7 minute read

George Nobechi Connects with the Streets

Photographer George Nobechi reveals how revolutionary Camera to Cloud (C2C) technology will help beat the challenges of his often-unpredictable on-the-road workflow

Like many of us, Fujifilm photographer George Nobechi finds it hard to pigeonhole his work. With such a broad interest in photography, he likes to think of ‘his genre’ as something much bigger.

“It’s everything under the sun,” he smiles. “One of my old mentors once said: ‘When George can’t find something under the sun, he goes and photographs what’s not under the sun, too!’”

But while his subject matter may be varied, one thing remains constant – and that’s travel. On-location work forms a huge part of his photography. Choosing a location to craft his image-making project often starts the creative process for George.

“Often, I find a setting that could lead to a story, and I’ll stay there for a very long time, waiting for something magical to happen. And even though it might be a story that I’m making up in my mind, I wait for the players to come on that stage and tell it.

In explaining this idea of being present in both reality and fiction, George refers to his own, bicultural Japanese-Canadian heritage.

“The Japanese word for photograph is shashin, which is to depict truth. Whereas the English word comes from the Greek photo, meaning ‘light’, and graph, meaning ‘to draw’. So, one side says a photograph is a truth-telling mechanism, while the other says it is ‘drawing with light’ and has no claim to truth-telling,” explains George.

“I guess, just like being bicultural, I hover between the two worlds,” he reflects. “Is what I photograph really happening? Yes, absolutely. But have I imagined something that’s probably not there in that person’s mind? Again, yes. But I leave it up to the viewer to interpret that how they want.”

While creating with intention is at the heart of George’s work, much of it relies on being in the right place at the right time to frame a unique, naturally occurring scene. Achieving this takes speed and agility on the go, so having his team on hand is usually not an option – that’s a huge reason why Frame.io Camera to Cloud, or C2C, technology is such a game changer for him.

“Even if you take every precaution necessary along the way in terms of backing up your images, there can still be issues and the process can be daunting. So, just the peace of mind that things are backing up while you’re photographing is one huge element,” he notes.

“The other is particularly relevant if I take an assignment from a newspaper. Using C2C, I can add notes to images as I send them to newsrooms in close-to-real time – that’s significant. It would differentiate anybody who’s working in the field and needs to supply something timely.”

In addition to the many professional advantages the new C2C technology will bring, George sees value on a more personal level when building relationships with subjects.

“In Japan, I often take trips to photograph artisans who use increasingly rare traditional crafts. Many of these artists love to have copies of the photographs I create, but these projects are usually part of a longer trip, so it can be weeks before the images are sent. C2C will allow me to do it right there on the spot,” he tells us.

George’s first experience with C2C was spending the day making photos in New York for a meeting with the photo editor of a magazine the same evening. With C2C, he was able to share the photos with his retoucher in real time to ensure they were ready for his meeting.

He was using FUJIFILM X-H2S equipped with FT-XH File Transmitter, which not only enables users to send files directly to Frame.io, but doubles up as a battery grip for additional power in the field.

The ability to send images to a retoucher while still out photographing the city gave him the advantage of being able to provide the magazine photo editor with final files in advance of their meeting.

Furthermore, Fujifilm partnered with award-winning print, display, and multimedia specialists Duggal Visual Solutions to surprise George with printed copies of his images the very same day. Having these in his hands before leaving the city meant he could go into his meeting with an additional set of compelling visual aids.

“It was a surprise to have prints of key images available to me for my meeting, with a choice among retouched options so soon after photographing them.

“They got all the printing notes in real time, so they knew if I wanted extra contrast or needed to bring the highlights down in a situation. It was also easy to select, flag, or reject – and just send what’s needed,” he enthuses.

The importance of being able to make, review, edit, and print final copies of his images so seamlessly in such a short period of time was not lost on George.

“For a photographer on the road without quick access to post-processing and printing software, it was a remarkably rapid turnaround and a decided advantage for meeting with an editor thereafter,” he says, going on to highlight how such quick and easy communication brings advantages for both photographers and clients in situations where deadlines are tight.

“Many times, my days begin at 5am or 6am and I work until 10pm or 11pm, so it’s hard to find time to go back through and pick the best images. It’s so much easier with C2C, because I can flag images and add notes as I go, and it reduces the time drastically” he explains.

“If my editor knows what I have as it happens, she can formulate in her mind the way the story should go as the project progresses, as opposed to doing everything at the end on a tight deadline.”

Photo 2022 © George Nobechi | FUJIFILM X-H2S and XF30mmF2.8 R LM WR Macro, 1/160 sec at F6.4, ISO 1600

George is the first to admit he came into this project with reservations. Since it’s already possible to wirelessly transfer image files from camera to smartphone via app, he didn’t immediately see the benefit.

However, these doubts quickly evaporated when he understood C2C’s full capabilities and the benefits of collaboration that was never possible before. By removing the app from the equation and instead connecting directly from camera to cloud, the process is faster, less labor-intensive, and free from smartphone storage restrictions. It also gave him the ability to collaborate and share images with his team almost instantly while he was still in the field.

“This was a seamless process where, as I was photographing, with each click all of the images were being backed up almost instantly. I’d go into Frame.io and it’s already there waiting for me,” he beams.

“I went in half-skeptical, asking what’s the big deal? But after experiencing C2C firsthand, the answer is a totally convincing yes!”

Photo 2022 © George Nobechi | FUJIFILM X-H2S and XF30mmF2.8 R LM WR Macro, 1/160 sec at F8, ISO 1600

George finishes by highlighting the broad spectrum of photographers C2C could benefit, from amateurs right through to professionals.

“There are two huge areas. One is the peace of mind that comes with an instant backup system. The other is the way C2C can streamline your workflow by communicating notes and instructions in real time,” George enthuses.

“It could be a recreational traveler who wants to protect their precious memories of the aurora in Iceland; a wedding photographer who needs a quick turnaround on images for their clients; a news or documentary photographer who requires fast delivery to editors and protection from unforeseen loss or damage; or a portrait photographer who wants to be able to share images with subjects right away.

“It’s wonderful. I’d recommend C2C to anyone who’s on the road and wants to make photographs and collaborate with their teams,” he concludes.

The world’s first native digital stills camera integration for Frame.io Camera to Cloud is now available for FUJIFILM X-H2 and X-H2S via FT-XH File Transmitter and is fully integrated into FUJIFILM GFX100 II.

Learn more about the integration here.


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