Features & Functions

Camera to Cloud for Photojournalists Here's how documentary photographer Rory Doyle created a project close to home using Frame.io Camera to Cloud and FUJIFILM X-H2S

The Appeal of Camera to Cloud for Photojournalists

As a photographer constantly on the move, Rory was keen to get firsthand experience with both Fujifilm cameras and Camera to Cloud. “I was curious to learn more about the camera. I’d seen colleagues using it for photojournalism jobs, and thought it was something I could transition to,” he admits.

“I feel like dinosaur-heavy DSLR cameras are going to phase out, so downsizing again without losing quality is of real interest. Cloud technology is also fascinating; it’s something my DSLR doesn’t have.”

Photo 2023 © Rory Doyle | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/60 sec at F2.8, ISO 2000
Photo 2023 © Alan Winslow | FUJIFILM X100F, 1/60 sec at F2, ISO 1000

While cameras are now central to Rory’s day-to-day life, it wasn’t always like that. Rory and his three siblings grew up in a family where both parents were teachers and, latterly, his mom wrote for a newspaper. She spent time helping them with their writing, so there was a degree of inevitability when Rory went to university and initially majored in journalism.

“After three-and-a-half years, I knew I was capable, but I wasn’t super passionate about being a reporter,” he confesses. “So, in the last semester, I signed up on a whim for an optional photojournalism course. That changed everything. Those years of training to be a writer transformed my approach to being a storyteller with a camera.”

Storytelling has been central to Rory’s image making since that lightbulb moment in his final months at university. Now, he relishes the challenge of working on assignment. “It’s almost inevitable that what you’re thinking will happen, won’t,” he smiles.

“I’ve realized I have to be adaptable and accept what I’m presented with. I would love every photo I make to be in the most beautiful light and the best situation possible – but that’s not the reality.”

Photo 2023 © Rory Doyle | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/400 sec at F2.8, ISO 2000
Photo 2023 © Alan Winslow | FUJIFILM X100F, 1/60 sec at F2, ISO 320

Using Camera to Cloud for Day-to-Day Image Making

While his work takes him around the country, the project Rory documented while using C2C is both closer to home and much more personal.

In early 2023, Rory and his wife Marisol opened Leña, a pizza and bagel restaurant in Cleveland, MS. Like any new startup, they needed images for the website and social media promotion.

“I’m not a cook. I’m not a food person. I didn’t grow up learning to cook, and so I didn’t grow up loving food in the way I do now. That totally comes from Marisol,” explains Rory, taking up the story. “We’ve been married 16 years, and she’s changed my life.

“She was born and raised in Mexico, so all of a sudden I’m with a partner who grew up in an environment where food was central to the family and culture. My culinary understanding completely expanded.

“For years, Marisol has worked in different restaurants and always been a hard worker. After two decades, it was the first opportunity for her to have her own place. I couldn’t be more proud,” he effuses.

“I do all the photos for her social media, which is basically the only advertising we’re doing at this point. Pizza photos get a ton of likes and shares – the bagels are pretty minimal in comparison. But once we open for bagels, the line is out the door!”

Photo 2023 © Alan Winslow | FUJIFILM X100F, 1/125 sec at F8, ISO 200

Selecting a combination of FUJIFILM X-H2S and just two lenses – FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR and FUJINON XF33mmF1.4 R LM WR – Rory set about documenting all aspects of daily life at Leña, with C2C integral at each stage.

“We used the cloud in two primary ways,” explains Rory. “One was to document Marisol’s day leading up to opening the restaurant. I’d make images and was looking at them on my computer within seconds, selecting those I’d eventually print. We got them printed and framed straight away, so we could have the images back in the afternoon to put around the restaurant.

“When we opened later the same day, the cloud was vital again. I was making portraits of customers, while a picture editor looked at the photos as they appeared on Frame.io. They’d select the best, then print on an instaxÔ printer to give to the customers. I’ve done events in the past with an instant camera, but having a higher-quality image printed for customers straight away was great.

Pepperoni pizza with crispy crust on a wooden board, topped with melted cheese and tomato sauce, viewed from above.

Photo 2023 © Rory Doyle | FUJIFILM X-H2S and FUJINON XF16-55mmF2.8 R LM WR, 1/100 sec at F2.8, ISO 200

Using Camera to Cloud for Commercial Work

“The technology is even more relevant for commercial or nonprofit jobs,” he continues. “For anyone wanting to be heavily involved with the creative process, it makes sense for the company or brand to have instant access, helping control the flow.”

Rory also sees opportunities for C2C to be used when he’s on assignment. “Currently, when I’m out in the field, I take the memory card out of the camera and copy the photos over to my laptop manually – but this eliminates all those steps.

Occasionally, I have to add a caption, but in an emergency situation the cloud could be perfect. I make the picture and my editor in New York could be accessing it instantly.”

Perhaps most important of all, Rory suggests, is that by creating a direct, real-time connection between the journalist’s camera on the ground and the editor in the newsroom, this groundbreaking technology could also have huge implications in the fight against fake news, and the threat posed by AI-generated images.

Neon pizza sign and tree reflections on a window with a blurred figure in the background.

“We’ve already seen major publications print images that are fake, and people win competitions with images made using AI. It’s scary because it can be used in so many harmful ways; I feel like there’s more harm than there is benefit.” he warns. “But C2C could become more prominent in the journalism world; it might become the standard.

“There are probably breaking news situations where editors, people laying out the pages or designing the web news instantly, will want that footage as fast as they can get it. As publications learn about the cloud, it will be incorporated into daily workflows more and more.”

For now, Rory remains focused on the present, continuing to document life at Leña with the images being safely stored on Frame.io. “I have a goal to document the restaurant in the long term, telling this story as a tribute to Marisol and her efforts,” he concludes.

“I don’t quite know what it will become, or if people would buy a coffee table book of beautiful pizza photos, but it’s just a great way to tell her story.”

Native digital camera integration for Frame.io Camera to Cloud is now available for FUJIFILM X-H2, X-H2S, GFX100 II, GFX100S II, GFX100RF, X-T50, X-T5, X-S20, X100VI and X-M5.