Shinji Hosono (1963 - )
Although he is known for his portraits of celebrities and prominent figures, he has also worked in various different genres, capturing moments of musicals and ballets. He has been awarded numerous awards including Gold at Stuttgart’s International Calendar Show, Art Director’s Club Annual Award in New York, and The Graphic Design Award in Japan.Kyoto, having held onto its 1200 years of history, is rich with nature. This idea of maintaining traditions, as opposed to the concrete jungle that modern Tokyo is known for, is what inspired Hosono to continue taking photographs of Kyoto over 30 years. He has captured honest depictions of everyday life in the city, across the four seasons, something that can only be done when conscious of both the nature and the history of Kyoto. In order to bring about the rawness of his images, he uses an analog camera and produces the photographs using a traditional method. He then converts these images into digital ones and prints them on Japanese Washi paper. This combination of analog and digital is the key to producing the expressions in his Kyoto series. The images printed onto the Washi paper has an almost poetic expression. They are still and peaceful yet grand; ideals that the Japanese love.