A Nikon’s Portrait Made With a Fuji

A Nikon camera strap curls into the lower left of the frame, its familiar yellow letters unmistakable to anyone who’s ever held one. Yet the photograph itself was taken with a Fujifilm—a quiet, almost private joke between photographer and viewer.

The rest of the image leans into misdirection. The camera is not the subject, at least not in the obvious way. Centre stage belongs to a pair of hands opening a quilted leather handbag, rings catching the light, fingertips poised in the act of searching or arranging. The fabrics, textures, and colours—matte grey, deep burgundy, soft velvet—compete gently for attention. The Nikon strap rests there almost incidentally, but of course it’s not incidental at all.

This is where the pun breathes: the supposed “portrait” of a Nikon is not of the machine itself but of its presence, reduced to a strap in someone else’s company, documented by its market rival. It’s playful without being loud, a nod to the knowing eye.

Photographically, it’s a study in layers—both literal, in the folds and pockets, and conceptual, in the competing brands and the quiet assertion of the photographer’s choice. You don’t see the Nikon’s lens, but you see the shot it didn’t get to take.