The summer heat has made me give up taking photographs altogether, and I have decided to “concentrate on looking”.
On this particular day, I went to the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography in Ebisu.
I was excited to see my favorite Doisneau “Kiss in front of Paris City Hall” and several other famous giant photographs on the front approach to the museum.
My main attraction is the “Satoyama in Japan” exhibition by Mitsuhiko Imamori. Somehow I had a hunch that it would be a good idea to see this exhibition before my summer vacation trip to Japan, and it turned out to be a great decision.
I mean, I went out in the extreme heat, cursing the world, and came back feeling completely cleansed and tranquil by the sheer beauty, sincerity, and foldedness of the photo exhibition. Thank you, Mr. Imamori.
The flyer photo shown at ↑ captures katakuris flowers and gibbons against a background of lingering snow in the mountains, and it is a terrific nature photo. More than that, the exhibition as a whole is overwhelmed by the silent power of the photographer’s confidence, or perhaps conviction, as he pursues his subjects with an unaffected focus on “a place where nature and people interact and live together (= Mr. Imamori’s concept of “satoyama”)” as his field of photography.
We were often amazed at his choice of subject matter and composition, such as a fishing fire and terraced rice fields, or a bird’s-eye view of tea picking. I was also deeply moved by “unskillful” works such as the shadows of light on a stone Buddha in a wooded area and casual scenes of farm work.
The exhibition will remain open until mid-September, and I highly recommend it.
I devoured the entire exhibition, groaned, and sat in silent contemplation, but it was not enough. This exhibition was a bit of a surprise to me. Although I am an external beginner who can never approach the best photographers, I felt that this is the world of “landscape photo” that I want to take.
I was reminded of the importance and power of “taking a picture in which every detail is in focus,”. I also realized that I am overwhelmingly lacking in basic technical skills.
By the way, it is quite a distance from Ebisu Station to the Tokyo Metropolitan Art Museum in the Garden Places, and I was a bit worried about whether I could make it in this weather. The long, long corridor (with “moving walkways”) along the way had air-conditioning, albeit imperfectly, to keep us going during the long journey. A good job of Yebisu Garden Place.
So, with the FUJIFILM XF10 in hand, I went to Ebisu.
