 |
"With a camera in my hand, I forget myself and become completely absorbed."
I'm really not a very outgoing person, but the camera helps me communicate with my subjects and inspires me to create something special. When I went to Mamelodi, a suburb of Pretoria, South Africa, on a job for the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) eight years ago, I caused the other team members some concern by the way I would grab my camera and plunge straight into the thick of things. It's just that when I have a camera in my hand, I tend to forget myself and become completely absorbed.
I've been using Olympus cameras since the E-1 came out. They're light, compact, and take great pictures, which makes them perfect for Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) assignments and other overseas jobs. Although I now often take an E-330 and E-500 when I go abroad, the photographs I took in Zambia and Jordan were shot with an E-1. For the photograph taken in Hangzhou, China, I used an E-500, but I had taken an E-1 along for its all-weather construction after learning that we were likely to encounter rain at our destination. The E-System's dust-reduction is a big plus, too, when you're shooting in deserts, refugee camps, and other dusty areas.
It would be an exaggeration to say it's my life's work, but I've been going on assignments for JICA for about 20 years. I was also asked to be a domestic committee member of the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR) in Japan. Even though I may not be able to contribute a great deal, I try to help as much as possible.
As a photographer, I'm happy if I can be of assistance to people, even in a small way. For shy people like myself, photography is a medium that makes it possible for us to communicate with others, and however slight my contribution, I want to help bring peace to the world through photography.
Editor's Note
On meeting Numata, one is immediately struck by her sense of calm and composure, like an aura of maternal reassurance that puts the listener at ease. Once she slips into work mode, though, she fully lives up to her title as "Japan's pioneering woman photographer" with an agility that makes short work of the toughest assignments. I also realized that the key to her ability to photograph natural, smiling faces is that rather than shooting subjects, she succeeds in capturing their hearts.
|
|
|
|
|
 |
 |
|
|
| Olympus ZUIKO DIGITAL Lenses — A Tradition of Craftsmanship Refined
with Digital Precision |
|
 |
|
| Crafted in the ZUIKO tradition of optical excellence that lives
on in our corporate slogan, "Your Vision, Our Future," Olympus ZUIKO
DIGITAL lenses are the eyes of the E-System. And thanks to groundbreaking all-digital
design, they combine stunning image quality with size, weight, and performance
advantages that take digital SLR photography to a whole new level. |
|
|
