How an IG DM exchange fixed my zone focusing mistake

Yesterday I came across a video from Anthony J. Rocca, a photographer in Australia who posts under blind.eyez. It was a zone focusing tutorial, shot on a Fujifilm XE5 with a Voigtlander 18mm f2.8 Color Skopar. Short, clear, no wasted explanation. I watched it twice.

I left a comment mentioning that I was learning zone focusing, with my Fujifilm XE3 and a 7Artisans 25mm f1.8. I added that the lens's distance scale isn't accurate, which is why I have been setting my zone with focus peaking instead of trusting the markings.

Anthony replied and asked me to send an example. I sent him a photo from a trip to New York City a couple of months back. The subject was out of focus, and I still wasn't sure why.

He asked for the settings. The subject was about 3 meters away, well inside the zone. His first guess was a slower shutter speed and some movement on my part, but he said it himself, he wasn't fully convinced by that explanation.

Then he asked one more question. Mechanical shutter or electronic.

Electronic. I use it to be more discreet on the street. That was the answer. The electronic shutter had introduced drag, and that drag was what blurred the image, not my settings and not my focus.

That detail isn't really the point of this post, though.

What stuck with me was the exchange itself. A photographer with real experience took the time to go back and forth with someone he had never met, asking questions until he found the answer, rather than settling for the first plausible one. I have been shooting for close to two years now. I am still very much in the process of learning, and I don't pretend otherwise on here. Having someone treat a stranger's question with that kind of patience is not something I take for granted.

I think that is one of the better parts of this community. There is no shortage of people further along who are willing to slow down and help someone figure out what went wrong and how to do better next time. I got that from Anthony over a few DMs on Instagram, and I was grateful.