Enchanted by the Sea and Film | 10 Questions for dede dos film | ISSUE #55

Born in 1973, from Mie Prefecture. Spent about half of my life overseas in places like the United States, Cuba, and Latin America. Currently, I run a small hotel with just two rooms in Okinawa while taking photos daily.

I've contributed photos to the room magazine 'Living＊' of Halekulani Hotel and 'TAGIRI LIFE', among others. I've also shot events, store products, and music jackets. Carrying a camera wherever I go, capturing moments, and creating new things are my greatest joys.

I honestly don't have a memory of the first time I took a photo. However, I love surfing and enjoy capturing local surfers with an old film camera called Nikonos while surfing.

When I first developed surfing photos taken on film, I was amazed by the unexpected results, which drew me into the charm of film cameras. Since then, I've been passionate about capturing various scenes on film.

Even the most mundane scenes of everyday life can transform into something gorgeous, beautiful, ephemeral, and dreamlike when captured in a photo.

Photos can boldly repaint past memories, and the captured moment can infinitely expand in imagination and fantasy depending on the viewer's emotions. I am strongly attracted to this mysterious power of photography.

None.

Floating alone in the vast ocean, waiting for a wave. There are moments when my heart feels fulfilled as I gaze at the expansive sea and sometimes the sunrise or sunset.

Being able to enjoy surfing with a healthy body, having my family healthy and by my side, and having friends to love, be loved by, laugh with, and share joy with. There are times when each of these usually overlooked pieces of happiness overflows from the depths of my heart.

I'm filled with gratitude, and the feeling of thankfulness towards myself for experiencing such moments wells up within me.

The most emotional I've been was when a former girlfriend deceived me with countless lies (laughs). But it was all a good experience.

There have been several turning points in my life, but looking back, I feel that 'meeting people' has brought about the most significant changes.

At 18, I met a friend in America and started a music band together. My overseas life began without even knowing how to cook rice, away from my parents. Through music, I experienced a world I had never known before.

Later, arriving in Okinawa, meeting a friend who worked at the same hotel was also a significant turning point. I never imagined building a house with DIY, but thanks to him, what was 'no' for me became 'yes'.

Meeting a new partner also brought about significant change. I am learning the importance of respecting changing values, where common sense becomes nonsense and vice versa.

If there are waves, I surf. If not, I do other fun things.

People I met at the turning points in my life as mentioned in Q7.

'The Catcher in the Rye' by J.D. Salinger. I borrowed it from a friend who was reading it on the train home during high school and started reading it on a whim.

Then, I felt as if I overlapped with the protagonist, Holden Caulfield. The rebellious thoughts and attitudes typical of adolescence, the inability to express oneself as if a superball was stuck in one's throat, and the rule-bound school. The melancholy feeling of wanting to go somewhere far away, not here.

Those emotions resonated vividly through Holden. Even now, I might still view things a bit rebelliously due to the influence of this book.