Made in Aizu

As self taught photographer who wanted to experience the world through my lens, I was fascinated by people and their environment. My foray into photography has brought me across the globe where my journey started from my birth country, the USA, to Paris, and the ever so busy Asian cities of Dubai, China, Hong Kong, Malaysia and Taiwan. Many of my fine artworks have been published and exhibited in cities around the world. I have also worked on countless advertising campaigns in many different countries for major consumer brands.

It was very interesting to be filmed for the first time as it is so different from still photography. From my point of view, each filmed scene was like a phrase of a poem, but one cannot understand the phrases until the final cut puts the phrases together into an extraordinary poem!

Photography has always been a part of my life as my parents were photographers, although it wasn’t until my thirties that I picked up a camera with serious intent. I’d been studying for a degree in conservation when I started to take pictures again, initially to document the various habitats that we were studying. However, I found that I really enjoyed making images and I’ve lived and breathed photography since 2011, turning professional in 2016. I have a deep love of the natural world, I feel most at ease when surrounded by nature and exploring wild places. It’s the peace I find in nature that I try to portray in my imagery, the pictures that I make are quite minimal, a simplification of the scene before me which I call my ‘visual mantra’. I lose myself in the moment, composing my image I feel at one with nature.

Of all the photographers in the world, I find it a huge honour to be part of this film. I love how the film starts in Aizu and represents the passion of the people who work at the factory, right through to the end user, that is of course, the photographer. I’m looking forward to the future with SIGMA, my aim to continue to support this dedicated team and make images that showcase the potential of their products.

For me, photography started as a mean to an end. I work as a trend consultant and need to constantly be curious of the world around me, collecting, compiling and curating. This goes hand in hand with a passion for traveling. This made sense that photography was going to be a way to keep track of everything that inspires me.
That’s why I started the Voyageur, a website that is as much about photography as it is about travelling with a creative eye. I like my pictures to have an intimate quality and to show what can easily be overlooked. I enjoy creating series that shed a new light on a particular place or reveal unexpected aesthetic links between things.

I’m very proud to be the French face of the Sigma user! It was fun to walk around Paris with a Japanese team and see the city through their eyes. I’ve been living here for more than ten years and I sometimes forget how great it is!

I started working at SIGMA 11 years ago. In my job I am usually responsible for the final inspection of our manufactured lenses, and selecting samples to be checked. I think the most important aspect of my work could be summed up with the word “cooperation.” I know that I have had many people help me in my years of working here. I think if it is easy to say “let’s work together on this one” or “let’s help each other,” then that kind of communication helps create a good workplace environment.
Being part of a video shoot was a very rare special experience for me, and the children and I enjoyed it a lot. I was very moved to see many familiar places and environments from my daily life captured so beautifully in the video. After my daughter had seen the finished video, she said “I want to work at the same company as Mom one day!” That made me very happy.

I have been working at SIGMA for 16 years now. I cut and process glass elements, manage and oversee the forwarding of glass parts to other divisions, and I also inspect the quality of processed lenses. My job asks for a highly precise finishing, and each time my efforts pay off – fewer mistakes and meeting demands – I feel a great sense of accomplishment. I pay attention towards creating an enjoyable environment and a smooth workplace.
I was very happy that I could show my child a real movie set thanks to the video and have them see some of the cameras and lenses I have helped create. When I saw the video, I was incredibly moved; and not only because my child is in it.

I joined SIGMA 3 years ago. I work in the personnel section of our general affairs division, which means I am engaged in recruitment, ISO regulations, workforce management, preparations for special events and so on. I put a lot of value on humility and gratitude in my work. There are many things that I have accomplished for the very first time only thanks to the help of my superiors and seniors. In such moments I feel that my efforts really do pay off. Every time I get to hear ideas and opinions by many other people, it helps me grow.
The video shoot itself was a great adventure for my 8 year old son. “I shot a MOVIE in my summer break!” he says. He walked the same footpaths as always, but he did it – perhaps a little embarrassed – holding his little sister’s hand, and he also tried ascending more difficult slopes. Because of the camera, he felt like the star of a movie, and you could see it in his face. I was happy to see my son excel himself like that. Even though the kids loved it, I think it is us parents who are the most thankful for this experience.