When I started as a photographer I chose which camera to use depending on the shoot, knowing there was no universal solution that would work for everything. The choice of kit was, and is, very personal. Ideally your camera is just there, working seamlessly with and for you. Together we work without worrying about settings and technique, focusing on what really matters – the images.
I am fairly conservative when it comes to my camera gear and dislike most changes. But, after working for many years on film with the classic medium format Fuji GA645 cameras, as soon as I received the original X100 it immediately became a favourite member of my camera family.
“You look like a tourist with that camera,” a famous chef once said. But he ate his words when he saw the results. The retro stylings of the X100 give it an innocent look, but it’s a serious professional tool, packed with power and generations of technological advancements.
For our gastronomic magazine, Fool, I used the X100V to shoot cult sake maker Terada Honke, an hour north-east of Tokyo. Winter is the high season of sake making, meaning the creators of this handmade brew work in temperatures ranging from almost freezing to steaming hot. The youngest member of the team has the dubious honour of climbing inside the huge wooden rice steamer to remove the cooked grains shovel by shovel.
Like Terada Honke’s sake, the X100 is the result of exacting standards and a passion-driven search for excellence. Their hard work gives me an easy choice.
