Because of profession, she becomes the subject of photography more often than she becomes a photographer. But, she says she wasn't good at it. "I couldn't smile well even though I was asked to do so. Maybe it's because I was too young."

People feel nervous when a lens is directing them. The lens never tells how the photographer is feeling while s/he is looking at them and the mechanical-sounding shutter raises their anxiety. She was talking about it with her friend who then said, "Why don't you become the one who takes photos?" This word triggered her interest to become a photographer.

"You're right. It must be interesting." She became completely serious about it.

As soon as she arrived home, she searched for a camera and found an old one that her grandfather obtained from his acquaintance. "All parts including the shutter didn't work. The color was turning to blue and it smelled." But, this rusty unusable camera turned out to be the Leica A.

If you know what the Leica A is, you won't recommend it to a complete beginner. The type A is the one of the very first Leicas. The lens is fixed and you can't change lenses. It doesn't have rangefinder, and of course, it's a full manual camera that requires the following manner. First, when you find a subject, you look into the viewfinder. Second, you measure exposure with an exposure meter and set aperture and shutter speed according to what the meter indicates. Third, you measure the focus distance by peeking into the rangefinder, and turn the focus ring of the lens until the distance matches with what the rangefinder indicates. Finally, you look into the viewfinder again to check the composition and press the shutter button. Because of such hard labor, even Leica fanatics don't get it until a certain point of their life.

"I fell in love with it. It's so pretty."

After she had it overhauled at a camera shop, it became her favorite camera. She took photos between locations. She went for a walk with it in her off-time. The simple and small Barnack body must have fitted to her hands. And, perhaps, it was the labor that made shooting more interesting.