Whether the subjects are humans or animals, there're stories behind them. In addition, landscapes carry the history and environment, so there're stories, too. By looking at his sharp eyes and scars, we can tell the life of this cat must have been a tough one fighting with outsiders as a leader of this area, and maybe he was taking a brief break in this sunny spot.

I shoot subjects when I feel the story behind them and I have enough time to shoot them. When shooting people without looking into the viewfinder, I don't face toward them. When I look at the photos afterwards, sometimes I wonder if they had noticed me and I feel relieved that they didn't punch me. The town and people show a variety of faces, so I just want to capture them as they are.

When I walk around, sometimes I come across things that exist unnaturally. These trees were cut at the same height and they stood disorderly on the grass. I don't think they grow in clumps in such a place, so they might have been placed by someone. But, why? Anyway, I come to want to shoot whenever I feel mysterious. Wait, could this be some kind of a training facility for martial arts? You know, it's that someone performs techniques while stepping from tree to tree. It would have made a great picture if there were a mysterious cloud in the sky and if it snowed silently. Bruce Lee used to live in Seattle, so this must be his secret training spot.

It's warm like spring today, and the breeze from the mountain feels so nice. It's my spirit as a photographer to step close to the subject in defiance of his strong smell and the risk of having lens licked by his long tongue. How is his sidelong glance resembling Ryotaro Sugi? I'm sure ladies around him were all charmed by that.

This is my favorite shot against the sunshine. The flares and ghosts make this ordinary old barn dramatic. Essentially, flares and ghosts are considered to be negative elements for lenses, so they believe it's best to be minimized by using coatings and shades. But, some photographers take advantage of them to produce unique photography. Personally, I don't choose to do it with an intention to dramatize the subjects, but I feel so happy when they look dramatic buy chance. And, I think it's because I feel story is deepened further when I don't try to dramatize.

Winter scenes are not so colorful, so they look flat when they're shot in colors. But, they look completely different once they are taken in monochrome. These scenes are never light and simple. Instead, they are composed by a complex tonality ranging from deep shadow to bright highlight. Usually, I may be judging things just by colors rather than subtle tonality, and failing to see the essence of depiction. Monochrome world is wonderful because it gives us an opportunity to imagine the colors of the subject and analyze the light.

In winter, deciduous trees lose leaves and may look uninteresting. But, if I switch the point of view, I find they have little branches. And, the buildings I see through the curtain look so elegant. In a few months, they have so many green leaves and this view will cease to be visible. This is also Ihei Kimura's "a moment of city's face" that must be documented.