Canon and Fukushima Canon collaborated to hold the “Single Lens Reflex Digital Camera Photo Shoot,” a community support endeavor in Fukushima, on May 12, in Koorimachi, Fukushima City.

This was an activity to provide support for community-building for people now living in Fukushima City, who evacuated from Futabamachi in Futaba County, Fukushima Prefecture due to the Great East Japan Earthquake. This was the first time that Canon carried out this activity, which involved inviting people from Futabamachi who are now living dispersed among two temporary housing projects and multiple rented housing units at the present time, to participate in a photo shoot opportunity. They were taken by bus to visit a nearby nature park for this event.

Carried out with the cooperation of the Futabamachi Social Welfare Council, a total of 28 people, mostly in the older generation, took part on the day of the photo shoot. While many other community activities are intended only for women, this photo shooting event enabled men to participate as well.

Each participant was loaned an EOS Kiss X5 camera on the day, and after a simple explanation of photography methods, the group moved on to Mt, Handa Nature Park. The joining groups were volunteers from the local Koorimachi Town Office's photography club, Fukushima Canon's photography club members and former Canon employees who were involved in developing the camera. They walked through the park together with the participants, assisting them so each could enjoy taking photos as they pleased.

Seeing the smiles on the faces of the participants made us feel that to a small degree we had been able to achieve our original goals to “aid people in creating new memories in the new area in which they now live” and to “contribute to fostering communication among people who now have to live scattered apart.”

Canon plans to continue to carry out this activity hereafter, working in cooperation with the Social Welfare Councils in the disaster stricken areas.