Framing the World
Ahead of his Connections-organized photography course this month, George Nobechi shares his own journey behind the lens.
The camera doesn’t make a bit of difference. All of them can record what you are seeing. But, you have to see,” the celebrated photographer Ernst Haas once declared.
George Nobechi would likely agree. The award-winning photographer’s “Here. Still.” project features landscapes from Arizona to Aomori, framed by the windows of hotels, diners, cars and trains. They play on exteriors and interiors and invite viewers to contemplate time, space and self.
Nobechi, 40, sees these windows as a metaphor for his own bicultural identity. Born in Tokyo to a Japanese mother and Canadian father, he studied history and international relations at the University of British Columbia in Vancouver.
His father passed away when Nobechi was just 19, and he entered the world of finance to help support his family. After stints working in Japan and the United States, he quit the industry to focus on his passion: capturing the world around him with his camera.
“I was more interested in what we can say about life,” Nobechi says of the project he started in 2015. “Like feelings that are universal, like nostalgia, longing and loneliness, and exploring those through photography, so that you’re trying to strike the meaning beyond what you see in the frame.”
After leaving his job in New York in 2015, Nobechi embarked on a journey that lasted nearly 1,000 days. He photographed his way around the American Southwest before interning at a photography workshop organization in New Mexico, where he honed his craft with the likes of the noted National Geographic lensman Sam Abell.
During this time, Nobechi began shooting scenes for “Here. Still.” Some of those images are now included in the collections of the Detroit Center for Contemporary Photography and the Australian Museum of Contemporary Photography, and the project received accolades in a number of international photography competitions.
"Mailman"
“That was part of my inner journey, a way to reconnect with life. Outside the window is a stage, with life playing out, but I’m not a player in that because of the disconnection I felt in my prior career from the life I thought I was going to pursue before my father passed away,” explains Nobechi. “That inner journey started to make me think about Japan, Japanese aesthetics and the presence of people who are departed.”
In 2017, Nobechi experienced what he describes as a “Forrest Gump” moment, referring to the scene in the 1994 movie when Tom Hanks’ character suddenly stops his epic marathon and returns home. The photographer decided to move back to his homeland of Japan to work on projects centering on aspects of Japanese culture and everyday life. Since his relocation, his work has graced the pages of publications like Newsweek, Asahi Camera and Fraction.
Just as he learned from some of photography’s greats, Nobechi is keen to mentor others. Through Nobechi Creative, he takes clients to rural villages in Iwate, Toyama and Gifu prefectures to practice their skills, attend workshops and connect with artisans and locals. But when the global pandemic hit, he started organizing online master classes with photographers like Abell, Kate Breakey, Matthew Jordan Smith and Stephen Wilkes. The initiative has raised more than $70,000 for charity so far.
Club Member Donna Beeman is one photographer who has rediscovered her passion for her vocation thanks to Nobechi. While she enjoyed taking portraits and photographing events, she was in search of something more. A coaching session with Nobechi proved transformative.
“I have also been able to experience George’s mind-expanding Evenings with the Masters series and his Sunday Night Is Photo Night workshop, both now for the second time,” says Beeman. “The opportunity to learn from George and to interact and learn from people with a shared interest from all over the world has been the highlight of this pandemic year for me, as well as an inspiration for my future as a photographer.”
For Nobechi, inspiring fellow photographers means helping them to set goals, cultivate a good work ethic, develop patience and, crucially, observe the quotidian.
“Teaching has always been a passion of mine,” he says. “Sure, you can take a great picture of Mount Fuji, but what about your local neighborhood shrine or park? What I want to tell people is that there’s beauty all around us in Japan, right under our noses.”
Words: Tim Hornyak
Images: George Nobechi
Portrait of George Nobechi: Kate Breakey
Capturing Japan
Lecture: March 11 | 7–8:30pm
Photo Walk: March 13 | 9am–12pm
