In the literary and creative magazine "Witching Care" Vol. 10, under the title "Camera and the Eye,"
I thought about the development of camera equipment and the photographer's own "seeing" based on
an incident that happened to me.
The Camera and the Eye
When I decided to become a photographer in 2010, I didn't even own a camera.
After staring at online shopping sites and product catalogs until I had no idea what to buy, I turned to an amateur photographer named Mr. A, who happened to be hosting a camera club in Nara Prefecture.
Needless to say, his works on the web were wonderful, but more than anything, I was attracted by his kind-looking profile photo, so I immediately contacted him.
As soon as I met him, he welcomed me, a complete stranger, with the same kindness as in his profile picture, and asked me, "I'm thinking of starting photography, what camera should I buy? He answered my amateurish question, "Well, I'm thinking of starting photography.
"He answered my question without even the slightest hint of reluctance, "Well, I think this camera is easy to handle, easy on the wallet, and has a certain level of resolution, even for someone just starting out in photography.
He showed me a digital camera called the NIKON D90.
It was a small single-lens reflex camera released in 2008 that was perfect for amateurs.
The D90 was the first camera in the world to have a video function, which is now commonplace.
I didn't know that at the time, so I bought the camera as recommended by Mr. A and started shooting with it, which was my first camera as a photographer.
As soon as I started using it, I realized something obvious.
The digital camera allowed me to check the images immediately after I took them, and I could immediately reflect on what I had taken. This meant that I could improve my photography quickly. As an amateur photographer, I was delighted by this. If I had used a film camera, the time lag between taking the picture, developing it, and looking at it would have made me much less motivated to take pictures.
Maybe it's my own personality, but I have a desire to see the images as fresh as possible without losing the feelings and memories of the moment that disappear due to the time lag.
Although I am of a generation that has known both the film and digital eras, I am glad that I became a photographer during the heyday of the digital camera era, and I feel that I am completely of the digital generation.
(That's why Polaroids and Chekies are among my favorite cameras, as they allow me to see the images immediately.
This is how my relationship with digital cameras started with the D90, which is now almost 10 years old.
The D90 has long since outlived its usefulness, and I am now taking pictures with my new camera as my companion. In the past 10 years, the specifications of the D90 have been quickly updated, and now mirrorless cameras, smartphone cameras, and other lightweight, compact, and simplified cameras are dominating the market, and the status of SLR cameras is in jeopardy.
In just ten years, the gap between amateur and professional photographers has narrowed dramatically due to the rapid progress in camera technology, and anyone can easily take a reasonable amount of photos. Everyone knows that if you have some sense of style, you can take pictures as good as the pros.
As the hurdles to photography have become lower and lower, the camera has been completely democratized, and thanks to this, we are probably in the most photographed era in human history.
It's hard to go out on the street without running into someone with a smartphone in their hand taking pictures, and no matter where you go in the world, people are really taking pictures.
I myself use my smartphone most often, except for the camera I use for work.
I remember when I went to India with Tamon Yahagi, a bookbinder, for a photo shoot in January this year.
We took a domestic flight from Bangalore, India's third largest city, to Mangalore, a city near the Arabian Sea, where an incident occurred.
When the airline staff spotted us at the boarding gate, just before we were to board the plane, they ran up to us and said, "You guys need to check your camera batteries.
The airline staff spotted us at the boarding gate, just before departure, and rushed over to us, saying, "You guys had camera batteries in your checked luggage, right? You had your camera batteries in your checked luggage, and you had to take them with you in your carry-on luggage because they could catch fire. That's why your checked luggage can't be loaded on the plane. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave and we'll re-check your luggage and send it to the airport tomorrow.
We hurriedly chased and negotiated with the staff who added "Have a nice trip" and tried to leave quickly, but in the end the decision was not overturned and we were put on the plane leaving our luggage at the airport.
When we arrived in Mangalore, we stayed near the airport that night to receive our luggage, which was to be sent the next day, and went to the airport the next morning to find that it had been delivered safely.
I was afraid that the luggage might not come back, so I was relieved to see it again after a day. I looked in my pocket where I had put the battery, but I couldn't find it. I thought maybe I had put them in the wrong place, so I turned my luggage upside down, but I still couldn't find a single battery. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find the little black guy. Without him, the digital camera and lenses I brought with me would not work at all. I want to see him. I want to hold him in my hands. I searched as if I were praying, but I could not find him anywhere.
Yes, the battery had been pulled out during the luggage inspection and returned.
Although it was completely our fault, we had to face the situation of not being able to take pictures when we had just arrived in India.
I never thought that I would feel so keenly that a photographer cannot do anything without a camera. A camera, a camera, something that can capture something. As I put my hands in my pants pockets, I suddenly thought. That's right, I'll take a picture with my smartphone.
At first glance, it seemed like a reckless attempt, but I often take photos with my phone just for my daily notes, and as I took them, I was always impressed by the quality of the pictures taken with my phone, and more importantly, the mobility of the camera.
In fact, there are many professional photographers who use smartphones to create their works. There are many professional photographers who have actually created works of art with their smartphones, and if you make good use of your smartphone, which has the potential to become a work of art depending on how you take pictures, you may be able to take different kinds of pictures.
When I thought about this, I suddenly felt as if I had a completely different perspective and way of thinking.
Whether it is a film camera, digital camera, smart phone, or any other equipment, the most important thing is the photographer's own thoughts on what he or she wants to capture and how he or she wants to look at the subject, and the camera is just a tool for that.
If I can keep my own eyes on the subject, I am sure that I will be able to look at it in a way that only a smartphone can. I was convinced that in the end, a photograph is just a photograph, and as I was renewing my mind, Tamon Yahagi showed me a map displayed on his phone and said, "Mr. Yoshida, there is one thing in Mangalore.
"Yoshida-san, there seems to be only one camera shop in Mangalore, and if you call here, maybe they have batteries!"
Mr. Tamon called me right away. Mr. Tamon called me right away and told me that they had only one battery in stock.
In the end, I was able to get a battery at the camera shop, and after that, I was able to take pictures with my beloved camera. It remains as an important memory that made me realize something like the origin of our work, that no matter how much camera technology continues to develop, the photographer must continue to interact honestly with the world in front of him or her through photography.
After staring at online shopping sites and product catalogs until I had no idea what to buy, I turned to an amateur photographer named Mr. A, who happened to be hosting a camera club in Nara Prefecture.
Needless to say, his works on the web were wonderful, but more than anything, I was attracted by his kind-looking profile photo, so I immediately contacted him.
As soon as I met him, he welcomed me, a complete stranger, with the same kindness as in his profile picture, and asked me, "I'm thinking of starting photography, what camera should I buy? He answered my amateurish question, "Well, I'm thinking of starting photography.
"He answered my question without even the slightest hint of reluctance, "Well, I think this camera is easy to handle, easy on the wallet, and has a certain level of resolution, even for someone just starting out in photography.
He showed me a digital camera called the NIKON D90.
It was a small single-lens reflex camera released in 2008 that was perfect for amateurs.
The D90 was the first camera in the world to have a video function, which is now commonplace.
I didn't know that at the time, so I bought the camera as recommended by Mr. A and started shooting with it, which was my first camera as a photographer.
As soon as I started using it, I realized something obvious.
The digital camera allowed me to check the images immediately after I took them, and I could immediately reflect on what I had taken. This meant that I could improve my photography quickly. As an amateur photographer, I was delighted by this. If I had used a film camera, the time lag between taking the picture, developing it, and looking at it would have made me much less motivated to take pictures.
Maybe it's my own personality, but I have a desire to see the images as fresh as possible without losing the feelings and memories of the moment that disappear due to the time lag.
Although I am of a generation that has known both the film and digital eras, I am glad that I became a photographer during the heyday of the digital camera era, and I feel that I am completely of the digital generation.
(That's why Polaroids and Chekies are among my favorite cameras, as they allow me to see the images immediately.
This is how my relationship with digital cameras started with the D90, which is now almost 10 years old.
The D90 has long since outlived its usefulness, and I am now taking pictures with my new camera as my companion. In the past 10 years, the specifications of the D90 have been quickly updated, and now mirrorless cameras, smartphone cameras, and other lightweight, compact, and simplified cameras are dominating the market, and the status of SLR cameras is in jeopardy.
In just ten years, the gap between amateur and professional photographers has narrowed dramatically due to the rapid progress in camera technology, and anyone can easily take a reasonable amount of photos. Everyone knows that if you have some sense of style, you can take pictures as good as the pros.
As the hurdles to photography have become lower and lower, the camera has been completely democratized, and thanks to this, we are probably in the most photographed era in human history.
It's hard to go out on the street without running into someone with a smartphone in their hand taking pictures, and no matter where you go in the world, people are really taking pictures.
I myself use my smartphone most often, except for the camera I use for work.
I remember when I went to India with Tamon Yahagi, a bookbinder, for a photo shoot in January this year.
We took a domestic flight from Bangalore, India's third largest city, to Mangalore, a city near the Arabian Sea, where an incident occurred.
When the airline staff spotted us at the boarding gate, just before we were to board the plane, they ran up to us and said, "You guys need to check your camera batteries.
The airline staff spotted us at the boarding gate, just before departure, and rushed over to us, saying, "You guys had camera batteries in your checked luggage, right? You had your camera batteries in your checked luggage, and you had to take them with you in your carry-on luggage because they could catch fire. That's why your checked luggage can't be loaded on the plane. I'm sorry, but you're going to have to leave and we'll re-check your luggage and send it to the airport tomorrow.
We hurriedly chased and negotiated with the staff who added "Have a nice trip" and tried to leave quickly, but in the end the decision was not overturned and we were put on the plane leaving our luggage at the airport.
When we arrived in Mangalore, we stayed near the airport that night to receive our luggage, which was to be sent the next day, and went to the airport the next morning to find that it had been delivered safely.
I was afraid that the luggage might not come back, so I was relieved to see it again after a day. I looked in my pocket where I had put the battery, but I couldn't find it. I thought maybe I had put them in the wrong place, so I turned my luggage upside down, but I still couldn't find a single battery. No matter how hard I searched, I couldn't find the little black guy. Without him, the digital camera and lenses I brought with me would not work at all. I want to see him. I want to hold him in my hands. I searched as if I were praying, but I could not find him anywhere.
Yes, the battery had been pulled out during the luggage inspection and returned.
Although it was completely our fault, we had to face the situation of not being able to take pictures when we had just arrived in India.
I never thought that I would feel so keenly that a photographer cannot do anything without a camera. A camera, a camera, something that can capture something. As I put my hands in my pants pockets, I suddenly thought. That's right, I'll take a picture with my smartphone.
At first glance, it seemed like a reckless attempt, but I often take photos with my phone just for my daily notes, and as I took them, I was always impressed by the quality of the pictures taken with my phone, and more importantly, the mobility of the camera.
In fact, there are many professional photographers who use smartphones to create their works. There are many professional photographers who have actually created works of art with their smartphones, and if you make good use of your smartphone, which has the potential to become a work of art depending on how you take pictures, you may be able to take different kinds of pictures.
When I thought about this, I suddenly felt as if I had a completely different perspective and way of thinking.
Whether it is a film camera, digital camera, smart phone, or any other equipment, the most important thing is the photographer's own thoughts on what he or she wants to capture and how he or she wants to look at the subject, and the camera is just a tool for that.
If I can keep my own eyes on the subject, I am sure that I will be able to look at it in a way that only a smartphone can. I was convinced that in the end, a photograph is just a photograph, and as I was renewing my mind, Tamon Yahagi showed me a map displayed on his phone and said, "Mr. Yoshida, there is one thing in Mangalore.
"Yoshida-san, there seems to be only one camera shop in Mangalore, and if you call here, maybe they have batteries!"
Mr. Tamon called me right away. Mr. Tamon called me right away and told me that they had only one battery in stock.
In the end, I was able to get a battery at the camera shop, and after that, I was able to take pictures with my beloved camera. It remains as an important memory that made me realize something like the origin of our work, that no matter how much camera technology continues to develop, the photographer must continue to interact honestly with the world in front of him or her through photography.
