Street snap is not client work.
The top photo was taken more than ten years ago, during my very first business trip to New York.
Back then, DSLRs were still the norm.
For client work I used a Nikon D800/750, and for personal snapshots, a Coolpix P7700.
Looking back now, I realize:
“Any camera will do.”
These are probably the oldest photos I still have from that time.
And when I look at them, I can tell how much fun I was having.
The excitement and nervousness of traveling abroad for the first time.
The joy of finally visiting New York—a city I had admired for so long.
I was still in my twenties, and I had the sensitivity to capture anything that caught my eye.
For client work, of course, the camera has to meet the client’s expectations.
But for street snaps, I genuinely feel that any camera is enough.
Something I can finally share
This might be a bit off topic, but does anyone here know the band coldrain?
I first encountered them before I became a photographer, back when I was working in video editing.
It started when their song Fiction arrived as editing material.
The song was so incredibly cool that I barely worked—I just kept listening to it on repeat.
Time flies. It’s been about 15 years since their debut, and I’ve shifted from editing to shooting.
Back then, I naturally bought their first album (the original version before the re-recording) and listened to it endlessly.
Now, hearing a seasoned band re-record their early songs— mixing that original sharpness with their current maturity— is deeply compelling.
My perspective has changed
I can no longer accept things the way they were back then.
Moving forward, I plan to gradually pursue more creative work alongside my commissioned photography and corporate projects.
(That’s one of the reasons I created this site.)
Client work is incredibly important, but focusing only on that feels like it drains the creative well inside me.
This past year, outside of work, I didn’t take a single photograph.
And while this isn’t directly related to coldrain, I want to revisit the photos I took 15 years ago and share them from my current perspective.
The pace will be slow, but I hope to develop this little by little.
