It is estimated that humanity is churning out over 2 billion images per day. When you look at Instagram, YouTube and social media in general everyone has a solution to sell. If you buy this camera and follow this quick 5 step guide, then apply these Lightroom presets, you too can produce Nat Geo worthy images to “wow” the world. Yes, I am guilty of this too. It is after all what the market demands. However, photography is an art. We must sometimes step outside the machine that is mass producing images for the sake of mass producing images. We must look back to the greats of the past and learn from their love of the craft.
Moriyama Daido is such a photographer. His black and white photographic style is raw, dark, grainy and blurred. When looking at his images you are not looking for technical perfection. Instead, you are looking for the soul of the image and the feeling of the moment. His images take you back to the place and time where they were taken. They afford us, for a brief moment, to step into that memory for ourselves.
Culture is a big factor in shaping Mr. Moriyama’s photographic eye. For this reason, I feel looking at international photographers is an especially important point when learning photography. It lets us understand different perspectives and the Japanese principle of “wabisabi” is certainly one to look at. As Hotaru’s Lens mentions in the masterful video above, this is not a principle that is taught in school. It is a Japanese concept that predicates an appreciation for the transient, the ephemeral. It is an acceptance of imperfection. Mr. Moriyama’s images masterfully display the imperfection that is humanity as a whole.
If you’ve read this far and haven’t seen the video, please check it out. Hotaru’s Lens does an incredible job of weaving in parallels from other Japanese artistic mediums. He also compares the large differences from Western greats such as Ansel Adams and Henri Cartier-Bresson. It is an absolute treat.