk every day, rain, snow, shine, hurricane, whatever. Most cameras that I'd considered for the O3 would not stand up to abuse they'd endure. So, I've gone the route of picking the gear appropriate to the day and the scenes I expect to encounter.
Posted by: Peter Cameron | Friday, 30 December 2022 at 12:57 PM
"Bar of Soap" kind of falls within a kind of photo local photographer Stuart Klipper calls "solar intrusions" -- photos a big part of which are the patterns of sunlight penetrating into a building.
I've been shooting some myself the last few years -- all with my phone, my first phone photo project.
Posted by: David Dyer-Bennet | Friday, 30 December 2022 at 09:45 PM
Ocoloy? Easy! I’ve been carrying my Olympus camera and my 12-100/f4 for several years now. It’s always in my messenger bag too with a couple of spare batteries. Just don’t ask me to take picture every day with it. Then it becomes hard.
Posted by: Thomas Backa | Saturday, 31 December 2022 at 04:07 AM
Does using the same iPhone for photography for one year qualify for OCOLOY?
[I think so, yes. The point is to simplify, familiarize, and stop thinking about cameras. --Mike]
Posted by: Markus Fischer | Saturday, 31 December 2022 at 12:11 PM
I have been recently inspired by Sam Abell, so I am keen to work with his back-to-front ideas, and be more conscious about layering in my photography.
Posted by: Arg | Sunday, 01 January 2023 at 01:21 AM