写真家Adam Johnson氏

—写真写りは良い方ですか？

—I think everyone is photogenic. Just not everyone appreciates it the first time they see a photo of themselves. I'm the kind of person who grows to like photos of myself over time, rather than instantly loving them.

—どうして写真撮影業界に入ったのですか？

—It just happened. I got married, bought a DSLR for my honeymoon, and became obsessed with it. I thought I was getting quite good, shot a friend's wedding (as a guest) and did a terrible job. So I went away, practised and studied super hard, bought better equipment then tried again. It went much better the second time and I was able to build a portfolio and website. 18 months later I quit my day job.

—良い写真を撮影するにあたって最も重要な要素とは何であるか、ご意見をお聞かせいただけますでしょうか？

—If we are talking about a wedding photo then it's all about emotion. Light is my obsession, but a beautifully lit emotionless or 'mute' wedding photo is pointless. A photo has to speak for itself, it shouldn't need a caption or an explanation.

—旅行が好きですか？

—Of course. And I love that wedding photography is showing me more of the world than I would ever have seen without it.

—あなたの職業について一番好きなことは何ですか？

—Freedom of expression. The more you shoot, the better you get, the more people hear about you and know about your work, the more freedom you are given to express yourself artistically. That and what I said about traveling in the last question!

—あなたの職業について一番嫌いなことは何ですか？

—I am honestly grateful for this being my profession but of course, when you have young children at school, it can take its toll when you're out most weekends throughout the summer and not able to spend as much time with them as I would like.

—未来の写真撮影とはどのようなものでしょうか？

—Who knows?! I just hope I'm able to change and adapt to however it changes. I truly believe there will always be a market for beautiful, well crafted photos – the technology and expectations may change but the product will not.

—あなたが専門とする特別な写真撮影のジャンルは？

—People. That's what it's all about. People and relationships. Being invited into a private world and asked to document it for a day.

—批判に対処するには？

—Badly. I do not like to be criticised. Often once it has sunk in I'm able to either reject or accept it and use it to improve, but I don't like it!

—写真撮影でトレンドはありますか？

—Of course! I just prefer to ignore them.

—写真家選択の際に、お客様が基準とすべきことは何ですか？

—If the photographer's photos of a total stranger's wedding can make you feel something in your heart and soul, you've found your wedding photographer.

—撮影の際、絶対に受け入れがたいことは何でしょうか？

—There are no rules but I think each photographer will have their own principles or boundaries. If someone is crying because they are truly sad then I will not photograph them just to get that 'tear shot' that is so popular with wedding photographers these days. If I do not feel it is appropriate to shoot something, then I won't shoot it.

—どのような人物が 21世紀を象徴する人物になり得るとお考えでしょうか？

—Can we answer this with 85 years of the century remaining?! I think there are so many medical and technological advances we will see in this century and I expect icons to be created in these areas.

—どんな人を撮影したいですか？

—Ben Folds, Cristiano Ronaldo and Manchester United.

—プロとしてタブーとしている事はありますか？

—Not that I know of!

—誰と一緒に写真を撮りたいですか？

—Annie Leibowitz, Joey L, James Nachtwey, Don McCullin, Richard Avedon... I love to shoot with other photographers, I think it's a good thing to do regularly.

—心配事はありますか。またその理由は何でしょうか？

—I am a worrier. I worry about a lot of things! Professionally speaking I worry about becoming irrelevant, about getting stuck in a rut and left behind and nobody wanting me to take their wedding pictures!

—人生において最も印象的な瞬間とは何でしょうか？

—The births of my two children.

—もしあなたがアニメ化されるとしたら、文学または映画の登場人物のどちらになりたいですか。またそれは何故ですか？

—Peter Pan. I want to stay young and always fight pirates.

—あなたの人生においてインスピレーションの元となるのはどんな人ですか？また、それは何故ですか？

—I don't know if they inspire me as such but my children are the reason that I do what I do and why I want to continually get better at it. I am inspired by anyone successful – in business, in photography, in sport, in life... Not in an arrogant way but I find my own successes an inspiration to keep trying harder and to achieve more.

—あなたによって成功とは何でしょうか？また、それをどのように評価していますか？

—For me, people booking me to shoot photos of them, plus the recognition of my work by my peers is probably my yardstick of success professionally. Happiness and contentment are signs of success in wider life.

—好かれたり、尊敬されたりするほうですか？

—I don't think it's possible for me personally to respect somebody I don't like, so I don't think you can be one or the other. I can quickly lose respect for someone who turns out to be a huge douchebag.

—これまで仕事上で犯した最大のミスは何ですか？

—I don't remember. I know I've made mistakes but I'm pretty good about moving on from stuff.

—旅行に出かける際には何を持っていきますか。また、それは何故ですか？

—My iphone, my kindle, my macbook, my camera and some earphones.

—所有しているガジェットの中で買わなければ良かったと思っているものはありますか？また、それは何故でしょうか？

—I tend to sell stuff if it doesn't fit into my life or work after I buy it. I remember I once bought a weird step trainer off an infomercial on the TV, it was so rubbish!

—より良い写真を撮るために、どのように腕を磨いていますか？

—Taking pictures is the education. I'm quite analytical so if I see a photo I like I work out what I like and why... I do the same with my own photos, working out how I could've done better or what I could've done differently. I look at other photography a lot – in books, online, instagram and I think that seeps into my work.

—写真家として、誰の作品に一番影響を受けましたか？

—I think a turning point for me was doing a workshop with Daniel Aguilar from Mexico.

—写真撮影を始めた頃、知っていればよかったと思う事は何でしょうか？

—That there were no rules!

—自分の写真に対して何かコメントはありますか？

—I've no idea. Good stuff I hope.

—写真撮影を続けさせる動機は何でしょうか？

—The thing I love about taking photos, or any creative pursuit I guess is that it's just that – a pursuit – and you can never catch the thing you're chasing, but you're constantly improving, or changing at least. It's not static, or limited, or constrained. I know I've not taken my best photo, and I may never take it, but I will always keep striving for it.

—ご両親は多かれ少なかれ、厳しい方だったのではないですか？

—No comment.

—過去に戻ることができるとしたら、違ったようにやりたいことはありますか？

—Nothing, I don't think of life this way. I got to this point in my life, a point in which I am extremely happy, because of the choices I made. I don't want to change anything.That, or I'd go back and invest in Apple before they invented the iPod.Or I could invent the iPod.

—他の惑星にいる生命体はどうでしょう？

—Maybe, maybe not. I'm not concerned with it.

—あなたのヒーローは誰ですか？

—I have no heroes.

—あなたが敬意を払わない人はどんな人ですか？

—An awful question.

—オフは何をしていますか？

—I play piano, play and watch football, watch TV shows and movies, go to the gym, spend time with friends and family, listen to music...I don't see life as spare time and work time. It's just life. I do all this stuff and I work, there's no split time. I work when I have to and I play whenever I can.

—人前では絶対に見せない、あなたのもう一つの側面とは何でしょうか？

—The public? As opposed to who?

—自分の作品に十分に満足するのはどんな時ですか？

—I love my own work. I love seeing progression in my work. I love it when my clients are in love with the photos I give to them. Completely satisfied? Is this possible?

—男性と女性の伝統的な役割の正当性を信じていますか？

—My parents got divorced when I was young. This has skewed my view of tradition in the home... I don't really know what traditional roles are – women raise children, cook and clean and men just earn the money? Then no, I don't believe in that. A family is the sum of its parts, not separate and distinct people or roles.

—簡単に友達になることができますか？

—Yeah I guess. I'm never the instigator, I'm shy so I tend to wait for people to make friends with me!

—どこに住みたいですか？

—If I could have four homes I would have one in the UK, probably near where I live now, one in New York City, a rural house in Southern France and one somewhere in California! Not that I'm greedy.

—今までにやることを同意した事の中で、一番くだらない事は何でしょうか？

—I'm not sure I've ever agreed to something stupid.

—結婚後に人生は存在すると思いますか？

—I've been married 8 years... I'm still alive.

—お気に入りのジョークはありますか？教えていただけますか。

—What's invisible and smells like carrots?Rabbit farts.

—犬や猫が好きですか？

—Neither.

—嫌いな人物や物はありますか？

—I hate wasps. Passionately.

—人生における最高のこと：

—Family time.

—人生で最も厄介なこと：

—Traffic jams.

—何か変えたいと思っていることはありますか？

—I want to make my house bigger!

—自分を変えたいと思っていますか？

—I would like to break my iphone addiction!

—この世界の何を変えたいと思いますか？

—Far too much to list. The world is a broken place.

—新米の写真家にコツを教えていただけますか？

—You don't have to shoot every second of the wedding, you're not making a stop motion movie... Slow down, breathe, let your mind take in what is happening then tell the story with your photos. There are no rules.

—もし宇宙人が地球にやってきて、あなたが最初にその宇宙人に出会うのだとしたら何を話しますか？

—You will never feel satisfied after eating a McDonalds...

—もし映画の撮影を依頼されたら、どのようなジャンルを撮影しますか？

—Slapstick comedy.

—明日、これをしにいくつもりです...

—I'll go to the gym, do some editing, get ready for Saturday's wedding, kick a football with my children, eat food, drink coffee...