My first real camera was my mother’s Agfamatic 2000. I remember taking pictures with it back in 1974.

For a long time after that, I didn’t own a camera myself even though I always wanted to have one. It wasn’t until the late eighties that I bought an Olympus OM-10 and started shooting again. I went to concerts and tried to capture the performers, though I had little idea what I was doing. When it finally stopped working I moved on to a Canon EOS 300. My shots improved.

Then came digital, and with it a string of Canon bodies, from the 300D through to the 7D, all of which I mainly used for concerts. Along the way I also picked up an Olympus PEN E-P2, a smaller camera I loved to take on trips. But in 2014 everything changed: I discovered the Fujifilm X-E2. It felt like the perfect upgrade from the E-P2 and quickly became my trusted companion on travels through Japan. It strengthened my love of photography through its design, the tactile experience and its Fujifilm colours.

I eventually sold off my Canon kit and went all in on Fujifilm. For years that was enough. But about a decade later, when I had to shoot concerts again, I realized my Fujifilm setup didn’t quite deliver what I needed. So I went back to Canon, picking up an 80D with a 50mm f/1.8 and 85mm f/1.8. Reliable tools that got the job done.

Even so, I never abandoned Fujifilm. I let go of an X-T4 I’d bought while waiting for a worthwhile upgrade in the X-E line, but kept an X-T30 II and the X-E2, a camera I know I’ll never sell. Most recently I added the 2025 X-E5, which I expect will become my daily carry whenever I travel.