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After embarking on a freelance career in 1972, Kenichiro Oyama lived in Paris for five years, writing and taking photographs. Since returning to Japan, he has been active as a photographer, teacher, and panelist, and his continuously updated exhibition series, "Gyoushi" (Gazing), has been shown more than 30 times. |
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"I like to surprise people by secretly putting in an effort."
I like to keep quiet about what I’m doing and maintain a low profile. My exhibition "Kenichiro Oyama Gyoushi" has now been held a total of 32 times. One time, I included a collection called "Loving Food 365 Days."
For it, I photographed everything I ate and drank, including snacks I had when out drinking, during the course of an entire year. I had each month's food photos printed on an uncut roll of service-size photo paper, 12 rolls in all. The whole gallery was filled with photos of food, which seemed to shock many of the visitors.
I like to tell people I’m going to do such-and-such a thing, often something pretty odd, that no one believes I will ever do. Then, I secretly put great effort into achieving my goal. So when I go to a magazine to drum up business, they usually give me a job because they see me as being a rather strange photographer.
Last year, I joined a tour to China to photograph food. While everyone else was taking shots of proper food, I focused on taking photos of food dropped on the ground, leftovers, and other not particularly appetizing subjects. People may think I take photos on a whim, following ideas as they pop into my head. Actually, I have numerous compartments in my mind that are all neatly categorized by genre. That’s where my ideas for any particular situation spring from. There's a compartment for almost everything.
It was in the 1970s, when the editorial department of "Photography" magazine invited me to lecture at a photography event, that I first began working with Olympus. I started using digital cameras as soon as they became available. In fact, I held an exhibition of photographs taken entirely with a CAMEDIA? C-400L, which used SmartMedia. I’ve used almost all the Olympus digital cameras and generally speaking, I can say that although not particularly conspicuous, they are solid and strong. This strength, coupled with their lightweight, compact design, is what makes them so distinctive, I think.
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