1) I believe that Kentaro Takahashi utilized a wide aperture in order to achieve the shallow depth of field that is prominent in his photos. Additionally, he would have used a lower ISO because most of his photos for The Riverbed were taken outside. Due to the fact that he is mostly taking pictures of individuals, his shutter speed would have to be above 1/60. I think that he primarily used a longer focal lens because the pictures are narrow and there is not a lot of background present. I assume that he also used manual focus so his subjects could be further separated from the background.
2) Kentaro Takahashi is a Japanese photographer. He lived through the disastrous 2011 earthquake, which gave him a new outlook on life. As a result, he decided to become a photographer and set out to record his life. This series, The Riverbed, was inspired by Kamo no Chomei's "My Ten-Foot Hut". In this essay Kamo no Chomei writes "the flowing river never stops and yet the water never stays the same", which is a metaphor for the uncertainty of life. In this series Kentaro photographs the lives of the people along the Tama River, which is Kentaro considers to be an important motif in Japanese history as it appears in many artists' works. Ultimately, Kentaro desires to answer the question "how to confront the crisis we are facing now?" The crisis he is referring to is that Japanese citizens are not taking an interest in politic, which is a cultural problem. The idea from the past "you should not speak about religion or politics in public" is still being followed today. Kentaro's photo project is his attempt of connecting with these past ideologies in order to find an answer to this question. He does so by taking pictures of individuals, or objects, along the river that represent the "typical ideas" of Japan.
3) I find this project very interesting as it reflects the collectivist culture of Japan. His photos are not focused on the individual, but on how the individual represents the Japanese culture overall. I am forced to look at these photos in a different way. Before I read his interview, I was looking at the photos through a Western lens. However, I have gained a newfound appreciation for the project now that I have switched my outlook. His photos are captivating. There is an ominous aspect to them, as if they are foreshadowing the future of Japan. I am interested to see where he goes with this project, as he has stated that he is still in the middle of his research.
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