Hiroshi Sugimoto

1. Essay

Hiroshi Sugimoto

Hiroshi Sugimoto is a photographer born in Tokyo Japan on in 1948 who likes to plan his photos and use natural lighting. After He graduated from Saint Paul’s University in Tokyo he then graduated from Art Center College of Design in Los Angeles. He is still alive and still turning his ideas into art via photography.

Sugimoto is a very literal sense a traditionalist when it come lighting in photography. He believes in the beauty of natural lighting. He loves how it flows and disperses compared to other lighting. The techniques Sugimoto uses are meant to take advantage of this light. He tends to create his own methods to get the results he is after. He has even found his own way to develop his negative. It seems Sugimoto uses long exposures to capture what he wants in doing so he can emphasis the beatify he finds in natural lighting within his photo.

I personal think Sugimoto is unique is because he can think of an image and then find a way to make it a reality. That takes tedious determination to find the right objects, places and lighting. Sugimoto is more of a painter in my eyes who uses a camera to capture what he imagines. The level of coordination it appears to take actually causes me to question what photography really is as a whole.

I think his artwork is beautiful yet so tedious in production. It makes me feel anxiety thinking about how the photo is made. I would much rather be swept away by an amazing image captured in the chaos of life knowing there is less control while everything works with each other. The production of his images makes me think of isolation because of the high level of control. This thought really keeps me from enjoying them. When he uses wax figurines he is a prime example of this because he can have the effect of a living being without the movement that cause that spark of life I am always searching for the only pieces of Sugimoto I really like are his landscapes because it makes me feel like he is working more with the environment compared to his other works.

Sugimoto is definitely one to be respected he has a lot of will power. His photography is beautiful and powerful.