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"Still moved by the profundity of the mountains, I also became interested in the sea."
At the moment, my primary thematic interests involve the creative forces of nature. Truly mysterious, nature presents us with epic dramas with its changing seasons, geological formations, and meteorological phenomena. For a long time, I made the mountains my motif. And still moved by the profundity of the mountains, I also became interested in the sea, particularly along the coast. Since the Japanese archipelago is located in an orogenic belt, geographically speaking, it is viewed as being a coastal range. I'm strongly attracted to rugged, saw-toothed coastlines, particularly when they are as intricate as the Rikuchu coast. At the same time, I'm also interested in people whose lives revolve around the ocean. I once took an Olympus E-1 with me on a boat harvesting mekabu seaweed off the coast of Goishi, Ohfunato, in Iwate prefecture. You can see one of the shots I took at the time here. The boat rocked heavily on the open sea, but the E-1's light, compact design and relative water-resistance made shooting easy. I'm a big fan of cameras that offer the flexibility required for use in different conditions. When shooting sunrises, for example, one can achieve beautiful results with a digital camera simply by adjusting the white balance. Not having to work with filters is a real convenience.
Photography is what I've been doing for so long it's really a way of life for me. It's also a medium that provides a record of my journey and the things I've seen. I'm happy if it allows me to express, in even a small way, my experiences and impressions. From now on, I want to continue taking photographs of the Japanese coastline and the people who live there. Of course, I still love the mountains too, so I intend to keep shooting them as well. In my upcoming "Creative Forces of Nature" series, I hope to show them in a new light.
Editor's Note
Starting with his first camera in high school, progressing on to photomicrography and his present life as a photographer of mountains and oceans, Mr. Aono has had a long relationship with Olympus. His multi-talented capabilities as a vet, alpinist, and photographer make him a truly impressive individual. It's a combination of his understanding of optics acquired while dealing with microscopes and his knowledge of natural science that forms the backbone of his work. The results are photographs that, rather than being merely scenic shots, somehow capture the profound mysteries of nature.
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