FEATURED PHOTOGRAPHER: SATOSHI HATA

Every now and again we like to focus on grass roots talent. We recently picked up on this young "amateur" Japanese street photographer and were blown away by his images and felt he rightfully deserved exposure.

We anticipate great things to come from Satoshi Hata in the future!

Photographic Speciality/Style:

Street photography, Cityscape

Short Bio:

I was born and raised in Saitama, Japan. I'm a 24-year-old graduate student, and I'm also an amateur photographer who goes out to Tokyo once or twice a week to take pictures. Tokyo is a very fun city for snapshots, as the appearance and vibe of the city changes within just a short walk.

How did your love of photography start?

About two years ago, I bought Sony's RX100M1 for $300. At first, I just wanted a camera and I didn't even know what I wanted to shoot.

While I was taking pictures, I realized that walking around looking for an interesting composition was more fun and fulfilling than taking photos a specific subject. This is what drove me towards street photography.

What’s your long-term photographic ambition?

My immediate goal is to keep getting better.

Over the past month, I have felt a great improvement in my photography skills. Looking at the photos from three months ago, I can see a difference. Looking at pictures from a year ago, I want to cover my eyes with seeing the inexperience showing through in my pictures.

In other words, I still have a lot to learn with photography, so ideally I want get to a point that I can't improve anymore. I don't know when it will be. It may not happen for the rest of my life, but if I can reach that point, I would like to publish a book of my images or entering photo contests.

Where does your photographic inspiration come from?

I'm basically inspired by photographers who are active on social media. It's not enough to introduce all of the photographers that inspire me, so I would like to introduce just some who are particularly influential (by Instagram ID).

takahiro_bnw :

The way he captures tone and contrast are outstanding. I am very much influenced by his way of capturing light.

i_dauyu :

Very good sensitivity to the shape and color of objects. He has a wide range of styles, and he is able to compose in any situation.

chr.m27 :

I especially like the atmosphere of his night street photography. His use of the accented red color in all his images has originality.

What would you consider to be your greatest achievement (or achievements) in your photography to date?

Doing this interview is my greatest achievement!

Basically, I just post photos on social media. I have never submitted them to photo contests, and I have never received any work related to photography. So, I'm glad to be able to have this opportunity.

What’s your favorite photo you've ever taken & why?

Basically, I like my most recent photos but I especially like this one (above).

The lighting was particularly good, and I was able to make the person stand out without him becoming a silhouette.

It was a new type of photo that I had never taken before.

What's inside your camera kit bag?

Only an Olympus OM-D EM10mk2 and SPEEDMASTER 25mm f0.95. This combination is light, cheap and has sufficient performance.

What's inside your dream kit bag?

I want to use Sony a7r4 with APOSummicron 50mm f2. It will hopefully be both compact and provide perfect image quality. And the price is also first-class. I'm stingy so I probably won't actually buy it! "Dream" is that kind of thing, isn't it?

Which piece of camera gear couldn't you do without?

I don't have any other lenses in the first place, but it's SPEEDMASTER 25mm f0.95. The angle of view is 50mm, light weight (about 230g), classical appearance, and the overwhelming large open F value are all my tastes. There is no autofocus, but in the case of my shooting style, composition is often decided in advance, so it does not matter. Besides, manual focus is fun.

What words of advice would you give to beginners?

First, look at the pictures of various people. Second, find a lot of photos that you think "this is the best!" And third, think about what makes those pictures different from yours. Exposure? Color? Composition?

Contrast? You can come up with any number of candidates.

Finally, the fourth, just go take a picture and push yourself to develop to close the gap you identified. If you repeat these four things, you will definitely improve.

Follow more of Satoshi Hata's work on 500px and Twitter