加治川支川の坂井川

雲に隠れているのは、新発田で親しまれている二王子岳です。水鏡となった坂井川の透明感や、湿度を含んだ朝の空気を通して、逆光に包まれた風景全体が神々しい雰囲気を醸し出しています。逆光の中で捉えた水と雲の写真は、まるでクロード・ロランやウィリアム・ターナーの絵画を思わせるような趣があります。人物こそ写っていませんが、強い光を感じさせる宗教画のような印象も受けます。

ここは名所でも、多くのカメラマンが集まる場所でもありません。普段は何気ない場所であっても、光と空気によって劇的に姿を変える瞬間があり、その一瞬を捉えたいと常々思っています。

また、写真を撮る際にはAIや画像処理でイメージを加工するのではなく、できるだけ自然のままの姿を残したいと考えています。なぜなら、自然の方が人間よりもはるかに豊かな想像力を持っていると感じるからです。時間がかかったとしても、私たちはその瞬間をそっと記録するだけで十分なのではないでしょうか。

写真は、「面白い」と感じた瞬間の記録であると同時に、自分自身のメモや備忘録としても役立ちます。時が経つにつれて、それは自分にとって大切な思い出となり、さらに長い時間が過ぎれば、社会にとって過去を知る手がかりや、その時代の証人としての役割も果たしてくれるでしょう。

The rice rack trees of Mangonji Temple were transplanted to this farm road by 26 farmers in the area between 1943 and 1945, when approximately 250 hectares of rice fields in the region were reorganized. As agricultural mechanization advanced and mechanical drying of rice grains became widespread, rice drying fields across the prefecture began to disappear one after another. However, this area was designated for seed rice collection, and the rice drying fields were preserved as necessary for natural drying to produce high-quality seed rice. Even after the designation was lifted, the owners and farmers’ association worked together to preserve the rice drying poles, and they remain as a local landmark of Niitsu to this day.” …The above is from the Niigata Tourism Navigation website.

Even if transplanted, they are still used for drying rice, so they can be called haza trees. On the other hand, the haza trees in the gate field of Nakano-guchi have been transplanted between the roadside and the sidewalk like street trees. Streetlights have been installed here and there, and they no longer resemble their original form. Since they no longer serve their original purpose and are not maintained, can they still be called haza trees?

At Man’en-ji Temple, I clearly remember that during the construction of the Ban’etsu Expressway, the trees were arbitrarily cut down to divide the row, drawing criticism. This highlights the issue of awareness regarding landscapes and cultural-historical scenery. While the loss of Niigata’s distinctive landscapes over time is part of the flow of history, there is a need for development designs that utilize them. It’s too late once they’re gone.

Photographs are records of moments that we find interesting, but they also serve as notes and memos for ourselves. As time passes, they become precious memories for us, and after even more time has passed, they serve as clues to the past for society and as witnesses to that era.

PENTAX67 75mm

©️photo by Nakamura Osamu