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"While taking underwater photos in Australia, I began to think I could make a career of it."
It was my father who influenced me to start taking photos. He loved everything about cameras, and even built a darkroom where he could do his own developing. So, I basically grew up feeling close to the world of photography. But it was a casual thing, at first - just borrowing one of my father's cameras now and then to take a few shots. I didn't really become serious about photography until I was in my third year at university, when I took six months off to go to Australia.
My hometown is Ishinomaki City on the coast of Miyagi Prefecture. Although I grew up near the sea and loved it, I always longed to see beaches dotted with palm trees, and the azure blue of the southern ocean, which in photos always looked to me like a nice hot bath, brightly colored with bath salts. It seemed nothing like the cold sea I was used to, a sea that people depended on as a source of sustenance. In fact, it was the awesome beauty of the Great Barrier Reef that made me want to take up diving.
My first dive was at Fremantle Quay, and I immediately began photographing the enchanting and colorful coral and tropical fish I found. Then one day I met a semi-professional photographer who told me he'd sold some of his underwater photos, and I realized I could make a living while enjoying some of my favorite things: the ocean, diving, and photography. I had a lot of interesting experiences while I was in Australia, and got my first C-Card scuba license there.
After returning to Japan and graduating from university, I entered a vocational college to study photography. Meanwhile, my work won a prize in a photo contest held by a diving magazine, and when I went to meet the publishers, they offered me a job. But the work involved studio shoots, and I had to quickly learn about lighting and darkroom techniques. It was a very worthwhile experience, though, because most underwater photographers rarely get a chance to work in a studio environment. Learning how to use light in the studio to capture textures has proved to be a definite advantage for me. Anyway, after three years at the publisher's, I left to become freelance.
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