Seen: Distant Drums
Who: Hideaki Hamada / website / instagram / flickr
Where: Book and Sons, Meguro
When: September 7 - 29, 2019 / Open 12:00-19:00
In a flash bright natural highlights Hideaki Hamada burst onto the photo scene in 2012 with Haru & Mina, a charming series of photographs of his children. Since then he’s gone on to have a successful commercial and editorial career shooting for magazines and other clients and has built up an international following along the way. With commercial assignments taking Hamada-and his Pentax 67, and rolls and rolls of Kodak Portra- around the world he built up the collection of images that makes up this show- one that fills all three floors of the building.
Accompanying the exhibition is a thick hardcover and full-color photobook that is already in its second printing a mere 10 days after first being released ( ! ) and a selection of images printed as postcards and posters.
Speaking with the photographer in the gallery, he told me that while his work took him to some very well known spots he chose not to photograph them directly, instead finding things of interest outside the usual frames in which they are taken. We chatted about gear a bit- The 105mm lens for the Pentax 67 is his favorite- and not for the technical reasons most would think. The 105, while fairly standard, is a slightly longer lens and thusly has a sense of distance that’s lacking in the 90mm and 75mm lenses for the system. This lens, he told me, allows him to keep his distance. I knew that he wasn’t talking about using the lens to peek in from afar, but rather to open up a space for the viewer to enter.