Welcome to the interview series ‘Toshi’s Guest’ where Toshi Iida, President and Managing Director of Fujifilm Europe, welcomes different guests from the company. He meets and interviews interesting women through Fujifilm Europe while learning about their soft skills, goals, and roles as professionals, leaders, mothers, and women.
Today’s guest: Antonina Realmuto, Group Sustainability Director for Fujifilm Ink Solutions Group.
“To prosper over time every company must not only deliver financial performance, but also show how it makes a positive contribution to society.”
Antonina Realmuto
In the Green Issue of Women4Women, Antonina has already highlighted the importance of building and embedding Sustainability in all our activities and the need to create value for the next generation.
Once best known as a leading maker of photographic film, Fujifilm has reinvented itself through innovation and diversification into new business areas. “How Fujifilm’s Innovation Has Made It Prime for the 21st Century” is an interview with Teiichi Goto, President of FUJIFILM Holdings, who talks about Fujifilm’s innovation, leadership, and other features.
“We utilized our expertise in the photographic industry to build a new base for the business, allowing our extensive portfolio to become highly rational and technologically in sync. Under the slogan of “a second foundation”, we implemented a series of reforms which allowed us to not only survive, but thrive as a first-rate enterprise.”
Teiichi Goto, CEO, Fujifilm Holdings
Since its founding in 1934, as a maker of photographic film, Fujifilm’s story has been one of technological excellence and diversification in keeping with changing times. Foreseeing the advancement of digitization in the marketplace, it boldly embarked upon the challenge of developing digital imaging cameras and other key technologies in the digital era.
With demand for photographic film declining sharply since 2000, Fujifilm leveraged its expertise to push growth in healthcare, materials, and business innovation.
This revenue composition ratio is provisional numbers for FY2020 after changing in segment from FY2021.
Fujifilm’s corporate slogan, “Value from Innovation”, reflects its commitment to creating innovative technologies, products, and services to provide new value to the world by taking on challenges and growing together with the spirit of “NEVER STOP”.
The two phrases “express our corporate stance, our DNA, and represent our strong will to continue to improve and make society, the world, and the future better,” says Goto.
Teiichi Goto puts emphasis on “trust” and “integrity”, which he describes as “the most important values underlying the corporate culture of the Fujifilm”. This has set the foundation for the company, and it will continue to grow its business through implementing new initiatives with an eye on the future.
Anika Sand, Application Specialist for Fujifilm Germany’s Medical Systems division, servicing hospitals in Germany, shares her experience and feelings during the Coronavirus pandemic.Due to the rapid developments of the Corona situation, we would like to point out that we conducted the interview in 2020.
– We are at your service. During the current Coronavirus pandemic our technicians and application specialists are working on the front line alongside healthcare professionals to make sure patients can be diagnosed and treated. These are their stories. –
Fujifilm: When the Coronavirus pandemic reached Germany, what were your first thoughts? Anika Sand: At the beginning, when Corona reached Germany, I was probably concerned about whether and how the pandemic would affect my work – not only for Fujifilm but especially for doctors, nurses and patients. The facilities, like hospitals or doctor’s practices, had to prepare for the situation within a short time. Life outside of hospitals also became more difficult for everyone.
Fujifilm: We would like to get to know you better. You are Application Specialist for Radiography for Fujifilm in Germany. Can you describe your role? Anika Sand: My job is to look after our customers immediately after installation of our Medical Systems on site. I do the briefings with the operating staff, set up the software according to the customer’s wishes and needs. Also, I change the image processing in cooperation with the doctors, if this is desired. At Fujifilm, we work as one team, so I accompany demos to support my sales colleagues, too.
Fujifilm: What motivates you to go to work every day? Anika Sand: I have been working for Fujifilm for almost 7 years now. Previously, I had worked as an MTA in a radiology practice and was looking for a new challenge. At Fujifilm, I never have the feeling of “stopping” due to our extensive product portfolio and the constant new developments. I look after our digital X-ray systems, mobile and portable radiography solutions, the field of mammography and our CT. Naturally, during COVID-19 we have experienced a shift in demand, especially of our mobile X-ray devices. So, the customers I look after are mixed. This can range from a radiological, gynecological or surgical practice to a university clinic. It can be very enriching to work with customers and being able to show the latest technology to them.
Fujifilm: How do you support the hospitals, doctors and nurses in the current situation? Anika Sand: During this time, our workload has increased because appointments on site must be carefully planned and prepared. Overnight stays in hotels have also become more difficult, since the rules for protection must also be observed there. My actual job I do the same way as before. Only the “how” has changed – and it has changed a lot. The support is not much different either. Certainly you need to do certain things by phone or online, but working directly with customers usually would be the most efficient way of working – interaction is easier and more direct, you can explain and show face-to-face. I still can, and need to, go to the clinics for my work. I am responsible for radiology operation working smoothly on our devices, regardless of whether it is about the operation or the setting of the images.
“I have hoped from the start that we as society overcome this crisis and everyone can quickly get back to “normal” while learning from this experience.”
Fujifilm: What has changed on site – in hospitals and doctor’s practices – for you? Anika Sand: I always have a facemask or face covering with me. I also bring disinfectant with me, but it is available at the customer’s sites in all departments. Even before COVID-19, the entrances to the clinics were equipped with disinfectant dispensers. It is good to experience well-managed crisis management in hospitals with all German clinics that I have worked with being well prepared. However, the uncertainty about what the future holds is there. In the meantime, however, the clinics are back in relatively normal operation, which until recently had been severely shut down. I feel safe working at home and at hospital appointments. And for sure, working with a facemask is necessary and can be lifesaving, but is a bit difficult because the air underneath gets quite thin after a lot of talking. A “regular” workday therefore can get quite exhausting.
Fujifilm: What has changed at home and at work? Anika Sand: Not that much has changed for me. I would normally work at home. So, this is nothing new for my partner and me. At work the situation is very different though. Personal meetings and training cannot take place. Nevertheless, the team has worked out how to exchange information in the home office via regular web meetings to keep everything going as best as possible.
Fujifilm: What have you learned during your recent work in the Coronavirus pandemic? Anika Sand: My job includes a lot of travelling; I often need to be on site with the doctors and nurses to support them as best as possible. Therefore, possibilities of travelling and overnight stays are heavily necessary to do my job. At the beginning the problem was that many hotels and all restaurants had to close and it was difficult to find something to stay overnight let alone find something to eat after a whole day of work. It was good to experience that problems can be seen as challenges and big and small ones can often be solved according to rules and thinking creatively at the same time. For example, a colleague and I simply had a socially distanced picnic at our hotel one evening. I have hoped from the start that we as society overcome this crisis and everyone can quickly get back to “normal” while learning from this experience.
Francesco Galvani, Medical Equipments Application Engineer, servicing hospitals in north Italy, tells his experience and feelings during the pandemic.
– We are at your service. During the current healthcare crisis our technicians are working on the front lines alongside healthcare professionals to make sure patients can be diagnosed and treated. These are their stories. This series will be updated weekly.–
We are in the field every day, in contact with operators and often with patients. We are completely aware of being at risk of infection, something we think about every time we go to a hospital to carry out our tasks. Sometimes, though it is rare, we hear of a possible case of Meningitis or THX, or another disease.
Today’s risk is COVID-19. Right now, COVID-19 is the biggest threat to us all, and we face the possibility of being infected, even if not by direct contact, daily.
Of course, we follow relevant safety procedures, such as wearing masks, gloves and gowns, but only now have these “normal” procedures become fundamental. We are more careful when following these procedures in order to protect ourselves and our safety.
In some situations, such as in Alessandria where the hospital has been entirely dedicated to the Coronavirus emergency, it is easier to implement safety and security measures. The main entrance is closed; the hospital is accessible only through a secondary door. There, they asked me to identify myself. I was on the approved entry list, yet they continued to test my temperature and, as an additional measure, there was someone waiting to “escort” me to a room they had ready and prepared, ensuring that I could educate the operators safely.
When visiting a larger hospital, like Policlinico or San Raffaele, unfortunately you cannot control access across all visitors in the same way. It is not possible to have a designated escort for everyone who enters and leaves the hospital. In these larger hospitals, there are not only patients infected with COVID-19 – there are other patients there, too, with an already weakened immune system. They are the first ones we must protect; they are in the hospital to receive lifesaving treatment, not to become more unwell.
When talking with others, such as operators, doctors and health management, anxiety can begin to overwhelm you. You see the tiredness of those working 10-12 hour shifts each day, and you feel their tension; tension that stays with you even when you are home where your family is waiting for you. They are the first ones you, personally, need to protect, and this worry and way of thinking will not simply disappear on July 30 when the national emergency ends. We must protect them every day, all year round, because the risk of COVID-19 will remain, even though it will be less prominent than it is today.
On February 22, I read a headline that made the virus very real for me: “First case in Milan: 78-year-old hospitalised at San Raffaele”. I had been at that hospital just a few days before, and I had been in several departments. Of course, I could very well not have come into contact with this specific patient, but the 50/50 possibility that I could have was what I thought about the most.
As a first step, I immediately tried to understand what I needed to do. I tried to contact the emergency services at 112, who were in total chaos. In the end, I managed to speak with my family doctor. Nobody knew what to do, nobody knew anything, we were unprepared… and it was only the beginning.
Eager to try out the FUJIFILM GFX 50S, professional landscape and wedding photographer Steven Hanna recently put the medium format system through its paces. In this interview, we find out how he got on.
Professional photographer and current PPANI Landscape Photographer of the Year 2017, Steven Hanna is from Northern Ireland and specialises in wedding and landscape photography. The FUJIFILM X-T2and FUJIFILM X-Pro2 are his usual weapons of choice, however eager to try out the FUJIFILM GFX 50S, Steven recently put the medium format system through its paces. In this interview, we find out how he got on.
Welcome to the Third Series of Through a Photographer’s Eye. In this series, we continue to learn about Australian photographers and how they use X Series Cameras to photograph their world around them. Our first interview in Series Three is with New South Wales based photographer, Johny Spencer.
Johny, can you tell us about yourself and what photography means to you?
I’m a full-time landscape and nature photographer for the National Parks service here in Australia and have been working for them for 17 years.
Photography to me is all about the moments, memories and experiences that happen as part of your photography journey. The photos themselves are just a bonus that I get to use to inspire and motivate others to push their creative boundaries.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF10-24mmF4 R OIS – 10mm – 1/60 second – F16 – ISO 200
You recently reviewed the Fujifilm X-Pro2 after taking it abroad to the US on a 5000 km road trip. Can you share with us what you thought about the camera from a travel and landscape photography perspective?
I shot this camera exclusively on this trip, I put it through its paces, in every type of environmental condition possible from wet, cold snow forests, to dry hot, dusty deserts. I really liked the feel of it in hand; overall it felt solid.
I was so surprised of the detail in the pictures! I usually shoot with a camera containing a 40MP plus sensor, and I found the 24MP sensor of the X-PRO2 surprising incredible. The dynamic range of the camera was also outstanding for the sensor size.
In all, I think the X-PRO2 makes a good all around camera for both landscape and travel. I can see this being a great camera for street photography with the hybrid viewfinder.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS – 200mm – 1/125 second – F5.6 – ISO 500
In your opinion what was the best photo, you captured in the US using the Fujifilm X-Pro2? What was the story behind the image and how did you set up the shot?
I know it’s a bit obvious but Horseshoe Bend was incredible, it’s one of those places you can’t fully understand how grand it is until you visit it.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF10-24mmF4 R OIS – 10mm – 1/8 second – F8 – ISO 200
I got there for sunset, and it was packed with people everywhere, the light wasn’t that good, so I decided to revisit the location for sunrise the next morning.
The decision to reshoot worked out perfectly as there were fewer people. I had heaps of options to get the perfect spot to photography the bend. I was hoping for that magnet-pinky light that happens when you shoot away from the setting or rising sun.
The camera was locked down on a tripod, with the two-second timer turned on in order not to cause any camera shake when pressing the shutter button. I focused one-third into the scene at F8, so the whole scene was in focus. The ISO was set too low to avoid any noise issues. The lingering cloud was in the perfect spot for a photo, in the end, it was just a waiting game to see what the light was going to do.
Minutes later that first light glow started and boom! The pink tones were perfect, I fired the shutter and just adjusted the shutter speed to get the exposure right. I was able to capture the rising sun perfectly thanks to the dynamic range the camera offered.
It was a great experience one of those places that you will never forget in a hurry.
If you have some advice for someone starting out in photography what would it be?
Shoot what you love and love what you shoot. When you’re obsessed with the thing you like, in my case photography, it will keep you shooting even when you get stuck on the technical stuff.
Your passion for the subject will push your creativity and help you overcome any challenge you face in your photography journey.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF10-24mmF4 R OIS – 10mm – 1/4 second – F8 – ISO 250
What processing workflow do you use when importing images from the Fujifilm X-Pro2? Do you have an example you can show us?
I’m a huge fan of Adobe Lightroom, I just find the photo management and processing work perfectly with my brain.
In fact in my day job working for National Parks I have to process several thousand images a month, so it’s critical for me to have a killer efficient post processing workflow.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS – 156.10mm – 1/125 second – F8 – ISO 400
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF10-24mmF4 R OIS – 10mm – 1/125 second – F8 – ISO 400
Here’s a quick video showing how I edit multiple Fujifilm RAW files quickly using Lightroom. By the way, I’ll be using my Ultimate Lightroom Workflow, something I developed to make post-processing super easy and fast.
Did you find the Fujifilm Camera Remote App useful when travelling on the road when it came to transferring your images to your phone? Could you provide some feedback on how the app could be improved?
I’m a huge fan of the app. It made it so easy to just share images straight from the camera to my phone so that I could share on social and with friends. I was surprised how easy it was to setup and use, and I bet it’s one of those little features not many people know about that really make a camera fun to use.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF10-24mmF4 R OIS – 21.90mm – 1/640 second – F5.6 – ISO 500 – HDR
What lenses did you take with the X-Pro2? Was there a particular Fujinon lens that stood out regarding versatility and quality for landscape photography?
My favourite lens was, of course, the super wide XF10-24mmF4. I found it sharp for edge to edge and the coupled with the X-PRO2 the image quality was stellar. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend it to any landscape photographer.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF10-24mmF4 R OIS – 10mm – 1/60 second – F8 – ISO 200
I also love the fact it’s an F4 lens! Have you ever tried to hike with the F2.8 lens in your pack? They are usually super heavy! You don’t need the fastest lens for landscapes and F4 is a good compromise between speed and weight.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF10-24mmF4 R OIS – 10mm – 1/30 second – F8 – ISO 200
You have previously used a range of different camera brands for landscape photography. In your opinion how does Fujifilm’s image quality stack up against the rest?
Like I said before the image quality of those X-Trans CMOS sensors is unbelievably sharp and provides much clarity. It’s more than enough for any landscape photographer.
Fujifilm X-Pro2 – XF55-200mmF3.5-4.8 R LM OIS – 60.70mm – 1/250 second – F8 – ISO 200
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