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"It’s important to discover the things that most impress you."
To prove myself and break through the psychological wall I faced, I attempted many challenging things and went through many bitter experiences. But I’m sure that if that wall hadn’t existed, I would never have become who I am now.
At one point, I worked for a local food products company, creating designs and taking photographs. After about three years there learning lighting techniques and so on, I started to become much more interested in photography. It was then that I first thought I should become a photographer. With this in mind, I drew up a three-year plan to prepare myself, and at the age of 27, left for Tokyo to start working in a studio. Every time I suffered a setback, I remembered my uncle's trials to encourage myself. I worked incredibly hard.
Even with jobs I hate doing, I pretend I’m enjoying myself - that’s the way I work. When I’m shooting a product, for example, I'll sometimes talk to it like it was a model, encouraging it with comments of "Beautiful!" and "Fantastic!" - which also boosts my motivation and helps me enjoy the shoot. In the end, the images you capture reflect who you are. That’s why it’s important to discover the things that most impress you and reward you emotionally.
After going independent at the age of 32, assuming we’d sooner or later enter the computer age, I started studying BASIC (Beginner’s All-Purpose Symbolic Instruction Code) and other computer-related subjects. Thanks to that, I got a job from a computer-related company. This was during the bubble era when digital cameras were just becoming available. I purchased a complete Macintosh computer setup and started buying expensive cameras and lenses.
In those days I still didn’t have any real sense of the value of money. As I mentioned earlier, I even bought a digital camera for the lofty price of 10 million yen when they were still a new thing. But it wasn’t long before the bubble burst and times got harder.
Fortunately, a major corporation took an interest in me, basically because I was the only photographer around who owned a digital camera back. You never know what will bring you luck! Before I began the job, I did a lot of research, logging shooting data and determining the best parameters for printing and production, all of which proved extremely useful.
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