Yoshinao Yamada

I studied architecture at university, and my first job after graduating was at an architecture magazine. I visited buildings, studied their architecture and took photos as well. I’ve often used compact digital cameras with wide-angle lenses, ever since they had been available for sale. Since I started working as an editor for a lifestyle magazine, I have to go out more often and take photos. The cameras I’m using have changed accordingly. I still take a lot of photos of spaces, snapshots, and use photos as a way to take notes.

The fp with the 45mm F2.8 DG DN | Contemporary are actually the first time I’m using SIGMA, and actually it is the first time I’m shooting with a 45mm lens at all. It’s a fresh experience to me, as I haven’t tried shooting with this angle of view before. I had wondered what 45mm would be like, but having shot with it, I’ve realized it’s an angle that allows me to shoot just about anything. Of course, I’d have more artistic possibilities the more lenses I carry around, but since I’m a bit lazy and because I usually have little time to change lenses, I’m glad that the 45mm angle is so versatile and easy to use.

To put it bluntly, I ask for a few necessary features and good design. If those two conditions aren’t met, then I’m not interested. In the end, a camera is something you carry around with you, so it is very important that it is designed to make me want to carry it around as well.
I don’t like things that are exaggerated or overdone. I much prefer simple, straightforward designs. In this regard, the fp is very simple while still offering high expandability, and it’s great that I can change to a different lens other than the 45mm if I feel like it. So, I think when I select cameras I pay attention to the design as well, not just the technical features.

Because of my work, I am often asked a lot of questions about design. But I think it best if I don’t come into the foreground too much. I think it can be interesting to add your own personality a little when you talk to people and introduce something in your texts – you could use it as a chance to introduce a lot of related ideas, for example. But personally, I prefer to keep myself in the background. That’s how I try to approach my work.
Come to think of it, there is no SIGMA logo anywhere on the camera’s front, is there? And yet it still has a typical “SIGMA face” when you look at the fp from the front. There’s this unique design approach that just lets you know who the manufacturer is, I guess. And the small fp logo is the little touch of flavor for those in the know. Superb.

In my private life, I think I most often use my camera when I’m traveling. I like to go out without unnecessary weight on me. When I travel overseas I keep my baggage as light as possible, and when I go outside I have almost nothing on me, except for a small camera dangling from my neck.
I’m especially interested in architecture, which is why I photograph a lot of buildings. But since the camera is so easily accessible, I find myself wanting to shoot many other things as well. And when I look back at the photos, I remember how things were at that moment. There’s a memo or diary-like element to it.

I think it’s not rare to want something simple and good. I don’t think everyone feels the need to get all the latest things constantly. And to me it seems the fp isn’t a camera that’d work well for people who want that rush of the new. In my impression, the fp is the camera you choose when you want a camera you’ll be using for the next ten years.
In the end, if you aren’t in love with something, then it is difficult to really care for it properly. Of course, ideally you would take care of things even if you aren’t in love with them, but on the other hand, your life will be so much richer if you let yourself discover the things you really care about. I think it’s annoying to have too many checkboxes to tick, but when it comes to something you want to use for a long time, it is best to choose with care, right? That’s why I think the fp is a camera that can stand the test of time.

I think the fp is a camera that expands the artistic potential of its users. My work is similar in that regard, actually. I try to end my texts with some sort of point or punchline, in order to make as many people as possible think about what would happen next, and I’d like the readers to imagine what they would do or think if they were in my position and through this experience expand their worldview. I don’t just want to provide any answers, I want the reader to fill in the gaps for themselves.
And in this sense, the fp is a camera that lets its users fill in the gaps as well. That’s why it’s more interesting to have a lot of “case studies”, people who find their own use for the camera. And if there’s one person among them who you feel close to, you can imagine what you’d do in their stead, and by doing so your imagination will grow and expand.