To celebrate the release of our latest City Edition, Trope Tokyo, we’re bringing you in-depth interviews with the talented Trope photographers, each offering unique insight into their craft.
Yoshito Hasaka (@_f7) is a creative director / consultant and graphic designer from Tokyo. Having lived throughout the city all his life, it’s no wonder that he’s made the city his playground as a photographer. A master of creative atmospheres, Yoshito captures Tokyo equal to a Blade Runner movie, because for him reality and fantasy are not so distant. With the help of his camera, he manages to capture the energy of his city in a compelling way in which he delivers a colourful and futuristic vision of the world through dynamic, vibrant compositions and skillful post production. Yoshito sees the city as a huge canvas, and in every frame he paints his own picture by taking a photo. His photographs are featured in Trope Tokyo.
After working as a graphic designer and web director for 10 years... I joined a startup and worked many roles. I then left and established my own company - now I help clients in the area of brand consultation, art direction and service design. Photography is entirely my hobby, but it affects my way of creation and art direction.
I’ve loved shooting since my school days. Back then I was taking photos of my surroundings and everyday life with a Nikon FE2 and mainly using film. I eventually stopped, because it cost a lot to print as a student! In 2011, I started shooting again using my iPhone4 and posting on Instagram.
After getting used to shooting with iPhone... I got RICOH GR (Compact digi cam), and eventually switched to Canon 6D, then 5D Mark IV + 12-24mm / 35 mm / 24-105mm / 70-300mm. In 2019, I made the switch to a Leica M10-P + Summilux 35mm and then updated to M10-D for shooting without rear screen towards the end of 2020. My way of shooting has changed so much - I was getting bored with shooting cityscapes, now I'm more interested in shooting moments. These moments can be dense, crazy, or mixed up - all of my favorite environments to shoot in.
My style is hard to describe and it depends on what I want to express. But, for a few years I was experimenting with making each image look like an illustration. It was interesting to see what a real city would look like as a detailed illustration. Over time, my focus has evolved based on how I felt and what I wanted to express. Originally, I found interest in shooting Tokyo architecture but now I shoot more of what is happening in the moment. Since I switched my camera, it changed my way of seeing what I want to shoot. I take inspiration from artists like Simon Davidson, Benedict Redglove and Christopher Wilson.
My photography and art are transit points, they’re a record of what I’ve done. I can remember many things when I see my work, like what I was thinking at the time, what I was doing, what I was trying to achieve. Sometimes photography is expanded to artificial fictional dreams by montage - it allows people to feel surprised, delighted and it’s encouraging. I hope that when viewers see my work, they describe it as futuristic, a dream, art. My advice to new photographers would be to first discover what you’re interested in and then shoot as much as possible.
Five years from now... I want to work towards my goal of seeing places I’ve always wanted to see. I want people to know me as a photographer, and to be remembered as ‘someone’ after I’m gone.
