Interview with Hamada Hideaki!

Akhirnya, mimpi terwujud...!

Itulah mungkin yang bakal aku katakan kalo beneran kejadian bisa ngobrol / tanya-tanya / interview / sharing session sama salah satu idola dalam berfotografi, Hideaki Hamada san. Tapi sebelum hal itu terjadi, mungkin aku mau iseng aja copy-paste isi interview Hamada Hideaki yang aku ambil dari lomography.com, so credit buat web yg beneran melakukan interview ya. Not me!

Biar apa copy-paste doang? biar ada postingan yg berbeda, latihan bikin postingan format interview, trus biar pembaca blog ini tahu kalo Hamada Hideaki adalah salah satu idola, dan... udah, itu aja sih alasannya mah.

Maunya mah interview langsung sendiri, tapi kan siapa gue ya...

Tell us about yourself. What do you do for a living? What are your interests?

I am Hideaki Hamada and I was born January 18, 1977. I am a profesional photographer based in Osaka, Japan. I have a family of four; me, my wife, with two sons. My eldest son, Haru, is 6 years old and the second son, Mina, is 4.

*my comment: seriously, tanggal lahirnya cuma beda satu hari,
aku satu tanggal sebelumnya!
wah.. apakah ini pertanda? eaaa.. cocokologi

How did you start and how long have you been doing film photography? Did you study photography?

I started shooting [film] as a hobby when I was in high school. When my eldest son was born, I became more aware of my shooting. For me, taking photos is knowing myself. By looking at the world through a viewfinder, people can see what's happening in front of them more objectively. In addition, we can remember what we were feeling and thinking about in those moments by looking at the photos. In this way, it is possible to discover aspects of ourselves which we never knew existed before. And my feeling is that this repetition of thought is what constructs my world.

*my comment: Beneran, ini juga ga disama-samain, aku emang mengawali hobi fotografi dari kamera film juga, pake analog pentax K1000, bukan karena alasan filosofis, tapi karena dulu mah kamera film itu jauh lebih murah daripada DSLR. Tapi pada akhirnya, aku bersyukur memulai dari film.

What are the film cameras that you often use?

Pentax 67II, Rolleiflex SL66, Fujifilm Klasse S, Lomo Smena35.

*My comment: sedikit tambahan informasi dari  interview di web lain, kalo kamera digital yg biasa digunakan untuk kebutuhan profesional katanya adalah Canon 5D mkii (kemungkinan sekarang udah upgrade ke mark terbaru), dan iPhone buat foto instan harian. and anyway.. Pentax 67 adalah salah satu kamera impianku selain punya digital fullframe Canon 5D juga.

In your experience, what are the perks of being a film photographer?

I think it's important to use both film and digital depending on the situation. On that basis, I think it’s very important to use film cameras. In film photography, you will certainly experience a feeling of excitement while you wait for your photos to develop. Perhaps you fear that you may not have taken the photo skillfully. Therefore, waiting to know if you have succeeded or not is inconvenient and troublesome.

But this waiting time is necessary. That is to say, it is a stance we take towards photography. Photography has the potential to capture the amount of time and conscious effort we put into it. It has nothing at all to do with analogue vs. digital methods. It depends on what you want to take pictures of and what you aim to do. But if you enjoy photography, I may have a hint on how to think of it and how to spend your time doing it. So me, I'll keep using film cameras.

*My comment: pake kamera jadul/analog/film mengajarkan untuk slowing down (karena mau ga mau sih) dan jadi paham apa yang paling penting dari berfotografi, hasilnya kah? prosesnya kah? dan tentu saja punya keduanya digital dan film itu jauh lebih baik, hehe...

Who are your favorite film photographers? Any inspirations?

Ryan McGinley. His works are very cool.

What’s your personal photographic style?

"Children always act more than I expect." The inspiration for my photography comes from this sort of behavior. Though I direct some of my photographs, in most cases I take pictures of my children just as they are. What I want to show is their "living form." When I take photos of my children, the important thing is to maintain an objective perspective. Not too close, but also not too far away, as if I am watching them from behind. Something close to mere observation, I think. Obeying this rule gives the photos a universal quality. I believe that this universality is necessary to communicate their living forms to someone else.

We see that you are fond of taking portraits… Why portraiture? Is there anything about it that draws you?

Because people are the most touching objective and portraits are the mirror of me.

Any message for other film photographers? Or maybe a tip you would like to share?

Photographers usually tend to snap pictures at certain specific moments, when children don't want to smile or cry. Rather, they don't have any special facial expression most of the time. I want to use photography to keep their living forms in that day-to-day world. This way, the highly expressive faces that they occasionally make will look more life-like and will produce photographs that we will never get tired of looking at.

*My comment: Oke sip bos! setuju banget.. foto natural candid juga kusuka karena hasilnya lebih 'real'




Udah sih, itu aja interview yg aku copy. Sebetulnya pertanyaannya ada beberapa lagi, tapi itu lebih ke time-based yg mana udah ga relevan untuk dibaca sekarang, jadi yang penting-pentingnya aja yg aku copy disini.

Tulisan kali ini ga ada aku-akunya, tapi tentang idola fotografiku, jadi.. skip aja buat yg emang ga tertarik, dan dipikir-pikir, asik juga bikin tulisan format interview... tapi pasti bingung di bikin pertanyaan dan siapa yg mau collab-nya juga, heuheu..

But, i will do someday in the future.. for sure!

Thank you, arigatou!