Hisanori moved from Japan to San Francisco, CA last September to study abroad. An aspiring professional photographer, he has been actively pursuing his passion since last year.
His advice for getting the perfect shots? “Just keep shooting.”
We are so captivated by your photography of the San Francisco Bay Area and want to thank you for sharing your story with us. Where are some of your favorite local spots for photography?
Definitely it’s Golden Gate Bridge! It has a lot of view points. Each point leaves you different impressions. Even though I’d been taking a lot of pictures of the Golden Gate Bridge, I’m still excited when I take its photos. Ocean Beach is also my favorite place, especially sunset. Just after I came here, I was exhausted. Because I just have a few friends and I couldn’t understand well what people talking and on top of it all, I caught a cold… Then I took a walk on the beach to relax. At that time, I saw the sunset. It was so beautiful that I couldn’t say anything.
What inspired you to get involved in photography? What is your primary focus,and how did you get involved in that?
When I was in Japan, I traveled to a lot of place by bicycle. And I love to take beautiful photos during these adventures. I’d been used iPhone to take picture, but I decided to get DSLR and GoPro in order to take more beautiful photos. So I usually capture Nature, architecture and foods. (These stuff are things of which I took photos while traveling.)
What cameras and gear do you use?
I use Nikon D3300 with SIGMA 18-300mm zoom lens and GoPro Hero4.
What are some of your tips to getting the perfect shot?
I’m thinking about basic compositions like rule of thirds, framing, symmetry and so on. Besides, I pay attention to flowers and people passing by. When there are flowers or people in a photo, it looks better.
What would your advice be for someone looking to pursue a hobby or career as a photographer?
Nothing but “keep shooting.”
What are some of the best/most memorable stories from your adventures?
It’s my last big adventure by bicycle in Japan. My friends and I decided to climb up Mt. Bandai (Elevation: 1816m) by bicycle. It was a hot summer day. We started to climb up and keep pushing, keep pushing, keep pushing…. It passed 2.5 hours since we start climbing. We were sweating a lot and so tired, but keep climbing resting at times. The more we climbed up, the more clouds were getting so close to us. There are no trees around summit because it’s forest limit. There are just rocks and winds. It feels like I’m fighting with mountain. Finally it takes 4 hours to reach the summit. The view from the top of the mountain was fabulous! And that sense of accomplishment is immeasurable.
Where is your next big adventure?
I don’t have any plans but I want to go to Yosemite and Grand Canyon before getting back to Japan.
Follow him on Instagram: @5y_wacky_h6
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