I was able to obtain a SIGMA lens as a tax return gift at the end of last year, and I took part in the “Photo Walk Bandai 2024” event held in Bandai Town, Fukushima Prefecture, at the end of last month.
I left Tokyo on the Tohoku Shinkansen at around 7am and arrived at the venue, Bandaimachi Town Hall, just after 10am.
It seems that the venue was changed to a small meeting room on the second floor of the town hall because the community center that was originally planned to be used as the venue was turned into a polling station for the House of Representatives election. However, with over 30 people in the slightly cramped room, including the 21 participants, the organizers from the Bandai Town Promotion Public Corporation, the cooperating companies SIGMA and EPSON, and the lecturer, Ms. Daimon, there was a warm sense of unity from the very beginning.
Why Bandai Town? Why SIGMA?
The SIGMA Aizu factory is located in this town, and all of the company’s lenses and cameras are produced here. SIGMA is supported by the hard-working people of Aizu, and the local town on which SIGMA is based – doesn’t this make you want to support them?
After the orientation, we were treated to a delicious sukiyaki lunch made with local ingredients at a nearby old folk house restaurant. Ds. Daimon, who is known for his love of alcohol, promptly ordered an extra beer, and many of the participants followed suit (lol).
After lunch, we took some free time to take photos at various spots in the town, such as Enichiji Temple and Bandai Shrine.
It was a shame that the autumn leaves weren’t quite as we had hoped, and that it was generally overcast, but even so, there were so many subjects to photograph all over the town that the two and a half hours passed in no time at all.
We met again at 3pm, and had a fun and stimulating “Photo Walk Bandai 2024” event, with Ms. Daimon giving us feedback on everyone’s submitted photos, and EPSON printing out photos that they thought were good.
My two photos were also quietly shown off among the wonderful photos taken by the other participants.
LUMIX S5 + SIGMA 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II
LUMIX S5 + SIGMA 17mm F4 DG DN
Daimon-sensei gave a consoling critique, saying “The camera’s performance is good, with no flaws in the dark areas”, and “In addition to the presence of the persimmon, the composition of the road and the houses (which were luckily captured in the shot) is good”.
Oh, I forgot to mention an important piece of information. The rule for this event was that all the cameras and lenses used had to be SIGMA products. Not only could you bring your own equipment, but if you applied in advance, you could borrow SIGMA bodies such as the FP and SIGMA lenses with L/X mounts.
I brought my own LUMIX S5 and SIGMA i-series prime lenses, and also borrowed a SIGMA 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II. There were also many participants who were trying out the FP body and Art line prime lenses. I was the only one there using a LUMIX camera, and the majority of SIGMA FP/FP L cameras, including rentals, were there. There were also a few FUJIFILMs, and Leicas who seemed to be connected to Ms. Daimon.
At the critique session, I remember the strong impact of the color modes of the SIGMA bodies. The lenses are rather light and clear, but the processing gives them a stronger character, which is interesting. There were also many examples of precisely calculated compositions that were instructive, such as the one that took a symmetrical photo of the front of a shrine, or the one that placed an insect shell in the center of the frame.
Finally, in addition to the fact that I was using a Lumix, the other thing was that I was in the minority.
Participants came from various regions, including Aizu and Fukushima, where I live, as well as Niigata, Tokyo, and Osaka, which seemed to be the furthest away, but it seems that I was the only person to use public transport, as everyone else came by car.
After the sun had set on the way home, the sense of loneliness waiting for the train at Bandaimachi Station, with few passengers, was quite something.
On top of that, the Banetsu West Line was quite disrupted that day due to a collision between a train and a deer, so we also suffered the consequences… but that’s a different story that has nothing to do with the photo walk.
Next time, I’ll take the opportunity to introduce some more of the photos I took on the photo walk.