The Faces of Places by Takatoshi Masuda

Issue 95

The Face of Places features Japanese landscapes that I photograph from the local train windows.

In Japan, the train system that covers most of the country is a highly reliable and essential transportation for ordinary people. Nevertheless, I was yearning to ride a train in my childhood as no train was running on my home island. After I moved to the city later, I naturally started photographing the landscapes from the trains.

When I look at the huge amounts of images I collected, I got an idea of digitally overlaying them in the post-production process so that I can extract the essence of the landscapes. As a result of trial and error, using roughly 10 images that were shot sequentially was the best to beautifully encapsulate a certain time and distance.

The Face of Places now consists of two parts - ‘City' and ‘Countryside' of Japan. I am planning to extend this project to other parts of the world so that I would be able to showcase the contrast of regional characteristics on a global scale.

Takatoshi Masuda lives and works in Kobe, Hyogo, Japan. 
To view more of Takatoshi's work, please visit his website.

Takashima, Shiga, 2016

Takashima, Shiga, 2016

 
Sabae, Fukui, 2016

Sabae, Fukui, 2016

 
Osaka, Osaka 2016

Osaka, Osaka 2016

 
Ota, Tokyo, 2016

Ota, Tokyo, 2016

 
Echizen, Fukui, 2016

Echizen, Fukui, 2016

 
Nagahama, Shiga 2016

Nagahama, Shiga 2016

 
Fukui, Fukui, 2016

Fukui, Fukui, 2016

 
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 2016

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 2016

 
Amagasaki, Hyogo, 2016

Amagasaki, Hyogo, 2016

 
Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 2016

Hamamatsu, Shizuoka, 2016

 
Kyoto, Kyoto, 2016

Kyoto, Kyoto, 2016

 
Kaga, Ishikawa, 2016

Kaga, Ishikawa, 2016