{"id":22411,"date":"2024-01-19T12:00:00","date_gmt":"2024-01-19T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/muse.international\/?p=22411"},"modified":"2025-09-26T09:56:24","modified_gmt":"2025-09-26T09:56:24","slug":"mariko-okubo-the-2023-european-photography-awards-category-winner-of-the-year","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/mariko-okubo-the-2023-european-photography-awards-category-winner-of-the-year\/","title":{"rendered":"Mariko Okubo, the 2023 European Photography Awards Category Winner of the Year"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>Mariko Okubo is a Tokyo-based portrait photographer who is interested in people and their backgrounds. She hopes to exhibit her work in a photo exhibition or museum and go abroad for shooting. The everyday moments with her daughters are what truly inspire and touch her the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q1. Can you introduce yourself and talk about how you got into photography?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My name is Mariko Okubo and I am a portrait photographer based in Tokyo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I am always interested in people and their backgrounds. Sometimes I go to town and ask people from overseas to take their photos.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q2. Where did you study photography?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While I didn&#8217;t have formal training at a traditional photography school, I was deeply inspired by the work of Japanese masters like Shinobu Imai and Kunihiro Takauma. Their captivating images have been my virtual classroom, teaching me the subtle nuances of light, shadow, and composition. Their dedication to their craft and their ability to capture the essence of a moment continue to guide my own photographic journey.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q3. Do you remember your first shot? What was it?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My father lent me a Pentax film camera, so I took pictures of the sky.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q4. What equipment do you use?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Sony A7iii and Canon equipment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q5. What do you hope to achieve?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I hope to exhibit my work in a photo exhibition or museum. I also want to go abroad for shooting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q6. What compliment inspired\/touched you the most?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Beyond any compliment, the everyday moments with my daughters are what truly inspire and touch me the most.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q7. What inspires your unique storytelling?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>My storytelling draws its magic from the spellbinding pages of my favorite novels and the silver screen&#8217;s captivating tales.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Q8. What THREE (3) words and describe your photography style?<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Modern, creative and classic<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-css-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<p>Hachioji Geisha(a professional female entertainer) &#8230; (<a href=\"https:\/\/europeanphotoawards.com\/winner-info.php?id=1929\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" class=\"external\">Read more at European Photography Awards<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><br><em>Read more about this <a href=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/?p=22409\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">interview<\/a> with Rosa G\u00f3mez of Rosa G\u00f3mez Photo &amp; Art, the Gold Winner of the 2023 European Photography Awards.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Mariko Okubo is a Tokyo-based portrait photographer who is interested in people and their backgrounds. She hopes to exhibit her work in a photo exhibition or<span class=\"excerpt-hellip\"> [\u2026]<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":20,"featured_media":42712,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[372,540],"tags":[483,382],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v21.8.1 - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Interview with Mariko Okubo, 2023 EPA Category Winner of the Year<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Winner interview with Mariko Okubo from Japan, Category Winner of the 2023 European Photography Awards in Amateur Category Group.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/muse.international\/index\/mariko-okubo-the-2023-european-photography-awards-category-winner-of-the-year\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" 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