The Aesthetics of Steel. Peering Through the Viewfinder at the Madness and Passion of the 'Battleship Yamato' -OM-5 Mark II + 12-45mm F4 PRO-
'God is in the details'—this must be exactly what that means. The 1/10 scale Battleship Yamato sits enthroned at the Yamato Museum. Standing before its exquisite craftsmanship, one can only sigh.
This time, I took the 'OM-5 Mark II + 12-45mm F4 PRO' in hand to enjoy a dialogue with those details.
No matter which angle I point the lens from, there is no flaw. The meticulously calculated structures, the texture of the deck, and the countless gun turrets glaring at the sky. I am simply overwhelmed by the fact that this is a 1/10 scale model, and that a steel castle ten times this size once floated on the seas of Japan.
As I stare through the viewfinder, there are moments when a certain fetishism is stimulated. For example, the 'compression effect' caused by the telephoto lens. The density of the bridge looking up past the carrier-based aircraft is so beautiful it sends shivers down my spine. And then, the silhouette of the stern, which draws a graceful curve. If I may be so bold, the rear view of the Yamato is irresistibly good.
As a battleship, one must not forget that it is a weapon, created for the purpose of tragic slaughter. However, at the same time, I think this: how incredible must the technical prowess and aesthetic sense of the Japanese people of the past have been to be able to design and build something so massive, so precise, and in a sense, so 'absurd'? There must have been a definite madness there, and a passion even greater than that.
I kept pressing the shutter. The photos released this time are only 1/30th of the shots I actually took. The existence of the Yamato holds a bottomless photographic power that makes you think, no matter how much you shoot, 'isn't there something deeper?'
Now that the primary creation of shooting is over, the time awaits to see how I will process these records. I am looking forward to sublimating the 'memory of Yamato' within me into an even deeper, more personal image through development and compositing.
Equipment used this time: OM SYSTEM OM-5 Mark II + M.ZUIKO 12-45mm F4 PRO