Bending the Light Page #3

think the action photograph

will come from.

It's all about preparation.

If you're not prepared then

you're gonna get caught out

or you're gonna make a mistake

because you didn't have

the right lens with you.

- I've been working for over 34 years.

I am an advanced design lens manager,

and I oversee a group of people

designing the latest lenses.

I like most sport but I like soccer best.

I started playing when I was quite small.

The game is about balancing

individual skills with the team

and that's fun to do.

It's a lot like the way we work.

In optic research and design,

we try to support the work of individual

with a team effort.

- When Canon came out with auto-focus,

it basically levelled the

playing field between the guys

who were extremely good at follow-focusing

and the guys who couldn't follow-focus

but loved photographing sports.

Basically a 600-mil and a 428.

That would be something

that you would work with.

- For professional use,

the big long lenses

should be both as lightweight

and durable as possible.

They need constant updating.

- You know, these lenses,

it's good actually.

Very shortly I'll just be

able to do this, you know?

I don't have to go to the

gym anymore, you know?

- It's tricky because reducing weight

and making it stronger are opposite.

How to resolve this is a big deal,

but it's a challenge I enjoy.

- You know, now I could just

ponce around with this little baby

which gives me another 10 years,

or it gives my spine another 10 years.

This for me is kind of a new toy to use

and adapt to the way I'm shooting.

You know, it's a zoom lens.

That means I have an incredible range.

I can go from a 200-millimeter lens

to an almost 600-millimeter lens.

It makes coffee, and

the latte's not so good

so maybe those lens mysters can sort out

a latte function on this

thing but it does a lot.

- I did fine-tuning on auto-focus

and the image stabilizing system

used in sports like football, baseball

and motorsports.

I like pictures that have good focus,

but also can catch both the

movement of the athletes

and the facial expressions.

That's the best.

When people started using digital cameras,

there was no cost limit to how

many pictures you could take.

You could take as many as you like.

- That gives me the

freedom to go with an idea,

and just try and work it 'till

I thought I got it exact.

- [Voiceover] How many frames

did you shoot to get this one?

- You know, I shot a lot of images.

Oh man, I don't know.

1,200-2,000 images.

You know, the beauty of

working for someone like

Sports Illustrated, they're

looking for great photographs.

They're not necessarily looking for

man-crossing-line every time.

I've always tried to push forward

and find different angles.

The one thing that's happening with sport,

particularly large events,

is that you become controlled.

So you're only allowed to go to one pen,

and you wanna go up high,

it's a bit of a cat and mouse game.

Wanting to sneak behind the

security guards and go upstairs.

Instead of being down on the

field shooting the same thing

that 300 other photographers

were gonna shoot,

I wanted to do something

which was different.

- The reason why I

started taking photographs

was because I was deeply

inspired by the famous

Japanese photographer Ken Domon.

He approaches his subjects quickly

without letting them know.

Just like a thief.

Even the blurry or out of focus picture

was better if it captured

the emotion on the face.

- When you're doing a

portrait of somebody,

you're in complete control of

the scene and how you're

gonna photograph them.

It's a very different dynamic.

And then you obviously have

to interact with the subject.

Michael Phelps I had a

reasonable relationship with,

and I was always explaining

to him what I wanted to do

and he was very up for the

ideas that I had in mind.

I don't get up at four in the morning

and swim for three hours

and then sleep for the rest of the day.

I read the newspaper, I walk the dog.

These guys aren't doing any of that.

They're just focused 100%

on trying to be the best.

- Sport is all about winning and losing.

So one of the most important

thing a sports photographer

does is get the sense of that in the face

and the body language of the athletes.

- Winning is what everybody wants to see.

But I mean, losing I think is probably a

bigger life lesson.

And in sport it's black and white.

Dealing with losing is a very

interesting subject, I think.

- Sport also bonds generations.

I can talk to my young workers about it.

It helps stimulate conversation

and makes for better communication.

- [Voiceover] Is there a

future in still photography?

- People still ride horses.

They just don't use them

to get down I95 now.

So there will be a space for photography.

The industry changes, it's changed rapidly

in the short time that I've

been around and involved in it.

Experience is something that I

now use heavily (chuckles)

to persuade people to employ me.

All the new toys help you.

They don't take the

photograph for you yet,

but they definitely help

you capture an image.

- I never stop learning.

Especially when we were

working on the new project.

Sometimes experience isn't enough,

so I have to find a new way of thinking.

The young are quick to embrace new ideas,

so I have to work to keep up with them.

- [Voiceover] Do you

train the young workers?

- [Mitsuharu] Yes, I

teach them what I know

and to work as hard as I do.

- [Voiceover] And what's

the most important thing?

- [Mitsuharu] Love.

When I shout or yell at

them, it's with love.

If they can understand that,

then they will work better and harder.

- [Voiceover] When I first started,

I was an operator in manufacturing.

Learning the basics of the camera.

Now, I'm an assistant leader of the team.

I specialize in lenses

for television cameras.

- [Mitsuharu] To learn communication

skills with co-workers,

that was the most important

thing that I ever learned.

When things get difficult,

always remember that

other people as well as you

are trying to do their best.

Technical skills are one thing,

but the emotional support is

important in work and in life.

(peaceful piano music)

- I don't exactly know why,

but I feel relaxed when

I photograph temples.

I think taking photos of the temple

helps sustain my motivation.

Our family had four brothers,

and my father used to take

pictures of all of us growing up.

Before my father took me to Samyo Temple,

I wasn't really interested in cameras,

but because of it, I became

very curious about photography

and so my father taught me

and he was rather strict.

He was really specific in

the use of light and shadows,

but you can't appreciate

those sort of things

when you are small.

My father would look at my photos and say,

"That's not it."

These are pictures of a

three-tier temple that I love.

This is an example of the photo contests

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