Sawamaru Pokiru

Sawamaru Pokiru is a professional photographer that creates images for a greater purpose of the world.

Interview With Sawamaru Pokiru From Japan

Interview With The 2022 London Photography Awards Platinum Winner – Sawamaru Pokiru

1Can you introduce yourself and talk about how you got into photography?

I studied photography in the professional photographer course and digital professional course at Tokyo Photography Academy.

2Where did you study photography?

I studied photography in the professional photographer course and digital professional course at Tokyo Photography Academy.

3Do you remember your first shot? What was it?

I took a picture of my child.

4What equipment do you use?

Canon R5, RF85mm F1.2L USM, RF100mm F2.8L macro IS USM, RF24-70mm F2.8L USM, RF16mm F2.8 STM, COMET TW-04F-RS, Canon 600EX II-RT

5What do you hope to achieve?

I would like to create a work that will be more recognized in the world by the current method of directing the shooting, doing hair makeup and costume styling, and doing all the shooting.

6What inspires your unique storytelling?

Things that are familiar to me and things that I have been interested in since I was young. It's so natural to be in me that I'm motivated to dig deeper when I reaffirm its beauty.

7What THREE (3) words describe your photography style?

Indigenous, conflict, thinking.

8Congratulations! As the winner of the London Photography Awards, what does it mean for you and your team to receive this distinction?

Being able to win such a wonderful award is clearly a plus for my future work. And it was to greatly increase my motivation.

9Can you explain a bit about the winning work you entered into the 2022 London Photography Awards, and why you chose to enter this project?

When I was watching the cloth fluttering in the wind, I was fascinated by the beauty of light and cloth. The beautiful and soft cloth became stronger by interweaving anxiety and conflicts, and I felt that it would also be an armor that protects itself from the outside world, so I made it into a work.

10How has winning an award developed your career?

My clients and new clients asked me to work, and my brain was further creatively developed.

11Name 1-3 photographers who have inspired you.

Paolo Roversi.

12What was the best piece of advice you were given starting out, by a mentor or your role model?

Your photo is not for Japan, but for the world.

13What advice would you give someone who would like to become a photographer today?

As I started photography and learned a lot, I just wanted to use a technique, but I feel that the essence is not there. I think it is important to bring what is inside such a person to the surface as a photograph, such as what to take, how it feels, and how to look back at it.

14What is your key to success? Any parting words of wisdom?

I think that it is important to pursue what I am interested in and proceed without hesitation about what I believe.

15How do you stay in that space of being receptive to new information and knowledge?

I will stay in that space until I can draw the visuals within myself. After that, I ask other people for their opinions, but I do it to grasp the position of common sense, and if I change my beliefs, I get lost in the roots, so I try to use it properly for my own purposes.

Winning Entry

Veil | 2022

As people grow older, they gradually wear a veil that hides their true self. The beautiful and soft cloth becomes strong …
(Read more at London Photography Awards)

Sawamaru Pokiru

Sawamaru Pokiru is a professional photographer that creates images for a greater purpose of the world.

Read about this article with Mateusz Jagiello from United States, Platinum winner of the 2022 London Photography Awards.