Are you familiar with Daido Moriyama, one of Japan's most iconic photographers? Many of you might already know him, but let's take a moment to briefly introduce his background and work.
Born in Osaka in 1938, Daido Moriyama moved to Tokyo in 1961, where he began his career as an assistant to Eikoh Hosoe. In 1968, he published his first photo book, "Japan: A Photo Theater," which brought him immediate attention for his distinctive visual style.
A term often used to describe his style is "are-bure-boke," meaning "grainy, blurry, and out-of-focus." This is especially evident in one of his renowned works, the photo book "Farewell Photography."
Throughout his career, Moriyama has published over 150 photo books, and his influence continues to this day. His international acclaim soared after the "William Klein + Daido Moriyama" exhibition at the Tate Modern in 2012-13. In 2019, he was honored with the prestigious Hasselblad Award.
Even at 85 years old, Moriyama remains active, continually capturing street scenes and releasing new work. He has also collaborated with major apparel brands like Uniqlo and popular streetwear brands, broadening his recognition among younger generations.
Moriyama has always favored compact cameras, even from his film days. Since transitioning to digital, he has consistently used Nikon's COOLPIX series.
Inspired by an article I read, I quickly purchased the COOLPIX S9500, a model he was using at the time. Compared to my previous DSLR snaps, the more intuitive and spontaneous shooting experience was exhilarating, leading to a dramatic increase in both my shooting frequency and the number of photos taken.
One of Moriyama's oft-repeated sayings is, "There is no quality without quantity." He emphasizes that in street photography, the volume of shots taken is crucial. After over a decade of snapping photos, I finally feel like I'm beginning to grasp the true meaning of his words.
The photos used for the prints on the T-shirts sold in this online store were also taken with the COOLPIX series (COOLPIX S9500, COOLPIX S9400, and COOLPIX S7000). I've never counted, but I must have taken around a million shots. This is still a work in progress, but I hope you enjoy seeing what I've captured so far.