Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, his natural self seen by photographers

[sweetwater]

Otekomachi, a news outlet of Yomiuri interviewed Kazuki Wakasugi, who is in charge of photography in Yuzuru Hanyu Online Exhibition, and Toru Yaguchi, the photographer of "Yuzuru Hanyu 2019-2020" by Hochi. (*Hochi is affiliated with Yomiuri)

 

フィギュアスケートの羽生結弦、カメラマンが見た素顔

https://otekomachi.yomiuri.co.jp/news/20200708-OKT8T228107/

 

Their comments are really nice, so let me share them excerpted from the article. (Rest of the text in the article is information about the exhibition and the photobook we already know, so I skipped it in my translation. Sorry in advance.) Their comments are shared with their photographs in the original article, so please take a look at it when you have time. Especially the first photo is probably the one Wakasugi san mentioned in his comments, so if you look at it, you will see what he meant more clearly.

 

Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, his natural self seen by photographers (excerpts)

 

(Translation from the third paragraph)
All the photographs (t/n: in this exhibition) are by Kazuki Wakasugi of Yomiuri Shimbun. On what is fascinating about Hanyu senshu, Wakasugi san says, "When Hanyu senshu appears in the venue, the atmosphere in the venue changes. The audience cheer. We photographers feel tense. Once he starts performing, he moves very fast and jumps very high. While other skaters take time to set up for jumps, Hanyu senshu jumps in the flow of his performance and doesn't make a set-up look like a set-up. He pays attention even to the tip of his fingers and to his facial expressions. He is an athlete and an expressive performer at the same time." He says sometimes he even forgets to release the shutter as he gets drawn in Hanyu senshu's performance and fascinated.

 

The competition in the last season that is most impressive for Wakasugi san is the Grand Prix Final. Looking back at then, he explains, "He was radiating an incredible amount of passion that I could feel it even through the lens. That was so thrilling and moving, and made me a fan. The moment I got hooked on."

 

Wakasugi san, who says he is totally fascinated by Hanyu senshu, pays attention to take a photograph that captures his (t/n: Yuzu's) natural self. According to Wakasugi san, Hanyu senshu's professionalism is so thorough that he tries to entertain the audience even in an official practice session and rarely reveals his natural self on the ice. "I may not be able to rival sempais and freelance photographers in terms of technique, but I am hoping to express Hanyu senshu, including what I felt about him with my photography. To do that, I am trying not to miss the moment he reveals his natural self as well as his performance." 

 

In that regard, the photo captured Hanyu senshu's expression after he finished performing in NHK Gala was satisfying to Wakasugi san. He says, "He looks in some way, relieved. I felt as if I had seen him as a person."

 

He also says that he enjoys finding the small changes in choreography by watching him all through the season. "I think about the meaning of the changes in his mood and his expressions while taking photography," he says, and that makes him want to talk about what he felt during a competition with someone after watching it. Wakasugi san says, "I would be happy if this exhibition becomes something that enables fans to share their memories like, "At that time, he performed like this," or "After all, Hanyu senshu is great!" and re-live the touching moments."

(Translation from the tenth paragraph)
What makes him feel Hanyu senshu's excellence--Toru Yaguchi of Hochi Shimbun says it is that he can hear the music in Hanyu senshu. In other words, Hanyu senshu is making every movement in one with the music. "I can hear the music even when I am concentrating on shooting during a competition. If you remember the music and release the shutter in tune with the music, you will be in tune with his movement as well."

 

There are some difficulties in shooting figure skating that you don't experience in shooting other sports. "For example, in baseball, we are close to the players and able to ask them about what we wonder about the way they play. However, in figure skating, there are only a limited number of competitions, and we can't get close to the skaters nor talk to them. We can only imagine what is happening in his mind. But if we can't feel what he feels, we are just following his movements. We can't take pictures that appeal to the heart of the fans that way," he explains about the difficulty of reaching out to athletes' minds.

 

Yaguchi san is fascinated by Hanyu senshu through taking photographs of him too. "He is always serious not only during the competition but also in practice and before the competition. His words are convincing, and he is also kind. Through getting to know such sides of him, I realized how amazing Hanyu senshu was, and my feeling of respect towards him grew stronger. He is a truly amazing athlete."

 

While editing the photo book, he was aiming to "express Hanyu senshu as a whole by showing multiple pictures instead of one." Also, he made the book square to show the photographs on bigger spreads using the margins effectively. This time, it consists of photographs taken in competitions, but he says, "Next time, I would like to cover the backstage of an ice show/ice shows, focusing on how they produce it/them."

[Frenchkiss70]

1 hour ago, sweetwater said:

Otekomachi, a news outlet of Yomiuri interviewed Kazuki Wakasugi, who is in charge of photography in Yuzuru Hanyu Online Exhibition, and Toru Yaguchi, the photographer of "Yuzuru Hanyu 2019-2020" by Hochi. (*Hochi is affiliated with Yomiuri)

 

フィギュアスケートの羽生結弦、カメラマンが見た素顔

https://otekomachi.yomiuri.co.jp/news/20200708-OKT8T228107/

 

Their comments are really nice, so let me share them excerpted from the article. (Rest of the text in the article is information about the exhibition and the photobook we already know, so I skipped it in my translation. Sorry in advance.) Their comments are shared with their photographs in the original article, so please take a look at it when you have time. Especially the first photo is probably the one Wakasugi san mentioned in his comments, so if you look at it, you will see what he meant more clearly.

 

Figure skater Yuzuru Hanyu, his natural self seen by photographers (excerpts)

 

(Translation from the third paragraph)
All the photographs (t/n: in this exhibition) are by Kazuki Wakasugi of Yomiuri Shimbun. On what is fascinating about Hanyu senshu, Wakasugi san says, "When Hanyu senshu appears in the venue, the atmosphere in the venue changes. The audience cheer. We photographers feel tense. Once he starts performing, he moves very fast and jumps very high. While other skaters take time to set up for jumps, Hanyu senshu jumps in the flow of his performance and doesn't make a set-up look like a set-up. He pays attention even to the tip of his fingers and to his facial expressions. He is an athlete and an expressive performer at the same time." He says sometimes he even forgets to release the shutter as he gets drawn in Hanyu senshu's performance and fascinated.

 

The competition in the last season that is most impressive for Wakasugi san is the Grand Prix Final. Looking back at then, he explains, "He was radiating an incredible amount of passion that I could feel it even through the lens. That was so thrilling and moving, and made me a fan. The moment I got hooked on."

 

Wakasugi san, who says he is totally fascinated by Hanyu senshu, pays attention to take a photograph that captures his (t/n: Yuzu's) natural self. According to Wakasugi san, Hanyu senshu's professionalism is so thorough that he tries to entertain the audience even in an official practice session and rarely reveals his natural self on the ice. "I may not be able to rival sempais and freelance photographers in terms of technique, but I am hoping to express Hanyu senshu, including what I felt about him with my photography. To do that, I am trying not to miss the moment he reveals his natural self as well as his performance." 

 

In that regard, the photo captured Hanyu senshu's expression after he finished performing in NHK Gala was satisfying to Wakasugi san. He says, "He looks in some way, relieved. I felt as if I had seen him as a person."

 

He also says that he enjoys finding the small changes in choreography by watching him all through the season. "I think about the meaning of the changes in his mood and his expressions while taking photography," he says, and that makes him want to talk about what he felt during a competition with someone after watching it. Wakasugi san says, "I would be happy if this exhibition becomes something that enables fans to share their memories like, "At that time, he performed like this," or "After all, Hanyu senshu is great!" and re-live the touching moments."

(Translation from the tenth paragraph)
What makes him feel Hanyu senshu's excellence--Toru Yaguchi of Hochi Shimbun says it is that he can hear the music in Hanyu senshu. In other words, Hanyu senshu is making every movement in one with the music. "I can hear the music even when I am concentrating on shooting during a competition. If you remember the music and release the shutter in tune with the music, you will be in tune with his movement as well."

 

There are some difficulties in shooting figure skating that you don't experience in shooting other sports. "For example, in baseball, we are close to the players and able to ask them about what we wonder about the way they play. However, in figure skating, there are only a limited number of competitions, and we can't get close to the skaters nor talk to them. We can only imagine what is happening in his mind. But if we can't feel what he feels, we are just following his movements. We can't take pictures that appeal to the heart of the fans that way," he explains about the difficulty of reaching out to athletes' minds.

 

Yaguchi san is fascinated by Hanyu senshu through taking photographs of him too. "He is always serious not only during the competition but also in practice and before the competition. His words are convincing, and he is also kind. Through getting to know such sides of him, I realized how amazing Hanyu senshu was, and my feeling of respect towards him grew stronger. He is a truly amazing athlete."

 

While editing the photo book, he was aiming to "express Hanyu senshu as a whole by showing multiple pictures instead of one." Also, he made the book square to show the photographs on bigger spreads using the margins effectively. This time, it consists of photographs taken in competitions, but he says, "Next time, I would like to cover the backstage of an ice show/ice shows, focusing on how they produce it/them."

Thank you 💖💖 It’s heartwarming reading professionals talking about our genius boy

[sweetwater]

2 minutes ago, Frenchkiss70 said:

Thank you 💖💖 It’s heartwarming reading professionals talking about our genius boy

Thank you for reading! 

[rockstaryuzu]

Thanks so much for the translation. It's really interesting to hear what the photographers have to say about Yuzu, because apart from Yuzu's team, they're probably the people who see him the most at competitions and they have this unique point of view that's one step closer than being a fan, but is still not in the inner circle. I'm thinking they really get to see Hanyu from both sides. 

[SitTwizzle]

3 hours ago, sweetwater said:

(...)

 

The competition in the last season that is most impressive for Wakasugi san is the Grand Prix Final. Looking back at then, he explains, "He was radiating an incredible amount of passion that I could feel it even through the lens. That was so thrilling and moving, and made me a fan. The moment I got hooked on."

 

(...)

 

He also says that he enjoys finding the small changes in choreography by watching him all through the season. "I think about the meaning of the changes in his mood and his expressions while taking photography," he says, and that makes him want to talk about what he felt during a competition with someone after watching it.

(...)

Thank you so much!

I am glad to see the greatness of GPF Origin appreciated.

And I think we are far from making justice to these so many details Yuzuru Hanyu puts in his interpretation and performance, and variations between performances. It can be annoying to "dissect" a regular program/performance, but I really believe Yuzuru Hanyu's belong to the very rare artworks which stand the closest analysis without losing their freshness. It may even enhance our pleasure at watching it, each viewing being enlightened by a different set of details reminded.

After all we have a long drought ahead...

[amylance1215]

Thank you so much for translating! 

It is interesting to know what it's like for photographers during competitions. They certainly have a much different perspective since they watch the performance through a lens most of the time. It must feel so close yet so far. 

[mercedes]

thank you @sweetwater,it's always revealing and interesting to read their point of view....you think photographers maybe a bit more detached from the whole thing,less invested if you want.

But Yuzuru's incredible passion hook them too....and somehow that passion mirror the one they have for the art of photography.

[EisElle]

thank you @sweetwater for translating

I love hearing about how photographers view Yuzuru (how many he's conquered thus far?)

You'd expect them to keep some kind of detachment -- after all, they are there "just" to do what they're paid for -- and it's heartwarming when you hear not only about their committment and passion about their own job -- how to capture a certain expression, how to convey a whole performance thorough small moments frozen in time -- but also how they themselves, as viewers, develop genuine admiration for the subject of their photos. 

I can see what Wakasugi means, when he says that he wants to show Yuzu's natural self Some of his photographs look somewhat..."humble", so to say, intimate, not focused on a grand moment, and yet they are precious all the same. Like in the NHK gala one he mentions

10 hours ago, sweetwater said:

the photo captured Hanyu senshu's expression after he finished performing in NHK Gala was satisfying to Wakasugi san. He says, "He looks in some way, relieved. I felt as if I had seen him as a person."

or the one where he captured Yuzu's peaceful expression during the Otonal spin  Small moments that maybe can get lost while watching the whole thing, you really stop and take in them throught pics

Also

10 hours ago, sweetwater said:

The competition in the last season that is most impressive for Wakasugi san is the Grand Prix Final. Looking back at then, he explains, "He was radiating an incredible amount of passion that I could feel it even through the lens. That was so thrilling and moving, and made me a fan. The moment I got hooked on."

Thank you, Wakasugi san! GPF may not have been Yuzuru's best comp, but he had most definitely not forgotten to perform