One of the reasons some photographers have resisted the idea of moving from film to digital is that even the cheapest film can capture the subtleties of continuous tone from deep shadow to very bright light. This is something that, despite their sophistication, digital cameras do with varying degrees of success. New work by the young photographer Yosuke Takeda shows how this mechanical limitation can be turned into a positive feature.
These semi-abstract works, which look as if Monet had simultaneously discovered lilies, photography and recreational drugs at the same time, are part of a body of work that varies considerably; going from the street snapshot to graphic minimalist black-and-white compositions. The exhibition at Taka Ishii Gallery in Kiyosumi, Tokyo, shows one or two examples of very different images, including a large photo of a stuffed polar bear, one of a transit of Venus and another of a full solar eclipse.
At the entrance to the exhibition is a macro shot of the bottom of a curtain, which has been transformed into a sensual composition that could be mistaken for sand dunes or the curves of a nude. The careful balance of diversity and selection heightens both Takeda's talent for capturing the enigmatic and the impression that he is using photography as a way of "thinking things through."