FocusOn Instagramers 1.11: @polagrapher Each week, Instagramers.com discovers new people. People addicted to Instagram revealing their lives, passions, tips in Instagram. This week we fly to Japan and we meet impressive “Kuro” Minimalism.
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His name is Takashi Kuroshima…
But all the IG people know him as @polographer.
@polagrapher is a young japanese guy of twenty-seven years old and he lives in one of the most dynamic countries in Instagram community, Japan.
One day, I discovered him by chance while sailing in the Japanase streams of Instagram´s seas.
His pictures and his minimalists shots amazed me right away.
The smallest figures and subjects I´ve ever seen in Instagram. People photographed more than hundred meters away. Expressing loneliness, silence, freedom in just few minimalist shots and his Love for nature.
Kuro (as i call him) was born in Shodoshima, a small island in the Inland Sea of Japan. Shodoshima is a very rural area with a beautiful sky, surrounded by the ocean and mountains. Recently, the island was chosen as a movie shooting site.
Kuro and me have something in common. We love the blue color, we love the sky, we love the deep blue sea… And Kuro appreciates it above all. Through his pics of blue ocean and clean skies, Kuro tries to show the beauty of Shodoshima. “I want to make discover the charm of my island, the place where I grew up”.
“Shodoshima is a tourist spot. However, it suffers from depopulation, and it is not as vibrant as before” and Kuro wants probably fight against this trend that sometimes kills rural life. “It´s very rural, but with its ocean and mountains, it has the charm of Japanese four seasons and i would like to promote my island all over the world”.
As a matter of facts, he discovered the beauty of his roots country when he moved to one of the largest town in Japan, Osaka . Osaka is the town where he currently lives.
During his work time, Kuro works in advertising and website development area. He is very interested in the necessity and significance of the different websites and his plans are to improve his skills and knowledge around usability and web-based communication. It´s fun to see how many people working on Internet area have been dragged offshore by the waves of IG.
In his personal freetime, as many others creative Instagramers, he spends time experimenting photography and graphic art. He loves creating and he enjoys a lot been able to exhibit his favs artwork. Needless to say, he likes simple designs. He tries to express his view of the world through the sky, the ocean, and people as his main themes.
In the past, his work was mainly focused in using polaroid cameras to take pictures but six months ago, he fell in love with an iPhone and he started to use Instagram as a way to publish his pics. “The iPhone and Instagram really changed my life and my world” says Kuro. “You can get immediate feedback from people around the world, as soon as you post your pics and that´s stunning”.
Kuro is definitely a positive man happy . He has found, through Instagram, a way to express his passion by posting his favorite photos and dedicating them to the whole IG world.
We appreciate very much his answers to our Instagramers.com weekly interview.
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When did you first join IG?
I heard about Instagram even before I started using the iPhone because my friends were using Instagram.
I felt very attracted by its square format frames and its characteristic colors. They reminded me of SX70, my favorite polaroid camera. I bought an iPhone at the end of 2010, and immediately started participating in instagram.
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Do you feel addicted to IG?
I am really into it. I can see beautiful photos from around the world, and I can interact with people.
A valuable aspect is that you don´t need a long time to share the photo after you shoot it. I also appreciate the effects very much.
I think I do not speak English very well and I would like to improve it to be able to communicate properly with all my IG friends.
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Were you already found of photo before?
Photography has been my passion for a long time now. When I was a student, I worked part time in a photo shop,
and used to take pictures of the sky, the ocean and my friends with an old film camera and with my polaroid.
I exhibited my work at a gallery once. I do not only have a feeling for photography but I also like stylish cameras.
I also had the opportunity to take some photos with single-lens reflex camera as part of my job.
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For you, which are the 3 best pics apps?
1.instagram
It only takes a minute from the time you took a photograph until you share it and the effects available with their “Old polaroid” and “Lomographic” aspects.
2.Accu Camera
I like this app very much because it takes good quality images. Interesting for night views and food dishes.
3.WreslerCam
This is an interesting camera app that can make head shorts into an illustrated pro-wreslters. I enjoy it very much!
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How long time do you spend a day in IG? Doing what?
I use it before I go to bed or during my way back home after my daily job.
I enjoy seeing pics of my followers and the nice skies shot all around the world, interactivity and the immediate feedback when you share a photo taken by an iPhone.
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Is there a lot of Instagramers in your country?
Definitely, many people use it in Japan, from creators to very ordinary people. This is a very cool and hot app among iPhone users who like photographs. During the last earthquake, it was used as a place to post information and messages to encourage those who were affected by this terrible disaster.
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How did you get so many followers in so litlle time?
I think it´s important to share a good work. My photos are very simple, and they often have the sky as the main theme, which may be a reason why people like my style. I only upload pics I really like on instagram, so it´s a real pleasure when I receive followers “likes”. I try also to leave has many comments i can on the photos that I liked of other users.
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Which is your favorite pic?
I like how impressive the ocean and the sky look. It´s a pic I took immediately after I bought the iPhone.
I used instagram to put effects on and it turned out much better than I expected!
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What have been your first reaction when you had your first Pop?
It made me very happy. I got really excited. By becoming one of the “popular” photos, many users started following me.
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Do your “non Instagramers” friends and family are bothered by your IG addiction?
Not at all. My friends were very impressed with the photos taken with an iPhone. Also, they got interested because photographs from around the world were available and you could interact with other people. My friends who have an iPhone started to participate after hearing about it.
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A trick you would recommend?
You can create unexpected images if you create a shadow by taking a backlight photo or if you change a focus and modify the exposure and effects.
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Something you would say to a new user?
You can see photographs from around the world, and you can also show the world your own work. I look forward to “the world debut” of new users. Please feel free to leave me comments.
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Thanks very much to my friend “Kuro” aka @polographer for this cool and relaxing interview.
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@philgonzalez
More Info about Takashi:
InstagramID @polagrapher
TwitterID: @polagrapher96
Website: https://www.polagrapher.com/
ArtistName: Takashi kuroshima=96
