GFX100RF: Photojournalism x Kirsten Luce
Kirsten Luce uses imagery to tell Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge’s story with FUJIFILM GFX100RF
For decades, Kirsten Luce has been illustrating impactful stories with powerful imagery. She has shared stories of heartache and joy, high-action drama and quiet mindfulness, and the human impact on our shared home.
Her most recent project took her to Georgia’s Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge, to document the swamp’s ongoing way of life in the face of ecological threat. Setting out with little more than honest intentions and FUJIFILM GFX100RF in hand, she headed once again into the heart of a community.
“Any story I work on, I find there to be moments of connection with people that are life affirming,” she begins. “I also feel gratitude that I’m allowed into their lives, that they share things with me, and that I’m allowed to take their messages to a larger audience. That’s the joy.
“I can’t just walk into a situation, create pretty pictures, then leave without realizing the story behind it. As a journalist, if I don’t have context for my photos, they don’t have the same weight.”
Such a requirement is a heavy lift for both a creator and their tools. Thankfully, Kirsten could rely on a camera perfectly suited to the task at hand.
“For quieter stories like this, it’s a nice excuse to use a small kit. GFX100RF is so lightweight, I could tuck it into my bag and jump from boat to boat.
“It was a pleasant surprise because at first I was concerned about having only one focal length,” the photographer continues, noting the camera’s fixed 35mmF4 lens. “But then, I realized it essentially has so much more because the files are so large.
“I think 35mm is great as an everyday lens. If you’re going to have one lens, that’s the best one to start with. But I love the Digital Teleconverter, it’s probably my favorite GFX100RF feature.”
Thanks to its large format 102-megapixel sensor, additional effective focal lengths can be accessed while retaining outstanding image quality. Kirsten found 45mm, 63mm, and 80mm options exceptionally useful.
“You can control the Digital Teleconverter right on the front of the camera using the rocker control,” she continues. “You don’t even have to take your eye away from the viewfinder. I was constantly cropping in and exploring different frames in real time.
“I also had it set up so the border around my crop was grayed out. This meant I wasn’t distracted, but could still see the full 35mm composition and understand the cropping choices I was making within it.”
A few more of GFX100RF’s features continued to help Kirsten remain in the moment, explore unique visual choices, and ultimately find moving stories to document.
Nine popular aspect ratios can be set with a new Aspect Ratio dial. Crops including 1:1, 16:9, and 65:24 can be selected and viewed in-camera.
“The Aspect Ratio dial was another of the best parts of this camera,” Kirsten enthuses. “I could change between the different formats, compare them, but still preserve that original huge RAW file.
“Having a dial to change aspect ratios is so much easier than going through a menu. Ordinarily, I would never be able to document a scene in so many different ways.”
Then there were Fujifilm’s iconic Film Simulations. These not only provided Kirsten with inspiration at the moment of creation, but also gave her beautiful results in an instant.
“I photographed a lot of CLASSIC CHROME. I started my career on chrome film, so it was a nice throwback to where I came from with a real film feel. I also like the standard PROVIA because I want to keep things looking pretty.
“But my favorite was MONOCHROME. It almost felt like I was cheating – the dynamic range was amazing. It looked like somebody had toned it beautifully for me already.
“One morning there was a bright sky and I was waiting for the trees to be well lit enough. I tried MONOCHROME and it brought out all of this detail in the shadows. I just thought, ‘Wow, there it is!’”
One yet untouched draw of GFX100RF is obvious at a glance. It’s built in a rangefinder-style design, with an offset 5.76 million dot EVF and large rear touchscreen LCD. For most photographers, it provides a tactile, seamless image-making process.
Kirsten was an instant fan of the opportunities the camera’s physical design elements afforded her.
“I loved looking at my image playback in the viewfinder because I could see so much detail. It’s so well lit in there.
“But I also used the rear LCD screen and I’m not ashamed of it,” she laughs. “There used to be a stigma about it, but it’s a great tool – and looks incredible on GFX100RF. It’s huge and detailed, and I can zoom way in to make sure I was getting what I wanted.”
With another project at a close, it’s important to remember the value of photographic work like Kirsten’s. Stories are essential to making sense of the world around us, and imagery is unique in its ability to transport a viewer.
“Now is a really important time in our country to be thinking about environmental issues, like those facing Okefenokee National Wildlife Refuge. It’s much easier to preserve something before it’s compromised,” she concludes.
“My challenge is to captivate people the way I’ve been captivated, and convey the experience to them.”
