Proof of Life by Ko-ji Yamasaki

On his website, Ko-ji Yamasaki (@yamasaki) describes himself as a “very special ultra great funky crazy exciting man.” Looking at his photographs, it’s not hard to imagine, as it seems that he’s always out and about with his camera. He shoots in color and black & white, his photos often peppered with film grain and beautiful blurs. The monochrome photos, in particular, look like they belong in the Provoke era.

Yamasaki-san, who is based in Kobe, Japan, is a freelance software developer. ”It’s the world of numeral 0 and 1, such a digital world. I’d rather walk around with a camera than be stuck in an office, working.” He maintains a LomoHome, a website that functions as his daily log, and has published photo books.

His first camera is a Minolta-16, an old camera given by his father, who also liked taking pictures. Upon returning to his parents’ home on New Year of 2003, he was inspired as he looked through old albums containing photos taken by his father.

At the time, I also felt that I must leave something behind for my daughter. I mentioned this to my father, and he gave me the same camera he used for capturing memories of my childhood. I remember taking a photo of my family with pleasure.

He also remembers carrying around the camera in his pocket at all times since his high school graduation, ” taking snapshots of his funny friends on a daily basis.” One of the reasons that draw him to film photography is its rawness.

Temperature, humidity, and even air are infiltrated into it. A world with no boundaries between zero and one. I work in a dark room with black & white film. I love this film-specific work.

Photography to me is a self-emotion record. I borrow the existence of the subject and prioritize my own feelings, so to speak. I think of it as a diary, a daily record of my heart – not a so-called artwork. When I see a scene that matches my feelings, I press the shutter. It's very simple. I don't think of anything, not even the composition when I take a photo."

Currently, his preferred camera is the Lomo LC-A. "I have been using it for a long time. Even if it breaks, I’ll continue to use it by refurbishing it with lenses from old LC-A models. I also use SLRs and rangefinders, but I find them too serious. The Lomo LC-A is like a close friend, capturing the atmosphere of the scene as it is.”

Thank you, Yamasaki-san, for sharing your photos and stories with us. Visit his LomoHome and website to see more of his photos.

written by Sunshine Reyes on 2020-09-13 #culture #people #gallery #japan #photo-diary #ko-ji-yamasaki