What is portrait?

If you say it's a portrait photograph, it's exactly like that.

The story of a family taken in a photo studio, the daily photos taken by a mother of her child with a mobile phone.

​ These may also be one of the portraits.

 

Photos taken on a mobile phone with friends in everyday life, casual snaps taken with family when traveling, photos seen in magazines and advertisements, and many photos seen on SNS almost every day.

Nowadays,Not a day goes by without seeing a photo.

But what lies beyond those pictures?

What is a portrait really?

I wanted to know the answer, so I set out on a journey.

 

Start from Chiang Mai, Thailand.

Transfer to a domestic flight in Bangkok to Chiang Mai, the second largest city in Thailand. Located about 720 kilometers north of Bangkok, this ancient city is so beautiful that it is also called the "Northern Rose". ​

As soon as I arrived at the hotel, I immediately went out to take pictures in the city.

Children playing around parents selling spices on the street. A young man drawing the streets of Chiang Mai. Tourists from Europe.

Furthermore, drive to the north to a village where ethnic groups live.

I met many faces of many people.

The moments of 2020 New Year were filmed at a large temple in Chiang Mai.

A solemn new year's day that I've never experienced before.

I still remember vividly how I was able to greet the new year with a calm feeling.

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and to Bangkok.

Unlike Chiang Mai, where I spent a few days, I went to Bangkok, a big city.

As was the case in Chiang Mai, there are many large temples not only in Bangkok but also in Thailand, a Buddhist country.

Buddhism is deeply rooted in the city, and it is said to be a city in which ancient and modern history and culture are in perfect harmony.

Of course, the people who live there and the people who visit there let me shoot with various expressions.

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The third city I visited was Ayutthaya, an ancient city located about 80 km north of Bangkok, about 2 hours by train.

As the capital of the Ayutthaya dynasty, it prospered for about 400 years from 1350. Taking advantage of the terrain where two tributaries converge with the great Chao Phraya River, it developed through water transport trade, but later declined due to repeated battles from neighboring Myanmar.

Ayutthaya's tragic war-torn history is exemplified by Wat Mahathat's famous Buddha head entwined in the roots of a Bodhi tree.

More than 200 people have taken photos so far.

On the train back to Bangkok, I remembered the many faces of the people who had allowed me to shoot so far, and for some reason I cried.

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I don't know how many years this project will take.

When I look back on this trip someday, I want to remember the many feelings I got from this first start.