OCOLOY, somewhat
9 January 2025
About half a year ago, I heard an episode of the Street Photography Magazine podcast with Johan O E about the OCOLOY project. OCOLOY is short for "one camera, one lens, one year". The idea is to use just one camera with one lens for a year to learn to see the world differently and grow due to new challenges. It goes further than that and suggests different projects throughout the year. For example, only shooting with ISO 800 for an entire month. For Johan, the challenge was very successful and they already started his third round of OCOLOY.
The idea of such a creative constraint intrigued me from the beginning. However, I couldn't imagine how this could work out with the different genres I'm interested in. If I'd only shoot street photography and some personal documentary stuff, it wouldn't be a problem. But my interest in shooting nature has grown steadily during the last months, and recently, I've developed a bit of interest in portrait photography. For how I'd like to capture the landscape, I'm afraid a single fixed focal length would restrict me too much. Since I'm just delving into portraiture, there is much to learn. I'm eager to experiment with different focal lengths to discover what I'm most comfortable with and how I can make the pictures I intend.
Therefore, I didn't begin right after I first heard about it. But now, I decided to not adjust myself to the rules but (the other way around) adjust the rules to me. I decided to try an OCOLOY-type project for 2025 for all my (more or less) documentary photography (street, family, vacation), but still use other gear for nature/landscape and portrait pictures. If everything works out well in 2025, I perhaps try a "real" OCOLOY project in 2026. We'll see.
I started January without a specific project for it in mind, and I will finish January like that. From next month on, I might begin incorporating monthly, weekly or bi-weekly projects into my OCOLOY challenge. I'll keep you posted on this blog and also share pictures along the way.