Photographer #404: Hiroshi Watanabe

Hiroshi Watanabe, 1951, Japan, is a California based photographer who graduated from the Department of Photography at Nihon University in 1975. He moved to the US and started working in the production of TV commercials. Later he even created his own production company. 20 years later, in 1995, he started to photograph again and travel the world. He closed the production company in 2000 and has since devoted his time to be a photographer. Hiroshi is interested in what humans do, seeking to capture people and traditions. In 2010 he released the book Love Point which contains studio images of sexdolls mixed with images of real girls dressed in the same way. For his book Suo Sarumawashi he photographed a tradition that has existed for over a thousand years in Japan. Dancing and performing monkeys were initially used as a form of religious ritual to protect the horses of warriors. Today they perform acrobatic stunts and comedic skits for an audience. He took intimate portraits of the monkeys, displaying human-like features. Hiroshi has released a large number of books and his work has been exhibited extensively throughout the world. The following images come from the series Love Point, Suo Sarumawashi and Kabuki Players.

Website: www.hiroshiwatanabe.com