Photography of Aya Onodera from Japan

Aya Onodera (b.1986) is a young photographer living in a small town called Iwate in Iwate Prefecture, Japan. She does some farming around her home and likes to take pictures of her surroundings.


About : My name is Aya Onodera. I am a 30-year-old amateur photographer and a farmer live in Japan. I was born and raised in the countryside of northeastern Honshu, Japan. I went to Tokyo to study photography when I was 20 years old, but dropped out due to bad health. After getting back to home from Tokyo, I didn’t take any pictures and I didn’t meet any people. Instead, I grew plants. Nature helped and saved me.

ayaonodera-01 ayaonodera-02 ayaonodera-03 ayaonodera-04I’ve started photograph again from a few years ago. At the moment, I’m happy to communicate with nature via photograph.

Statement, preferences, methods, etc. : For me, photography is something like communicating with living nature. When I take pictures, I say “Hello!”,  “What’s up?” to the objects.

ayaonodera-05 ayaonodera-06 ayaonodera-07 ayaonodera-08I feel subtle indications from living nature occasionally and I shoot them. I use a Nikkormat FTN camera with a 50mm F/2 lens and a Leica Minilux most of the time. Sometimes I also use a Pentax 6×7 (with a 105mm F/2.4 lens. Using standard lens is the best way to photograph for me.

ayaonodera-09 ayaonodera-10 ayaonodera-16 ayaonodera-17Projects, photos : These images are from a series called “Nichi-Getsu”.  - There are portraits of living nature who I met in a 20 steps radius from my house. When I look around, I feel like my life is a dream.
I do not know that after waking up from a dream yet.

ayaonodera-18 ayaonodera-19 ayaonodera-20Influences, inspirations : I like reading novels since I was a child. My favorite authors are Haruki Murakami, Banana Yoshimoto, Yoko Ogawa, Paul Auster, Miranda July, Thoreau, etc. Many books I read became food for my body and soul.

ayaonodera-11 ayaonodera-12 ayaonodera-13 ayaonodera-14All photos © Aya Onodera : Website | Instagram | Tumblr

Advertisements

About Nishant Mishra

Nishant studied art history and literature at the university during 1990s. He works as a translator in New Delhi, India and likes to read about arts, photography, films, life-lessons and Zen.