Prize-winning works in the “Photo and Essay Division” for high school students of the 31st Yomiuri Photo Grand Prix

An Important Friend /Norizuki Miyo (Hyogo)

Message from the photographer

Walking home together from school, side by side, we always talked about all kinds of things. We told each other about silly things, serious things, odd thoughts and ideas—sometimes in pretty disorganized words. I learned a lot about your perspective, so different from mine, and each time I realized that, I would be surprised, but I admired what you said. I was always bad at communicating my feelings, but you watched over me in many different ways. It’s been a curious feeling, capturing on film someone I have known since elementary school. So much has changed but so much has remained the same since then. I hope that I have watched over you, too—you with your same old smile and playful insults. Your image—always so strong and unpretentiously gentle—has imprinted itself on my mind even more vividly than before.

About the subject

I chose her as my subject because she is an important friend whom I have known since elementary school. By photographing her, I thought I would gain a new appreciation of the person that she has become.