Change of direction for my photography

At the beginning of the year I made some New Year Resolutions - spend time on this web site (which I’ve ignored for a long time), sign up for some workshops and shoot more in Black and White.

At the time I wasn't planning on changing my whole camera kit, but I somehow did.

Lonely tree on the Loughor Estuary on a cold January morning. Fujifilm XPro3 XF16mm @ f/14

The above photo was taken using the Acros Film Simulation and helped convince me that black and white was the way forward. I’ve always enjoyed black and white but I didn’t think I’d end up buying a Monochrome camera later in the year. I ended up selling the XPro 3 (which I regret, it’s a joy to use) and buying a Leica Q3 Monochrom.

Lower Lliw Reservoir in August 2026 after weeks of no rain. Leica Q3M @f/8 with a blue filter

The Leica is a joy to use. Being constrained by a black and white sensor is somehow liberating - it frees you from the choice of colours, it constrains you and takes away distractions. And ISO isn’t a problem - the photo below was at 6,400 but the camera can easily handle 50,000 or higher.

Nigel Thomas did a workshop on printing at Carmarthen Cameras this year. Leica Q3M @f/5 ISO 6,400

I’m not sure where my photography will take me from here. The cricket season is coming to and end and I need to decide if I will continue shooting sports.

I have some more photos to publish in the near future from various workshops I’ve attended so hopefully that will help me focus on this site.