CANON EOS R
Introducing the new EOS R
Three decades ago, the explosion of the Space Shuttle Challenger was one of the biggest stories of the year. But that year also saw the fall of President Ferdinand Marcos, the passing by of Halley’s Comet, the crash of Aeromexico flight 498 above Los Angeles and, of course, the Chernobyl accident.
In Portugal, far away from almost everything, we had the most divisive presidential election ever, and we finally joined the European Community. To be honest, for me at the age of 16, the challenge was to avoid pimples on my face and to begin the next-to-last year of school before entering university to study architecture.
It was during that endless 1986 summer vacation, in early July, that something came to change my life forever: I got my first camera and that’s where it all started. The journey began with a recently released Canon T90. It was the camera I had chosen. Maybe I was attracted to its design, since I understood very little about photography and there are simpler cameras to start with than that one, never stoped me. From that moment on, it was rare to leave the house without a camera, together with two or three rolls of film. It was without understanding very well what I wanted to do that I would do it.
The internet did not exist and my only resources were the indispensable magazines that were available. And of course, a great deal of perseverance. To learn from one’s mistakes… A still very contemporary way to learn what you don’t know, but sometimes easily forgotten.
Dozens of cameras and lenses later, many of which still keep me company as a testimony to their important role in the images I have created during my life, like they are a journey’s milestones but today, September 5th, I am in Perpignan, France, to tell you about the till now very secret Canon mirrorless, in my role as a brand ambassador.
I will exhaustively test the camera on my various assignments that start in just a few days on the other side of the Atlantic. Already have my own EOS R and it’s time to rock!
The journey from the adolescent who persuades his parents to buy the most sophisticated camera on the market to becoming a brand ambassador has been special. Perhaps because it was my own journey and perhaps also because it was not outlined in advance. It just happened.
The enthusiasm of having a new camera is still as great as it was 30 years ago and the fact that I am one of the first people to use it is a unique opportunity shared only by my fellow ambassadors around the world. And, of course, by my friend Joel Santos.
It has been special to be part of the Canon team for some years now. I took part in the launch of the canon 5DR, a camera that I’ve used daily for the past 4 years and that is the basis of what I do and the images I produce.
My public association with brands is restricted to only those that I actually use, and for those who trust my work, my mission is to convey the message of why they are the best, if they really are- and what their advantages are.
Currently, 90% of what I shoot is done with one camera and one lens. Just 1. Simple and effective for someone who spend his life on the go. The more that time passes and the more that I take pictures, the less I need loads of equipment with me. A new camera is always an element that can cause as much of a disturbance as it can inspiration.
I’ve spent some time with the EOS R and I’m really impressed. I’m heading to South America in a few days for some big projects and this camera will be top of my kit bag for all of my assignments. I can’t wait to see what we can do.
Shooting is not a job. It’s a way of life, an obsession to be lived every day of the year. I’ll be sharing my upcoming experiences with the new EOS R here on Instagram and on Canon’s website, and if you have any questions, get in touch.
I’m going to test this camera to its limits, it’s going to be fun and I hope you’ll follow along. Thanks for being there with me.
Fernando Guerra
