..September 2008 Nagasaki..
“I realized that I must live on behalf of those who died unwillingly. I have to tell what happened, so they will not die in vain.”
Sumiteru Taniguchi-san
Archive for September, 2009
From Above photo exhibition
Wednesday, September 9th, 2009Yoshiro Yamawaki-san (part 3)
Thursday, September 3rd, 2009..September 2008 Epicenter, Nagasaki..
Yamawaki-san was the 3rd portrait taken on my first day of photographing in Nagasaki. I photographed him at the atomic bomb epicenter close to the other locations I photographed the entire project. All of the portrait locations were taken within 300 feet of each other.
Yamawaki-san’s portrait was one of the more challenging portraits. He had a very serious demeanor. It wasn’t until seeing the print at the exhibition in Gallery EF did I see the softness in his eyes.
In the gallery, the serious tone on his face felt lighter and more reflective. A lot less tension in his face than in my original thoughts. His shoulders on the print were relaxed and softer around the edges.
What also felt different about his portrait and conversation was he was the only Hibakusha who spoke English. It brought a different dynamic to our friendship. Not that I felt more comfortable with him because we spoke the same language. I was very comfortable communicating in Japanese through a translator with everyone I met.
Yoshiro Yamawaki-san (part2)
Tuesday, September 1st, 2009..September 2008 Nagasaki..
Map of Yamawaki-san’s journey to recover his father’s body the day after atomic bomb was dropped on Nagasaki.
