Takeshi Shikama. Born in1948, in Tokyo, Japan. Education in Aoyamagakuin University, 1968-1970. He has explored forests for over 15 years. His platinum prints on artisanal Japanese paper, made from the bark of the Gampi tree, contrast with those by Bullock by their softness and diversity of tones. Shikama, who was a designer before devoting himself to photography, has a very personal approach to his subject. He likes to lose himself in the woods, seeking encounters with the trees. He lets himself be guided by his instinct and by the light. Like Bullock, he constructs the image from the darkness. But Shikama's quest is the absence of human presence, of his own ego, in the final image. He applies an objective gaze : he tries to determine the ideal point of view to transcribe what he is observing.
The photographer lets nature take over the frame. Dependant on natural light, he watches, his thumb on the shutter release, for the moment the light intensifies, then subsides. Shikama often says he waits to "receive" the photograph.
