Hand Printing

"I believe that a photograph becomes real only when it lives on paper."

In today’s world, digital cameras have made it effortless for anyone to take a picture.
But as photographers and artists, what we must cherish now is the spirit of harmony — the quiet heart of “wa.”

Is it enough to simply take a picture and end there?
On social media, we can see thousands of images within moments.
There is meaning in photographs made to be seen — I don’t deny that.
Yet, when we step into the realm of expression — into exhibitions, into spaces where art meets the public —
I feel that something essential is lost when the act ends only in showing.

That is why I return to the origin of photography.
Precisely because we live in this digital age,
I want to face the irreplaceable value of a single photograph —
to feel the time that dwells within it,
and to encounter that one fleeting moment with sincerity.

Recently, I began making hand prints.
In that dim space where an image slowly appears before my eyes,
I can feel the flow of time, the season, and even the scent of the air from that day.
It is in that moment — when light, paper, and memory breathe together —
that photography becomes real to me.