The 10th "Flower Photography Group Exhibition" supervised by Porsche photographer Yoshifumi Ogawa

Amateur photography training program by Yoshifumi Ogawa

Yoshifumi Ogawa is a photographer who photographs automobiles, and is particularly known for having photographed many Porsches.

I first met Mr. Ogawa in 2018. It was at a Porsche 911 rally event hosted by the EBI Group, one of the Porsche dealerships.

After that, I had the opportunity to meet him a few times and I had hoped to meet him again someday...and I was blessed with the opportunity to meet him again after such a long time.

Here is it.

This is a "Flower Photography Group Exhibition" by members of the Amateur Photographer Development Program supervised by Ogawa, which will be held at Daikanyama Hillside Terrace from August 28th to September 1st, 2024.

There is still time until September 1st, so if you are planning to be in the area, why not drop by? Admission is free.

It's right next to Daikanyama T-Site (Tsutaya), which is known as a gathering place for car enthusiasts, so it's worth stopping by when you're at T-Site.

I met Mr. Ogawa for the first time in a while and it was great to see that he was doing well. He was as kind as ever and taught me many things in a very detailed manner.

This group exhibition of flower photographs by students of the amateur photography training program marks its 10th anniversary.

For the past 10 years, this photo exhibition has been held somewhere within Daikanyama Hillside Terrace every year, but the current exhibition is being held at Daikanyama Hillside Terrace/Hillside Forum, which is apparently the most inaccessible location within Hillside Terrace, so this commemorative 10th exhibition was held at Hillside Forum.

Congratulations on holding a photo exhibition in such a memorable place!

*All photographs have been taken and published with permission.

This photo exhibition is titled "Flower Photography," and it features only photographs of flowers taken by our visitors.

Why is the subject of this program for training amateur photographers supervised by automobile photographer Yoshifumi Ogawa? Instead of cars, it is flowers.

If you are interested in that, please see here:Reunion with Porsche photographer Yoshifumi Ogawa @ Rolf Benz

As I stood in front of the photographs on display and looked at each piece one by one, what came to mind was...

When I looked at the photos, the first thing that came to my mind was, "Is this a photograph? It looks like a painting."

I like and am fascinated by what is called super-realism, or "depictions that look like photographs (the real thing) even though they are paintings," but this time I had the opposite experience of "a photograph that looks like a painting."

I told Ogawa, "It's strange, but even though I know it's a photograph, I get the illusion that it looks like a painting," and I think one clue as to why we feel this way lies in the paper the photograph is printed on.

According to Ogawa, he independently decides on the paper that will best express each photograph, and consults with technicians to see if it is actually possible to print on that paper.When I looked closely, I noticed that each photograph was printed on a different paper.

There are matte ones, glossy ones, and even washi paper.

I wondered if you expressed each work not only through the methods of expression used in the photography, but also through the paper they were printed on.

By the way, I also asked him what paper he would use if he were to print a photo of a Porsche. This is a privilege only available to those who asked him directly, hehehe.

Even so, everyone was so good that I wondered if they were really amateur photographers.

After enjoying looking at everyone's works with Ogawa-san, we then went to an area where the company's progress over the past 10 years was on display.

Ogawa's "teachings" are also on display here, and as I looked at them, I was reminded of the importance of "light and shadow" in photography, as he had said before.

Well, even if I realized it again, there's nothing I can do about it (laughs).

However, recently I've decided to change my habit of just taking random photos with my smartphone and instead start thinking more carefully about what it means to take photographs.

Just when I thought that this was the end, a staff member called out to me, "Next is the main attraction!" I thought, "What, the main attraction?" and continued on my way...

There, the view of the exhibition hall that I had seen from outside before entering the venue unfolded before me.

Yes, this is an exhibition space for Yoshifumi Ogawa's works.

I had assumed that this exhibition would only feature works by amateur photographers whom Ogawa had supervised, so I was pleasantly surprised to see that Ogawa's own works were also on display.

At first glance, these photographs seem almost edited (sorry), but although Ogawa adjusts the brightness etc., he never composes the images or edits them in a way that changes the image of the subject itself.

When I ask these works, "So, was the background already xx color when you took the photo?" the answer is "Yes."

Ogawa started photographing flowers because he wanted to improve his ability to take photos of cars.

The flower photographs on display this time were completely different from car photographs, and it was hard to believe that they were taken by the same person who photographed cars in such a beautiful way, bringing out their coolness.However, Ogawa's wonderful works capture the most beautiful moments of living flowers, using natural light and shadow to capture a moment in time.

For me, it was great to be able to meet Mr. Ogawa again after such a long time, and it was also soothing to be able to see his wonderful work.

A long time ago, I quit my job and went abroad for a while. I had time so I went to a local flower arranging school. After that, when I didn't have a work visa (I had other visas properly obtained), I enjoyed volunteering and making flower arrangements in hospitals.

I haven't had many opportunities to come into contact with flowers recently, so it was great to be able to take my time and look at the flowers again through photographs.

Ogawa-san wrote, "Flowers are healing." This was a day where I truly felt that.

I think the reason I was able to feel that sense of healing was because I was able to feel the realness of the flowers that were the subjects of the photos in front of me.

Thank you for a wonderful time ^^

Related Sites:Photographer Yoshifumi Ogawa's 10th Amateur Photographer Development Program "Flower Photography Group Exhibition"

Related article:
◆Reunion with Porsche photographer Yoshifumi Ogawa @ Rolf Benz
◆My car Porsche 911 Carrera taken by Yoshifumi Ogawa