Seeing the Amazing in the Ordinary: The Secret to Shin Noguchi's Wonderful Street Photos (19 photos)

Snowfalls, children, a giraffe, and people sleeping on the subway—Shin Noguchi captures truthful and extraordinary moments in everyday life in Japan.

Passion and talent have earned Noguchi fame as a brilliant street photographer. One of his images, a woman in a yellow skirt, was included in the book "100 Great Street Photographs" (Prestel, 2017).





The photographer, who lives in the ancient Japanese city of Kamakura, located 70 km from Tokyo, regularly holds exhibitions of his work around the world and has won several prestigious international photography competitions.



Noguchi says he goes out onto the streets of his hometown almost every day, simply wandering around in search of interesting and striking shots. It sounds incredibly simple, but just look at the vibrant, extraordinary, and unforgettable photographs that result from such a seemingly straightforward creative process!

"People live desperately," says Shin Noguchi. Sometimes alone, sometimes helping each other, sometimes crying, sometimes laughing. I photograph people in their everyday lives because there are moments they don't even notice, and these moments, from the outside, appear more beautiful and full of human compassion than the carefully directed films of Charlie Chaplin, Alfred Hitchcock, Federico Fellini, or Shakespeare's plays. I try to visualize Mark Twain's words: "Sometimes truth is stranger than fiction." And to prove that this is indeed true.

I'd like to share these beautiful moments with others, and at the same time, I'd be glad if they noticed that the extraordinary happens in ordinary life, too. Everywhere and at any time.

I'd like to inscribe these words into my project: 'I'm here, only here. And you're here, only here. Something truly beautiful and extraordinary is happening right now. We've always been connected, and I'd like you to feel that: you're never alone, there's always someone watching your struggle for survival.'"



He beautifully captures moments that are simultaneously absurd, strange, and deeply human. With a colorful and humorous touch, Noguchi draws attention to the small quirks of everyday life: mishaps, accidents, unique moments, the things people do when they think no one is watching. His eye gravitates toward the personal and inner experiences that unfold amid the hustle and bustle of Japanese city life.