WHO?
My name is Hiroshi Tabata. I’m originally from Japan, but I have lived in the U.K. for almost half of my life now. I used to travel a lot, and photography was a big part of it. As the priorities in life change, I had been away from traveling and then photography as well. However, it was around the end of 2015 when I started shooting on the streets as a routine. Just to get that passion back again. As I study and learn more from the work of photography legends of the past and current, shooting on the streets has become a sort of obsession.
WHAT?
I like people on the move, or something moving – at least that’s what my eye is often drawn to.
WHERE?
Before the pandemic, mainly in London where I worked. Now I don’t commute to London anymore, so I’ve been shooting locally (Brighton) for a change. Last summer, I did my little own project documenting Brighton seafront with black and white films, which I enjoyed very much.
I don’t travel that much anymore, but I do enjoy shooting in new places. Usually, I’m more open to what I capture in new places.
WHEN?
Usually weekdays. I shoot after work, and sometimes during the lunch hours. I didn’t really shoot on weekends before the pandemic. In London, I somehow liked the crowds and the flow of people on weekdays more compared to the ones on weekends. Nowadays I shoot on the weekends more in Brighton where I live.
WHY?
It’s an escape and addiction. I like the thought of my photographs are my own – I’m the one who was at a particular spot at a particular scene at a particular time. I decided what to be included in a frame, and pressed the shutter button at the particular moment that I decided. That has to a beautiful and special thing even if what I captured may not be a special thing or moment to others.
