Robespierre Dornagon | New York City Photography

I’ve been reminding myself to spend some time writing about my photography journey so here is my first go at talking about the journey so far and a review of some of the new equipment I have picked up recently to help me see the world a little differently. I’ve actually been taking photos on digital cameras since the days of the Sony Ericson 9000 when mobile phones started to incorporate cameras into their devices. I also remember shooting a ton of photos on my iPhone 5 back in the day. So, I guess you could say my love for photography started to DEVELOP (haha) a long time ago. I first picked up a digital camera body/lens setup in 2016/2017. I can’t exactly remember what pushed me to get interested in photography then but I remember always admiring my cousin Kenneth’s photography and thought he always took such great photos. So I asked him if he could teach me the basics of exposure and composition and that was pretty much the beginning of learning real photography concepts.

The image above was one of the early photos, Kenneth took of me when we were younger and would take the bus around Queens together. Seeing images like this really got me interested in photography because of how well it was able to capture a memory and tell a story. I guess the old saying is true, a picture is worth 1000 words. So with my interest in photography starting in 2017 I picked up a Sony a6000 and a 50mm f1.8 lens and I started shooting like crazy. At first, I would take a lot of portrait photos with my dance friends since every artistic person loves a good photo of themselves. I would also get really into food photography and take my camera everywhere with me. This is also when I started getting a little too obsessed with equipment and wanting to try different bodies and lenses (avoid doing this at all costs). Anyway, I eventually found myself falling in love with the FujiFilm system because of it’s unique way of capturing colors and the feel it gave it’s photos straight out of the camera. I was never big into editing and I’m still not a fan of it (but I am learning to appreciate it more these days). So FujiFilm just felt like a solid system for me that married the look of retro cameras, film looks in the images, and having less expensive bodies/lenses.

So after getting some experience with photo gigs, portraits, a few engagements here and there, and even some small events, I started to really get a knack for photography. And then - suddenly in 2019 - 2022 I just kind of stopped shooting. I stopped taking my camera around with me all the time. I stopped taking portraits and my interest in digital photography came to somewhat of a halt. Then in early 2023, I noticed I started taking photos again, not with a digital camera but with my phone. It was on holiday vacation with my family in Greece when I started taking a lot of photos with my phone and I noticed that when I used the Lightroom app camera I would get a slightly more film look / detailed photo with images on the Lightroom app. Seriously, go see for yourself, the images come out way crispy on the Lightroom app vs. the Default iPhone camera. So with my interest in photography coming back to me, I wanted to see if I still enjoyed taking photos with a digital camera body/lens. This was also around the time I realized that my old Fujifilm XT2, which was the last camera I had lying around after all the different swaps I’d done, was now broken due to a motherboard issue and would cost me a ton to get repaired. Luckily I was able to pick up an old X100S and this got me back into shooting digital again.

I was enjoying shooting on FujiFilm with an actual camera body again and not just on an iPhone. I started to take my camera around with me again wherever I went and began to invest more time into my photography Instagram. After spending a few months with the X100S, I started to miss shooting other focal lengths. Since the X100S is a fixed 35mm length, I needed to find another body that was not the broken XT2 that I would use to place my 35mm (50mm full frame equivalent) on. So, in August of this year, I was back on the hunt to find out what body would make the most sense for me. At this point, I have used the X-Pro, X-T, X-E, and X100 lines and I remember really enjoying the small range finder style of the X-E line. I was able to find a used X-E2S from Adorama for $450, which is a great find since the body is currently going for $600+ used. Now that I was back out on the street with a new body and the 35mm (50mm) attached I was once again drawn to shooting even more photos. This 50mm focal length reminded me how much I enjoyed shooting street photography back in the day. I remember there were days after work when I would take my camera around with me to different parts of Manhattan and walk around taking photos. So, this is what I began to do again. But, now I would spend my mornings going on photo walks. Since I loved getting up early in the morning and going for a walk, this was the perfect way to combine that with my excitement for photography again. So, I would pick an Avenue in Manhattan to hit early in the morning and walk down the streets until I got to my office at Herald Square. I would walk down 5th Ave, Broadway, 6th Ave, or 7th Ave. Each of them led me onto different streets converging at Herald Square. It was a nice way to spend my mornings, go for a nice long walk, and take some photos.

Image taken on the corner of 51st Street & Broadway outside the Stardust Diner

The image above was taken in Midtown on Broadway. I was on the corner just letting the scene of the street corner unfold as I gazed upon the fun exterior of the Stardust Diner. After about 5 minutes of waiting I didn’t get any interesting images, when all of a sudden, a turn around to see a Mother and her child look up at a building and the child pointing. This was the moment and click goes my shutter. This moment made me realize how important it is in street photography to take your time in a place because as it changes and unfolds, so will the moments you are able to capture.

So after a few weeks of shooting on the 35mm (50mm) lens, I started to miss the 35mm wider view but I also really loved shooting the more narrow 50mm field of view. So, this got me interested in learning about the less talked about 40mm focal length. I’ve been spending a lot of time on YouTube diving into the Street Photography world by learning from other street photographers, about Fujifilm simulation recipes, gear, and techniques in street photography. One focal length that kept coming up was the 40mm, which I honestly didn’t really realize was a length you could shoot with before. This got me really interested in my now current walk-around lens, the TTArtisan 27mm, f2.8 lens. The 27mm is the full frame eqivalent of the 41mm focal length. This focal length for some reason allows for a lens build that is quite small, only slightly bigger than the Fujinon 27mm, f2.8. Tthis lens sits so well on my X-E2S’ small body which makes it an insanely lightweight combination that is perfect for when I’m out walking around. Even right now as I write this post I have the X-E2S + TTArtisan 27mm around my body and there are times when I forget it’s even on me. Yeah, it’s THAT lightweight. So, this brings me to my current setup and the one I have been shooting with the last few weeks. It has been fun shooting with the 40mm focal length because I can still take portrait-style images, but also have enough wideness in my framing to include more context in the shot. One photographer, Kai W, describes this focal length as a “wider” 50mm, which I have to say is the best way to describe it. It’s like I’m shooting on a portrait lens but I’m able to see much more. What is also nice about the 40mm length is that it is the closest field of view our eye naturally sees. I’m going to keep shooting with the 40mm and probably switch off between this, the 35mm X100S, and the 35mm (50mm) lens whenever I feel like it because these 3 focal lengths are giving me the perfect eyes I need to see the world in a slightly new way. Check out some of my work on my Instagram and say hello!