by Yvette Depaepe
Published the 24th of June 2024

To Ken-Ichi IINØ, street photography is about waiting for the flow of the cityscape (traffic and people) and enjoying capturing attractive moments. He mainly is shooting street portraits at night. Unlike during the day, the city at night is lit up with very attractive lights. He relies on the street lights and shop lights to take my photos. Ken-Ichi is persuaded that retouching is absolutely essential to make his work attractive. To him is means that 50% shooting and 50% retouching will result in a 100% finished work. He pays a lot of attention to colours. They can greatly change the appearance of a photo. But he also loves monochrome photos and feels sometimes it can convey even more powerful emotions than colour works.
Let's wander through his unique street portraits and learn more about this great artist.

'ENDLESS RAIN'

Dear friend, to begin, please introduce yourself and tell us about you, your hobbies or other jobs/projects you are involved in!

Thank you for inviting me for an interview in the 1x Magazine and thanks to everyone who has visited my portfolio. Much appreciated.
I'm a Japanese photographer who mainly does street portrait photography (especially at night) and selfies (using interval timers and remote controls).
My work is diverse, including still and video photography, still photo retouching, video editing, and package design.

'ENDURE RAIN'

'ART OF LIFE'

'STANDING IN THE MIDST OF SLANTING LIGHT'

'THE BLACK FLAG'

'LIKE @ ANGEL'

Your street portraits are excellent and undeniably wear your signature. What does street photography, and especially street portraits mean to you?

Street photography is about waiting for the flow of the cityscape (traffic and people) and enjoying capturing attractive moments.
I am mainly good at shooting street portraits at night. Unlike during the day, the city at night is lit up with very attractive lights. I rely on the street lights and shop lights to take my photos.
What I believe in common with everything is "Now is everything."
Many events flow by at a tremendous speed on the street. These events never happen again. (Weather, season, traffic flow, etc.)

The premise is to fuse the "now" with the background and portrait to take attractive photos that attract people. I carefully look carefully at the background I choose every time and find a place.
I also carefully consider how I want my subjects to pose and what composition I want to use for the photo.

I have been taking wedding-related portraits for a long time at work, so I would like to further develop my field of expertise. I consider street portraits to be photos outside of work and to present my results to the world.

'THE STRANGE WORLD IS ILLUMINATED BY “NEON” SIGNS

'THE BEATING RAIN'

'SIT ON THE ESCALATOR'

'GLASS-PANELED CORRIDOR WITH ILLUMINATED LIGHTS'

'LEAN AGAINST THE WALL'

What first drew you to street photography and how did you discover it?

When shooting on the street, the conditions change depending on the time of day, the season, and the weather, so I enjoy watching those changes.
I think there are many elements that make a subject attractive especially at night, and I think it's easier to interpret the amount of light entering the subject than sunlight in the daytime.
The city is filled with a variety of different lights, but I actually use that to my advantage for colour grading.

A few years ago, I used a tripod for night-time photography.

However, technology has advanced so much that cameras with excellent image stabilization are now on the market,making it easy to shoot handheld even at night. Since then, night portrait photography has become my speciality.

What do you think makes a memorable street photograph?

I believe it is in the flow of the cityscape.
The moments that exist in that flow (of traffic and people) that I cannot control are accidental and dynamic. I believe that memorable works are those that capture those moments that will never come again. I take photographs always hoping to see some fascinating, accidental change occur.
(For example, the light from car lights or advertising displays in a city at night.)
I always carefully consider the fact that "now is everything."

'SHIBUYA SCRAMBLE CROSSING'

'ESCAPE THE HUSTLE AND BUSTLE OF THE CITY'

'SAVORING CIGARETTES ON THIS NIGHT'

Can you describe your overall photographic vision, Andy?

There are many night photos in my catalogue. Night really stimulates my imagination. I like the cinematic tones and the colours you see in the music videos of my favourite heavy metal music.
For me, photography is about "moments" and "dynamism," and I always want to capture "that movement" in my photos.

And I think retouching is absolutely essential to make it look attractive. I think that 50% shooting and 50% retouching will result in a 100% finished work. First of all, I pay a lot of attention to colour tones. Coors can greatly change the appearance of a photo. And it is "colour" that can express that emotion. Like video, "colour" is very important to convey something in a single shot without cut-work.

Add the exact colour you think is appropriate to the places you think are the right choices. This can make a big difference in how the photo turns out. Also, shooting on the street at night creates a very mixed light, and the photos tend to be coloured, but I embrace that element and try to create attractive colours. The photos in 1x are dotted with lots of reference colours, and I'm incorporating anything I can imitate in my own way.

I also post a lot of monochrome photos. I wonder how much can be expressed with monochrome shading without colour information, and I think that sometimes it can convey even more powerful emotions than colour works. I learned to add a blur effect to photos from the photos in 1x. When I first saw it, I thought it was so cool! I was shocked at what a great effect it was! I definitely wanted to add this to my own photos.

How can I reduce the number of failures? When things don't go well, I sometimes doubt myself, but I believe that working hard at something new means I've grown, even if just a little. All of this is for the sake of a "striking shot," so I put all my effort into composition, colour, and other aspects.

'FLYING HIGH! (IN THE RAIN)'

'B . BLUE'

How important is content versus form in street photography? Do you personally think one plays a stronger role than the other? What do you want your viewers to take away from your work. What do you want your viewers to take away from your work?
When it comes to selfies, I consciously project loneliness, sadness, strangeness, and the intensity and darkness found in my favourite heavy metal music into my photos.

When it comes to street portraits, I aim to bring out the best in my subjects, including ennui and beauty, in my own way.

'SWING THE MICROPHONE STAND OVERHEAD'

'JAPANESE KIMONO AND UMBRELLA'

What do you think are some clichés in street photography you steer away from yourself?

There are a lot of vehicles and people coming and going in the city. It's important to wait for that serendipity, but when it comes to street portraits I'm conscious of how to get as many other pedestrians and people out of the frame as possible. Basically, I focus on making my target subject (people) stand out in an attractive way.

What were the difficulties you encountered first starting street photography and what advice would you give to beginners?

At first, I didn't know how to incorporate the street scenery in front of me in an attractive way. I also struggled to find a way to make the subject stand out in an attractive way when shooting at night. Even if the subject wasn't there, I took a lot of photos, day or night.
As I corrected my own photos, I discovered one by one my own points of view that would make the subject look attractive. I just took a lot of photos, made a lot of mistakes, and practised a lot. I placed the subject (people) in the angle that I felt would make the subject look attractive, and little by little I gained and increased the number of good points that would make the subject look better.
For me, street portraits are the result of my experiences in street snaps piling up and mixing together.
I think it's important to accumulate a lot of mistakes. And those mistakes don't end as mistakes, but rather as lessons, and if they pile up like thick layers, I think they will lead to realizing things I've never felt before and leading to new discoveries. I always keep in mind "Be obsessed with growth!"

Who are some of your favourite photographers, and how did they influence you?

I'm heavily influenced by the 1x website.
I'm really inspired by many of the photographers featured on 1x.
I'm always really in awe of the techniques of photographers from around the world.
I'm always amazed at how they manage to produce such photos.

When you are out shooting—how much of it is instinctual versus planned?

For street portraits, after arriving at the location, I walk around the area a little and actually take photos. As I walk around, I look for places where something interesting might happen, think about where I would place the subject in an attractive way, and roughly decide on a location. All of this is about searching for a "strike shot" that will receive support and appreciation from the curator.

What gear do you use (camera, lenses, bag)?

I use a Canon camera. The lens is also genuine. I don't think that the most important thing for photography is the camera model. Even if you have very high-end equipment, it doesn't necessarily mean you'll take great photos. I think the most important thing is what you're aiming to capture, and what atmosphere and colours you want to create with it, and then mixing in a little of your own personality into that.

What software do you use to process your images?

Adobe Lightroom Classic - Adobe Photoshop

Are there any specific directions that you would like to take your photography and can you share with us your future plans or projects you would like to be involved in.

I am planning to exhibit at the 1x Artist Exhibition "This is it" to be held in March 2025.
Other than that, I would like to hold my own solo exhibition. I would like to exhibit the many wonderful "strike shots" that I have taken.

How has social media played a role in your photography?

I use it daily as a good tool for showing my photos outside of 1x.

X：https://x.com/Wii_No_

Threads：https://www.threads.net/@wii_no

Instagram：https://www.instagram.com/wii_no/

YouTube：https://www.youtube.com/@kenichi_iino/videos

What is one question nobody has ever asked you—that you wish they asked you?

It's about selfies. Ideas include smoking a cigarette in the rain while pouring water over yourself, lighting flowers and taking a photo, or becoming a fake rock musician.
You use an interval timer or a remote control to film yourself. In this case, the subject is yourself, so you just do what you have in mind.
Because you don't allow for any compromise, you will shoot for hours until you get a photo you are satisfied with. Sometimes you will be in heavy rain, or pouring water over yourself from a plastic bottle, and your clothes will get wet and you will feel cold, but you will never give up until you get a photo you are satisfied with.
It is also a competition with yourself. It is also a relentless search for the "strike shot".

'ADRENALINE STARTS TO FLOW!'

'HEAVY RAIN (STRUM THE QUITAR)

Now, since we have almost reached the end of this interview, I would kindly ask you to tell us how you discovered 1x and what do you think about it as a home base for your work?

One day, I was told about 1x by someone who posts photos on the site. When I first saw them, I was overwhelmed by the works posted on the site. Every genre was different from the photos you see on Japanese SNS, and I was stunned by the deep worldview of the colour balance, retouching techniques, lighting techniques, etc.

I could never do that! Their skills are too advanced! That's what I thought.

And after I found out about the 1x site, I wanted to master the photography techniques posted on the site, so I tried and failed by trial and error.
It took a long time to acquire those skills. It changed the way I think about photography. I looked at many of the works posted on 1x, and tried to imitate the colour tones and composition in my own way, but I failed many times.

And now, I'm happy to have come this far and been invited to this interview. I've learned a lot from the works posted on the 1x site.

And I hope to be curated more on the 1x site in the future. I feel happy when other people besides myself evaluate my photos. Whether it is recognized or not becomes a benchmark and encourages me. I am very happy that my photos are curated by 1x members all over the world. And when a photo wins the support of many curators, I feel very happy that it is a "strike shot" that will be accepted! I will continue to aim for "strike shots" that will be accepted worldwide.

"Creation begins with imitation"

I have always kept this phrase in my heart, and will continue to search for "strike shots" and continue my photographic activities. I want to spread the word "strike shot" all over the world. Strike shots today and tomorrow!