In 2003 I bought my first digital camera. It was a Fujifilm S2 Pro and I can still remember my excitement at using this camera with the freedom of being released from the constraints of film.

No need to change film after 36 shots on the Nikon ( or only 12 shots on the Hasselblad which was used for our  professional photoshoots ) with the creative rationing and control this imposed..

With film a large part of my time had been spent in a darkroom processing and printing. This was replaced by computer time using Photoshop which I found much more pleasant and less time consuming. 

I could shoot whatever I wanted and process on my computer in comfort at the times I chose.

With digital it was possible to experiment with exposure times, aperture and ISO settings to create completely different effects and, amazingly at the time, the picture was available for viewing on the camera screen straight away. How good was that!

At the time the Fuji S2 Pro was one of the best, and only, DSLR digital cameras on the market. I chose it because it was based on a Nikon camera body (F8) into which Fujifilm had set their own APS C sensor. Whilst it was much smaller than the 35mm film format it produced superb results that allowed us to produce great supersize prints and even full wall size prints that would have required larger roll film cameras (Hasselblad, Rolleiflex etc) to compete. 

The end wall of the entrance corridor  at our Spring Cottage gallery was covered with a 8 foot tall print to welcome visitors. It looked amazing, generated loads of interest and sparked so much discussion. 

The Fuji S2 Pro was based around the Nikon body and as such it accepted many of the lenses I used on my Nikon camera of the time – another reason for the purchase.

Unlike the film cameras, ISO ratings could be changed with the shooting conditions and could be set for each photo. The S” Pro had a maximum ISO of 1600 which seams paltry now but was cutting edge then. The results at 1600 ISO were pretty good even by todays standard and it was a setting I learned to use on a regular basis. 

The gallery below has a few of my first shots on the Fuji S2 Pro and they are what sparked this post.