In late August, Tokyo experienced a string of dangerously hot days, so I couldn’t just go out and take pictures. I decided to take a break from my weekend photo walks and go see some instead, so I went to Fujifilm Square in Roppongi.
I went there half-heartedly, thinking it would be a nice way to escape the heat, but I ended up having an unexpected and rewarding experience, enjoying two excellent photo exhibitions.
Takekawa Takashi’s “The Colors of Yamato” exhibition.
I later learned that this artist has been taking photographs for about 15 years, and his original “day job” was as a doctor at Nara Medical University before opening his own practice in Kashihara. Despite the constraint of only being able to take photos on weekends due to work commitments, he has consistently captured the beautiful scenes of Nara’s ancient temples and nature, creating a collection of high-quality landscape photographs.
Fortunately, the artist was present at the gallery, and I had the opportunity to hear a little about his work, which made for a truly enriching experience (the figure in the background is the artist himself).
The high-resolution landscape photos, which appear to have been taken with a medium-format camera I suppose, are beautifully printed with the deep colors characteristic of Fujifilm. It was a rare opportunity to thoroughly enjoy authentic landscape photography, and it truly refreshed my spirit.
I was also captivated by Kajiriosuke’s exhibition “Aspiration.”
This is a press photographer who specializes in horse racing and equestrian sports photography. He showed us various angles of equestrian sports competitions and practice scenes, which are not very familiar to us.
The contrast between fast and slow movements is superb. The coolness of the movement and tension of the horses and riders during the fast parts is impressive, and the warmth of their expressions during the slow parts is also wonderful. It made me realize for the first time that horses also have expressions.
There are also several other concurrent exhibitions, and I highly recommend visiting the Fujifilm Square at this time. In particular, the “The Colors of Yamato” exhibition is nearing its end, so don’t miss it.
