500 Photographers: Photographer #397: Ikuru Kuwajima

Tuesday, October 11, 2011

Photographer #397: Ikuru Kuwajima

Ikuru Kuwajima, 1984, Japan, is a photojournalist and documentary photographer. He studied photojournalism at the University of Missouri. After his studies in the USA he moved to Romania to work on various photographic projects. He relocated to the Ukraine and is currently based in Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan. In Astana, the second coldest capital in the world, he focused on inner tropical resorts and recreational facilities themed with palm trees. He shows the contrasts of the unique winter urbanscape of the oil rich capital. Other projects have concentrated on the traditions of Cossacks, the conflict of the Uzbeks and Kyrgyz, an ethnic group in Tajikistan called the Yagnobi and drug addicts in the Ukraine amongst others. The following images come from the series Astana's Winter Urbanscape, Cossack Revival in Crimea and Ukraine Drug.

Website: www.ikurukuwajima.com

No comments:

Subscribe to: Post Comments (Atom)

Welcome to 500 photographers

The target of this website is embedded in its name; to post active image-makers until we reach 500 photographers. The photographers can be from any discipline within the photographic range, but they have to be at the top of their game. When we get to number 500, we will have a deep database of great photographers.

500 photographers is done by Pieter Wisse (1980, The Netherlands). He has a very clear and distinct vision of what great photography should be. Since 2007 he has become a centipede in the saturated world of image creation and represents an example of a 21st century player active in the visual field; both on and offline.

In the past twelve years he has ventured into projects ranging from artistic leadership of a photography festival, curatorial projects for various institutions worldwide, publishing books and a magazine, running a bookstore and gallery to creating the internationally acclaimed 500 Photographers project. He has done countless amounts of portfolio reviews, given masterclasses and judged a large number of competitions.

Due to the variety of endeavors and years of studying and speaking to photographers he quickly recognizes the features he believes to be of the utmost importance to be a successful photographer in this day and age.