The artist i have chosen to take inspiration from is Daido Moriyama. He is a Japanese photographer known for his black-and-white street photos. He started out taking photos that highlighted Japan’s urban life post world war 2. Displaying humanity very rawly in gritty yet descriptive photos. I would like to replicate his photos that show people’s day to day lives and the significance of our actions and interactions. As I feel the simple things are sometimes the most significant, which Moriyama’s work highlights best. The images displayed above are the ones from him that I have found to be the most inspiring and meaningful. The essence of people’s day-to-day lives can be found in his photos, which I think is very beautiful.

My favorite of these photos is probably the one in the bottom right, the one with the lady with the umbrella. It appears to be daytime yet half of the frame is covered in black, all next to the lady with the umbrella in her hand. Making the impression that the umbrella itself is casting this shadow. Or that it represents that there are 2 sides to the lady. The side of her walking in the light, half of her body in the middle of the road. Whilst the other side being cast in darkness, hidden in the side of the alley.

An adjective I would use to describe Daido Moriyama’s work is “Humanity”. As that is what is at the core of all of his photos, humanity and how we act. Whether it be the lady in the umbrella, the man with the plants, or the lone person in a jacket, cast in darkness. All of these photos display people simply going about their lives, yet no one knows what brought them there, why they’re doing that, or how they feel about their time in life. Are they happy? Sad? Content? It is left unclear. This is also further emphasized by the lack of color itself. Projecting further uncertainty about the context of the photos, leaving them ambiguous. Open to interpretation about why it was taken, and who it was that became the subject of these photos.

Overall, Daido Moriyama’s photos are compelling and thought-provoking pieces that cause the reader to wonder, about who it is that was in the photo, what they are doing, and why. Yet the one certainty that can be found in all of them, is the aspect of people. Different people, doing different things, at different times of day or in their lives. Which is what I aim to replicate in my street photography. The sense of ambiguity and question of one’s purpose.