Slowing time through light and shadow

Howdy, I’m Richard Defazio, a photographer raised in South Florida — born and bred Floridaman. I currently work in the video game industry as a Lead, where visual storytelling, composition, and mood are a major part of my day-to-day life.

Photography has always been my way of slowing things down and paying attention. I’m especially drawn to classic black-and-white films and old photographs — studying them, restoring them, and preserving moments that time has worn away. That relationship with the past heavily influences how I shoot today, often focusing on light, shadow, and isolating subjects within larger environments to balance intimacy and scale.

Alongside photography, I’ve always loved storytelling in all forms. I’m a lifelong movie watcher, a big fantasy reader, and someone who finds inspiration in quiet moments — whether that’s editing photos on the couch with a cup of coffee or getting lost in a good book. I also enjoy restoring and editing old images, giving forgotten photographs a second life.

My goal with my work is simple: to create images that feel intentional and timeless — photographs that slow you down, invite you to look closer, and relive the moment they were taken in.

Hobbies and Passions
In my downtime, I love collecting and reading fantasy books — from The Lord of the Rings to my most recent read, Red Rising. I have to own the physical book; no Kindle or audiobooks for me. I want shelves filled with stories I’ve lived with over time — a library that grows alongside me.

One day, I’d love to write an epic fantasy novel myself. For now, I’m writing smaller stories and sharing them online, slowly building toward something bigger.

And, of course, being a Floridian, I love spending time at the beach and fishing offshore — catching fresh mahi and the occasional yellowtail. Recently, I’ve also been getting into making drinks. Whether it’s experimenting with coffee, something refreshing after a long day, or a simple drink made well, I enjoy the process as much as the result.

How Photography Started & My First Camera
It was actually my parents who introduced me to photography.

On December 25, 1994, it was an unusually warm 86-degree Christmas morning in Florida. My parents were chasing my three-year-old self around our apartment. It was just me and my parents.

At some point, I picked up my dad’s Polaroid camera and ended up taking a photo of both of them crawling on the floor, smiling and laughing as they chased me. To this day, they still tell that story, and they keep the photo on the fridge.

After that, my parents would buy me disposable cameras, and my love for photography kept growing. What truly expanded it into cinematography came from my grandfather. One October, he watched me every night before my parents came home from work. He’d put on classic black-and-white films, and we’d stay up past my bedtime watching them together. Those nights are when I first fell in love with cinema and started studying photography and cinematography more seriously.

Later on, after saving up from my first job, I bought my first “real” camera — a Canon. I learned the fundamentals there, but once I laid eyes on a Fujifilm camera, I knew that’s where I belonged.

What Inspires Me
Time never stops, and it seems to move even faster when you’re thinking about a memory. We can’t stop it — but we can capture a small piece of it with a photograph.

That moment might be serious, funny, or completely unplanned. We can look back on it, share it with family, pass it to a friend, or even give it to a stranger. Those moments are why I love photography.

I’m deeply inspired by cinema, especially classic black-and-white films and visually bold modern work. Cinematography treats every frame with intention. A powerful image isn’t just about the subject — it’s about contrast, framing, negative space, and mood. How shadows fall. Where the eye is guided. What’s left unseen.

That cinematic approach — where composition and tone do the storytelling — is what I chase in my black-and-white photography. I want my images to feel like stills pulled from a film that never explains itself, but lingers long after you’ve looked away.

My Approach to Photography
My work is driven by the isolation of a subject within its environment. I’m drawn to moments where the subject commands attention immediately, before the surrounding space reveals itself. The environment exists to provide scale — emphasizing how small the subject is within a much larger world — but it is never the narrative focus.

That approach naturally lends itself to how I shoot. While I love landscapes, I’d say I’m ultimately more of a street photographer. Most of my work comes from simply going out — exploring, walking, spending time with friends and family, and keeping an eye open to whatever unfolds. My photography is spontaneous by nature, driven by curiosity rather than planning.

I’ve explored the busy streets of San Francisco and downtown Boston to the boardwalks of Miami Beach. These environments shape how I see and shoot — fast moments, quiet pauses, and the in-between spaces that often go unnoticed.

I place strong emphasis on detail within the subject itself. Texture, form, and fine visual information are preserved so the viewer can fully read the subject and extract meaning from it. These details carry the main subject; the background is simply support.

I work almost exclusively in extreme black and white, using contrast as a structural element rather than a stylistic one. Deep shadows and bright highlights strip the image down to its essentials, eliminating distraction and guiding the viewer directly to what matters.

Why Black and White
I shoot a lot in color, and color is a powerful tool for mood and atmosphere. But black and white allows me to focus more deeply on light — on contrast, texture, and form.

By removing color, the image becomes quieter and more intentional. The viewer is forced to focus on expression, structure, and presence. For me, black and white reveals the soul of a subject.

I also have tritanomaly, which affects how I see blues in dim lighting. Because of that, black and white feels natural to me. It aligns with how I already interpret the world — through light and shadow rather than color alone.

When I shoot, classic black-and-white films are always playing in the back of my mind. For most of photography and cinema’s history, the world was documented without color. Light and composition once carried the entire emotional weight of an image — and in black and white, they still do.

Current Cameras & Lenses
I currently shoot with three Fujifilm cameras: the GFX 100S II, X-T5, and X100VI.

The X100VI is always with me — whether I’m walking through city streets or along breezy boardwalks. Its size and simplicity make it effortless to carry, and it’s become my primary everyday camera.

The GFX 100S II is where I slow down. This is my professional camera — the one I reach for when I want to truly take my time and find something that stands out to me. As I’ve started printing my work more, the depth and detail it produces feel exactly like what I saw in the moment.

My current lenses include the GF 35–70mm for the GFX and the 16–80mm for the X-T5. Looking ahead, I’m aiming to add the GF 100–200mm to my kit.

Advantages & Limitations
The X100VI shines when I want to stay light, fast, and intuitive. The fixed lens forces simplicity, which helps me focus on composition and timing instead of gear decisions. It encourages instinctive shooting — sometimes too instinctive. It’s so good that it occasionally makes me shoot faster than I should, which is a hilarious disadvantage.

The GFX 100S II demands intention. It excels in landscapes, architecture, and still scenes where patience matters. The trade-off is size and speed — it’s heavy, autofocus is slower, and it’s not built for spontaneity.

RAW vs JPEG & Film Simulations
I always shoot RAW. I don’t lock myself into a film simulation while shooting. I try to capture the scene as close to how I see it, then experiment afterward.

When I do use film simulations, I usually return to Acros or Monochrome. Other times, I’ll skip simulations entirely and do a clean black-and-white conversion.

Post-Processing Workflow
With a hot cup of freshly brewed coffee in hand, I slow things down and begin the second half of the process.

I started in Adobe Lightroom Mobile. All my files are transferred to my online drive and reviewed on my Samsung tablet or Android phone. I never delete a photo — ever. Images that don’t make the first cut stay archived for later.

Editing on a tablet feels natural. I’m usually on the couch, a movie playing in the background, deep into my fourth cup of coffee. I work with two presets — one favoring deep shadows, the other protecting highlights — then fine-tune with restraint.

Using the S-Pen feels far more intuitive than a mouse, and I prepare every image in multiple aspect ratios so it can live properly across prints, screens, and space.

Closing
Overall, my interest in photography and cinematography keeps growing every day, and you’ll rarely catch me without a camera. Fujifilm fits the way I work, whether I’m grabbing a quick moment or taking my time and living in it.