On Assignment with a Visual Journalist and Pentax Gear

Albert Siegel photographs the new Emperor of Japan

By PF Staff in Columns on Aug 25, 2019

Albert Siegel is a Tokyo-based visual journalist who just happens to be a long-time Pentax shooter. In a field dominated by Canon and Nikon, Albert is one of the few in the news industry who shoots with an alternative system. This video may not be about his gear, but it's a fun look at Pentax cameras being used to capture a historical event.

For those of you who don't know Albert, he's a contributor to this site and has covered CP+ for us since 2012. Since this was a memorable event to photograph, we asked Albert to tell us about some of his other memorable experiences using his Pentax equipment on the job.

"I've covered quite a bit with my trusty Pentax K-5, which I still use to this day. I think two assignments that really stand out for me was photographing former US President Barack Obama during his visit to Hiroshima, during which I got some fantastic shots with my K-5 and DA 560mm, even though it was quite hot and I ended up with a major sunburn. I still get a laugh whenever I think of the look on the faces of security as I rushed by with that massive lens in my hands.

Another was photographing a boat race in Miami at the start of my career all those years ago. This was my first time shooting anything near an ocean, so the idea of a rain cover for my camera never crossed my mind. I figured the Pentax gear was weather resistant and I would be on a boat, so what could go wrong? Well, my equipment got soaked by a large amount of seawater multiple times. I thought to myself, no worries, thanks to the famous Pentax weather sealing. Indeed, there was zero damage to the gear, but I quickly learned that salt does not clean off as easily as dirt. I spent hours cleaning my gear and a valuable lesson was learned. On a positive note, this was the moment that taught me the value of weather sealing in Pentax cameras and part of why I still shoot with the system today."

Albert has made a number of videos for us over the years, but now has started producing for his YouTube channel as well. He will continue to make videos for the Pentax community, so keep an eye out for those. And if you want to help him out so he can build up his YouTube channel, give his video a like and subscribe. Albert says he'll make more Pentax videos if there is enough interest.