Sigma: Find your focus
When Joël Hunn shoots for Monocle, he knows he will be given that rarest of luxuries: time. “A five-minute shoot is common,” he says. “But with Monocle, the subjects are always passionate and they appreciate the brand, so that allows you to dive into a topic and really start playing.”
To explore the creative possibilities of the new Sigma BF, a full-frame mirrorless camera with a radically simple design, Hunn took to the streets of Zürich’s District 1 on a quiet weekday afternoon. “I often pick a corner and wait to see what happens,” he says. “Interactions are important to my photography and the simplicity of the Sigma BF makes it much easier to connect with people.”
A Swiss Press Photo award winner, Hunn has built a career on this combination of patience and presence. In keeping with his matter-of-fact mitteleuropäische style, he regards a camera purely as a tool – “like a hammer” – and he needs two main things from it: reliability and durability. “I want to know that it is going to do what I expect – and I don’t want it to be broken after a year.”
The Sigma BF delivers the qualities that Hunn prizes. It is the world’s first unibody camera, machined from a single block of aluminium – a seven-hour process that delivers the tactile solidity of a fine timepiece. Sigma BF’s stripped-back interface appeals to the Zürich-based photographer’s refined sensibilities too. Just three buttons and a dial pad allows intuitive access to the five essential parameters of photography: shutter speed, aperture, ISO, exposure compensation and colour mode.
Hunn doesn’t shoot on a smartphone because of the endless distraction of notifications. With only necessary information on the Sigma BF’s high-resolution screen, he can concentrate on refining a composition. “I want a camera that I don’t have to think about,” he says.
Sigma BF offers a different kind of luxury: it is a tool that disappears in the hand, leaving only the act of seeing. “You never know what’s around the next corner,” says Hunn. With a Sigma BF in hand, he is ready to find out.
A selection of photos shot by Joel Hunn with Sigma BF:
