Jump!
I used to do jumping self-portraits on a regular basis. It started as a fun thing I did on photo shoots with friends, and then it evolved into my “thing.” Most people in the photo communities I frequented knew me for my jumping photos. I eventually stopped doing them, mostly because I needed to move on to other things. I also ran out of ideas for interesting photos.
Yesterday, I tried jumping photos for the first time in years. My timing was a bit off (took more tries than before), and I’m not nearly as flexible as I was, but I managed to get a few good shots. My knees also are not very happy with me doing repeated quick jumps without warming up. Getting older can sometimes suck.
I shot this with my Fujifilm X100T with the wide-angle converter. I used Fujifilm’s Cam Remote iPhone app to control everything on the camera (exposure, focus, self-timer, etc.). I have to say that it is very handy having a live view of the image on my phone to compose the shot properly. No more running back and forth to check the shots!
I originally shot the images using the X100T’s Monochrome + R film simulation to get a sense of what the final black and white photo might look like. I ended up processing the RAW file in Lightroom to get my desired look. I increased exposure and shadow detail, added sharpening, did some noise reduction — the usual stuff.
Self-portraits can be challenging on their own — locking focus and getting the composition right is half the battle. Adding in a physical element and synchronizing with the self-timer makes it that much more difficult. I’m pretty happy with my first go at jumping shots after a very long break. Time to plan out what I’m going to do next.
