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"I become really absorbed when taking photographs, and feel completely at home doing it. I was probably destined to become a photographer."
I was a primary school student when I first handled a camera. We had one at home, and I played with it like a toy. I used to love taking photos and giving them to friends. Of course, I was only taking snapshots, but I continued doing it when I went on to junior high school. Later, after I started working, travel became my hobby and I carried on taking photographs while abroad. At the Taj Mahal in India, however, I was terribly disappointed with the photos I took. Because of the high ultraviolet intensity of the light, I wound up with photos of a rather blurry building, and a sky that wasn't even blue. After that experience I tried using various kinds of cameras, but the results never matched the image I had in mind. I'm pretty sure I tried an Olympus L-10, during that period, too. But the problem was not the camera, it was my lack of skill. When I finally realized that fact, I enrolled in a photographic college.
I actually studied at two different colleges. At the first one we were told to work with abstract themes such as "light" or "sound." This was interesting because our photographs were all completely different and reflected our individual characters. By helping me to understand myself as well as other people, it taught me how important self-expression really is. At the other college, I studied documentary photography. This broadened my horizons and gave me the chance to exchange ideas with many different kinds of people. I was particularly influenced by war photographers, who made me wonder what kind of photograph one would risk one's life for. Around this time, I looked at what I had achieved so far and asked myself whether, now that I was in my thirties, I was doing what I wanted in life. I began to devote myself more and more to photography, spending my bonus from work on expensive equipment and printing my own B&W photos.
Ever since I was a primary school student, there was always a camera nearby, so it's a tool I'm very comfortable with. I become really absorbed when taking photographs, and feel completely at home doing it. I think I was probably destined to become a photographer from the very beginning.
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