By Zlatko Đurić Published on June 10, 2023

Zlatko's Photography Journey

Two cameras, Lumix G81 and Lumix GF1 Zlatko Đurić

I have not been passionately pursuing photography for over two decades, but I did spend a lot of time capturing countless moments and memories through cameras and smartphones. Later on, I've started making more "serious photography". This page serves as a chronological record of some of the cameras I have owned and the experiences I have gained along the way.

My photography

I don't have a preferred style or genre of photography. Not yet. I know that I tend to go with stronger, bolder edits, with more color and contrast, black-and-white photos. I also like high-key, positive themes and photos. But I don't have a certain style as I'm mostly exploring photography day-to-day and not on a long time.

"Serious" photographers

Around around 2017, I've decided to take the whole thing seriously. I've started adding actual photos to my portfolio. I got a Panasonic Lumix GF1, as a "real", interchangable-lens camera. I loved the little thing and I took my first steps into "real" photography with it. I started learning about lenses and sensors and apertures and compositions with it. You can see it pictured above, next to a Lumix G85 I got two years later.

I bought it used, together with the lens, it cost around 370€. I took some great shots with the little Lumix, here are a few nice examples:

A kid on a wooden balance bike, on a green field with blue skies in the background — Lumix GF-1, F/2.8 1/2000 20mm ISO 100

An RC car racing across a puddle, with water droplets captured still around them — Lumix GF1, f/1.8 1/800 20mm ISO100

A mother duck flying out of a pond, legs still in water, with its duckling rushing swimming forward alongside — Lumix GF1, F/4 1/640 20mm

Two boys looking through a whole in the wall — Lumix GF-1, F/1.7 1/250 20mm ISO100

Compared to my previous compact cameras, the GF1 impressed me greatly, and I've captured some great shots with it and learned the basic concepts of the photography. I continued using it for a year and a half, and when the progress slowed down, I thought that a "better camera will help me take better photos". An experienced photographer among the readers will know that I couldn't have been further from the truth.

Bigger is better?

Deep down, I had a sense of this realization, which prompted me to challenge myself: "If you successfully complete Reddit's photoclass (r/photoclass2019 based on this site), you have earned a new camera." I met the challenge head-on and rewarded myself with the Lumix G81 displayed in the image above.

A flower — Lumix G81, F/2.8 1/250 20mm ISO200

A woman looking at the camera — Lumix G81, F/5.6 1/125 43mm ISO200

Ducks at sunset — Lumix G81, F/5.6 1/125 43mm ISO200

A boy with a town in background — Lumix G81, F/1.7 1/1000 20mm ISO200

A pinhole shot of a spinning top — Lumix G81, F/2.8 1/500 20mm ISO1600

Fungus on a tree trunk — Lumix G81, F/1.7 1/60 20mm ISO2000

I was pretty happy with the new setup, I would take it everywhere. Then in 2020 I moved to a new home, and I lost my whole camera bag! Bummer! It was pretty sad, and since I moved, I also didn't have a lot of money available, so I got another little old Lumix as an urgent replacement, the Lumix GF2:

Fujifilm era

It didn't hold my interest long, since I managed to convince myself that I "need" a "good" camera (notice the pattern?). I've considered getting another Lumix, the (at the time) new G9, but then I changed my mind and got myself a Fuji X-T4. I got curious about it's small but very loud followingt. Plus, if you have film sims, you don't need to do any editing, right? Riiight?

Anyway, here it is, upgraded with some extra gear (external flash) that I picked up later on:

A Fujifilm camera, X-T4, with Godox V860IIF flash and a Godox GX1 remote trigger

I've been shooting mostly with it since, mixing up some Lumixes and other things in between.The "film sims cut down on editing time" worked as well, in more ways than one.

I've been trying to improve my photography by joining a few online photo contests, like Photocrowd and similar, but they were just too depressing. Then I discovered the 52 Frames. That was another big step forward for me, both having joined a great "minigroup" (a few other members of the site commenting eachother photos weekly). I told myself again, "for a full year - 52 frames - you deserve a new lens". And it worked:

My Fuji has served me nicely, I believe, as seen here:

Flat lay, a top-down shot of a cup of espresso, with a heart-shaped foam art — Fujifilm X-T4, F/5 1/80 55mm ISO1600

Three people, two boys and a man, in red jackets posing against a faded brick wall — Fujifilm X-T4, F/3.2 1/80 22.3mm ISO160

A pencil drawing of a Fujifilm camera with a lens attached, with a Fujifilm camera paperback manual in the background — Fujifilm X-T4, F/4.5 1/125 34.3mm ISO1000

A lamp, a frame, a leaning horizon in the background in monochrome — Fujifilm X-T4, F/10, 1/26, 18mm ISO250

Panorama of town of Cluj-Napoca, Romania, in dramatic black and white rendering — Fujifilm X-T4, F/5.6 1/80 55mm ISO400

A look down a series of doorways through tick foundations of an old fort — Fujifilm X-T4, F/22 1/1 28.9mm ISO3200

Funnily enough, I later found the Lumix G81 that I thought I lost, and I sold it to buy some more gear and lenses.

Current endeavors

At the time of this writing, I'm still trying to upload weekly shots to 52frames, as well as prepare something for Chelsea London's 52 weeks of photography. I occasionally also post a photo or two over to Pixelfed.

I'm still trying to learn a lot of techniques and practices. But I'm also trying to get more stories out of my photos.