If I don't take photographs, I don't want to go anywhere as much as possible.
If I were to go on a trip and realize that I forgot my camera, the first thing I would do is go to an electronics store at the airport and buy a camera. On the other hand, I have this completely contradictory feeling that I don't want to carry a camera. When I take pictures, I want to take as many steps and walk as many streets as possible. A heavy camera can be a hindrance. When I travel somewhere, the amount of equipment I do not carry is important. So I usually carry an SLR or mirrorless camera body with a lens and a GR. That's usually the combination.
When I went to Stockholm, the capital of Sweden, my destination for this trip, I brought the above combination as usual. Although I called it a trip, it was part of my work at the university, a business trip to be exact. During my stay of about ten days, I had some kind of meeting or lecture every day, so I could only take pictures during the transit. Or later in the evening, when I was free, on my way to find a bar to have the drink of the day.
I was there at the end of November, when winter had just begun. The morning and evening temperatures were as low as -5 degrees Celsius, requiring a jacket at all times. In the morning, it was still dark when I left the hotel after 8:00 am, and it gradually brightened as I walked. The sun did not rise very high, with oblique rays of light until noon. It was bright for a while, then the sun went down again when it was after 2 pm. Warm light with a low color temperature enveloped the city for most of the day. Partly due to jet lag, my mind was not as clear for the first few days in this calm, peaceful light. It was not so bad, though, as I could naturally focus my lens on mundane, everyday scenes without getting overly excited.
The people I met in Stockholm were also calm, and the city was filled with a relaxed atmosphere. In the European cities I have visited so far, such as Paris and Berlin, I felt that they were somewhat busy and not so different from Tokyo, but Stockholm seemed to have a very different atmosphere compared to them. If I were to compare it to any other city, I would say that it might be similar to Melbourne, Australia in terms of the flow of time that I feel.
During the second half of my stay, it snowed and cold winds blew. There were obviously fewer people in the city, and for me that was the very reason for shooting. I think that being physically moved by something like that is what it means to “photograph.” It doesn't matter if I go to a distant place or see something unusual, taking photographs turns everything into a “trip.” I guess all I want to do is take pictures.
Ryo Ohwada
Born 1978 in Sendai, Japan. Graduated from Tokyo Polytechnic University, Department of Photography, and completed the Graduate Course in Media Art at the same university. In 2005, he was selected as one of the "ReGeneration.50 Photographers of Tomorrow" by the Kunstmuseum Elysee, Switzerland. In 2011, he received the New Photographer Award from the Photographic Society of Japan. He is the author of "prism" (2007, Seigensha), "Gohyaku rakan (Five Hundred Arhats)" (2020, Ten'onzan Gohyaku Rakanji Temple), "Journal during COVID-19 State of Emergency" (2021, kesa publishing), "Shashin seisakusha no tame no shashingijutsu no kiso to jissen (The Basics and Practice of Photography Technology for Photographers)" (2022, Impress), and with poet Chris Mozdel, "Behind the Mask" (2023/Slogan), etc. Associate Professor at the Faculty of Arts, Tokyo Polytechnic University.
www.ryoohwada.com
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