The assignment was to document a social art project, deep in rural Africa. My Fujifilm X-T3 and video gear were all set to deliver. But I also wanted to do justice to the enchanting subject matter and needed a stills camera that did poetic justice to the simple beauty of a very traditional way of living.
Mostly I travel alone, writing and shooting content for a range of organisations and brands across the African continent. My work has taken me to 33 of Africa’s 54 countries and after having travelled far and wide across the globe, there is still nowhere else on earth I get to experience the deep warmth and hospitality that I get from mama Africa. If you have heard of the African life philosophy of ubuntu, and know that it is a verb, not a noun, you get my drift.
But back to cameras and my mission. Travelling alone means I must travel light. Years ago I ditched my full-frame DSLR system in favour of a lighter mirrorless design and Fujifilm.
My gateway ‘fix’ into this dimension was the very first iteration of the Fujifilm X100, which I acquired early in 2011 after standing in a freezing New York queue outside B&H on the first day it was released. Quirky but beautiful, it was a lifelong fascination with the art of reportage that attracted me to this rangefinder-style camera.
Cut to September 2021, and thanks to the generosity of Fujifilm South Africa and Hein Hough, a GFX100 is in my bag en route to Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
Somewhat of a tank, with appropriate sensor muscle and firepower, the biggest decision I faced was what lens to pair with the GFX, after deciding I could only take one.
Versatile but heavy zoom? Best portrait bokeh ever? Too many good choices can weigh one down.
In the end, I opted for what could be described as the swiss army knife of the GF primes: the GF63mmF2.8. Lightweight, compact and with stellar rendering qualities, I believe this is essential in any photographer’s quiver. The full-frame equivalent focal length is 50mm which I find to have an innate honesty to it; it’s my favourite focal length for reportage, along with a 28mm equivalent for more scene-establishing shots.
It’s a beautiful thing when you have no option but a single focal length prime. Nothing like a tight brief, hey? Choice and decisions are pared down to an elegant simplicity where things slow down, your feet are your zoom and composition becomes more intuitive.
With the 63mm lens attached, I did not find the camera heavy at all and having fairly large hands, the overall feel was a pleasure. If there was one feature I struggled slightly with it was the autofocus and hunting in low light, but a quick flip to manual focus with focus highlight assist was straightforward.
The big sizes of the files also make you think twice before just pushing the shutter and overall I would describe working with the GFX medium format 100 as a more considered, tactile experience.
The project itself that I was documenting also deserves special mention.
‘My Beautiful Home’ is a social art project in southeastern Zimbabwe that seeks to rekindle, inspire and support rural women to rediscover the ancient art of decorating and beautifying their homes.
Every autumn, as the harvested corn is stashed in the rafters of the thatch roof homesteads and the fresh mornings signify the imminent arrival of a dry winter, hundreds of women from across the region walk into the forest, gathering leaves, roots, charcoal coloured sand from ant hills and other organic matter.
Back home their forest bounty is mixed with clay and pigments such as wood ash, ochre and limestone to create a rich earthy palette of colours and texture. The resultant alchemy is then used to decorate the interior and exterior walls of their humble homesteads.
Painting and decorating homes in Ndebele culture is traditionally the domain of women, but the entire homestead plays a supportive role in the annual project.
Spread across six wards, and with 676 household competitors in 2021, prizes are utilitarian and practical: shovels, iron cooking pots for the fire, a plough, rainwater tanks, a box of ‘day-old’ chickens, and a beehive and beekeeping instruction for the winner in each village.
Back home in Cape Town, wading through the files in Lightroom on a big screen was somewhat of a thrill. The rendering of the GFX sensor with the 63mm lens has a certain quality to it that is unique and unmistakably medium format. There is nuance and subtlety to the colours, the bokeh at f/2.8 is more than sufficient for subject separation and the dynamic range of the camera is exceptional.
I can’t wait to print the images in large format, which is where the true stellar capability of this system will shine.
The hefty cost of this camera and lens is not accessible to everyone, but for the professional looking to deliver enhanced quality, the GFX100 offers serious value for a medium format system and is in a league of its own.
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