This year I decided to pick up another photography project in order not to be “stagnant.” But after completing my 365 project (which also served as countdown for my 25th birthday) I found myself wondering if I’m ready to do another one. After all, I definitely missed not having any restrictions (when it comes to taking photos) for a year so I was actually glad that the previous one was over.

Sticking to one camera alone seems to be pushing it a bit (even though I fully empathize with the reasoning behind it) plus I shoot digital when I get hired once in a while. The thought of shooting a Diana F+ once a month crossed my mind too but other than that I wasn’t so sure what to do.

Enter the Olympus 35 SP.

K gave this to me as a (semi) surprise holiday gift. I wasn’t expecting it and honestly I know nothing about the camera so there wasn’t much of an excitement that went on. However as a diligent girlfriend I researched about it and also to circumvent the lack of enthusiasm about the camera I decided to use this as a tool for this year. Then I thought about incorporating the “one camera, one lens” project with this, but with modifications.

So to make this whole story short, I’m using the 35 SP as my main camera this year. With the exception of my test roll (a gifted Fuji Superia 400), everything will be shot in black and white. I might stick with one brand for this year but seeing my lack of black and white film stash I ended up using a Kodak T-Max 100 as my first black-and-white roll. K and I will decide which films to buy this weekend when we buy stuff at Freestyle.

I already bought my first batch of fresh chemicals which should last me for 3-5 months the most, depending on how often I’ll develop my films.

I named the project as “Takeshi” project after the Olympus’ founder. I might even name this camera Takeshi (just to follow the tradition of naming my cameras in Japanese, just for the heck of it).

As for my accompanying cameras for the rest of the year, I’ll be using the X10 for my regular digital snaps, the D7000 for any work-related and portfolio shoots and my Yashica A for my medium format work (using black and white film).

I might even push through with the Diana F+ related project I have in mind but we’ll see if I’ll get there. But the point of this project is to limit myself by intentionally accessing less tools and to go back to the basics. Frankly, I think I skipped the whole process when I started photography. This year I am going to take it slow and learn lots.