Inspiration #1- Shin Noguchi

One of the first photographers I looked at first is Shin Noguchi who is a Japanese photographer. I looked at a collection of images he had taken in 2013 based around Tokyo. The images as a whole focus on colour and irony. Irony is what a lot of street photographers use as a device to show the unexpected. One of the images I found included an image of a woman using her hands to block the sun in front of a billboard which she seems to be mimicking naturally. This I think represents how advertisement and marketing have such an influence on the public. It shows how simple movements like blocking the sun companies have looked closely at and found its an easy way to target specific audience, The shot also uses the movement to engage the audience closely and create a story as to what the woman is looking at/walking to.

One of the last images I looked at was an image of a man taking a nap in the autumn leaves with a shadow overlooking him. Noguchi uses the simplicity of this images to represent such a huge concept. This image gives me the impression that the person can embody the whole population and the autumn leaves and bush behind the man sleeping can personify Mother Nature. This images reflects how as a whole we trust and relies on nature even when we are at the most vulnerable. The man sleeping has a book on his head which signifies he feels safe around nature that a simple past-time can be performed. The shadow on the bush behind him almost looks like it is protecting him and is watching over him. This links with the peacefulness of the man sleeping as he feels very safe in natures hands. It contrast with the place it was taken Japan as its such a busy environment and the energy is so high that maybe Shin Noguchi wanted to send a warning out to not forget how peaceful nature and that technology and business' are taking over the world slowly.
I feel very strongly not only about the message but I like the way Shin has composed the images to not perfectly align the man sleeping with the bush or vice versa.