Bringing Japan’s Hidden Landscapes to the World | Interview with Daishi Miyagawa

The photo was taken on 4 April 2025. The hill in front of Yonago Airport's No. 1 Parking Lot. I walked around Sakura Hill, searching for countless cherry blossoms and the sky visible through them, and took a shot, betting that an airplane would take off.

You can't see any airplanes or runways from this hill. All you can see is the sky peeking through the gaps in the leaves. There's no guarantee that a plane will fit into that gap. I rely on the sound of the plane's engine to take the picture. The airplane will take off at approximately 250 km/h. It happens in an instant. I still consider this a miracle shot!

These are photos that moved me. I'm submitting photos that made my heart flutter.

It all started when I picked up a camera as part of a club activity in high school.

As you can see from the award-winning photograph, airplanes are the main theme. Actually, looking back now that I'm an adult, I think I would have liked to be a pilot. But I was too old. I thought that photography, my speciality, would allow me to be with airplanes.

My trusty Sony mirrorless camera is my companion. I spend long hours outdoors taking photos of airplanes. It's lightweight, high-performance, and produces high-quality images, allowing me to capture the perfect shot.

I want people to experience Japan's four seasons through my photographs. The four seasons are spring, summer, autumn, and winter. Japan has wonderful scenery. There are still landscapes of Japan that the world doesn't know about. I think it would be wonderful if people could feel a sense of Japan by combining that scenery with the dynamism of the airplane.

There was no guarantee that this winning photograph would be successful. There was no guarantee that the airplane would fit into the gap between the cherry blossom leaves I was aiming for. Additionally, the focus is off on the sky without airplanes. I was, in a sense, adjusting the focus by instinct. I think all the conditions were just right to take this one photo.

That would, of course, be airports all over the world. This is a power spot.

The photographer who encouraged me to take on the world is Shinya Itahana.

Don't give up. Keep going. Believe in yourself, believe in your beliefs, and move forward. The more you press the shutter, the better you become. That's what photography is all about, I think.

Please continue to photograph what you are currently photographing.

I believe this is an important step in making it uniquely my own.

AI is merely a tool to increase work efficiency and shorten time. I believe that a work of art should be created by humans from start to finish.

I want to photograph airports and airplanes all over the world, along with the scenery of those locations.