Modern Straight Photography

Naoya Hatakeyama (畠山直哉) is a Japanese photographer who focuses on portraying quandary and essence of contemporary cityscape, mainly through landscape and architectural photography. Hatakeyama says;  light is a medium that conveys object to presence.  In the world of photography, light works as a basic element that support capturing the image rather than an exceptional illumination gives out sparkles.  Below image is from his Slow Glass Series which was inspired by Bob Shaw's short story, Light of Other Days. 

Naoya Hatakeyama, Slow Glass (# 063) 2001  
http://www.hfcollection.org

I especially enjoy his naturalistic world highlighted by unique presence of light, often captured by natural light with additional artificial light sources, which makes each photography appear as if it were installation art. I personally feel as though his creative approach, especially seen in Ciel Tombé and Maquettes/Light, inherits some percepts to straight photography, yet it takes viewers to a brand new visual trip. 

Reference:  光を彩る、色が輝く: ＬＥＤと創造力が出会うとき,  Photography by Hatakeyama @ Picsearch

Personal History in Lighting: Part Six

I created a mini photo studio in my tiny studio apartment for a photoshoot  featuring the three-way computer container, ZZZ, which I created during a product design course.


Yuri Endo 2011

By utilizing available sources; a DSLR, long fluorescent light tube, handmade paper dimmer and white paper-faced foam board as a light reflector, I managed to shoot a series of images that introduce the development process and the bag functions. As I was still a beginner in RAW processing, I may have not taken full advantage of some prominent functions of Camera Raw, notably, noise reduction and white balance control. 

Personal History in Lighting: Part One

In this second section of the STAGE ONE, while I simultaneously try out additional experiments and in-depth researches, I would like to take a moment to review and analyze my own experiences in lighting to add further thoughts to my new project ideas.

A long story short, my interest in lights probably dates back to the first year of my undergraduate studies when I enrolled in a basic photography course. 

Yuri Endo 2000-2008

On the first day of this photography course, I neither had an idea of how to maneuver the camera with no auto focus function, nor compositing subjects in shots. Though all images that I took at this stage of my life was under natural light, by running around the city day and night with the SLR and living in the school  darkroom for  three consecutive months, I came to understand the basic mechanism of camera overall,  the glee of manipulating the relationship between lights and optics.