Tsutomu Yamagata

Tsutomu Yamagata is a documentary photographer based in Tokyo, represented by Zen Foto Gallery, Tokyo and a member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society. He was born in 1966 and raised in Tokyo, majored in Law at Law department, Keio University. Worked many years at Business Planning Department and Human Resource Department of an energy industry, and gained valuable experiences such as communicating with people, groups and the society through his job. At the same time, he gradually attracted and involving in the photography, then left his job for pursuing photography and went on the long journey to Asia and Europe with taking many documentary pictures. He learned photography through self-education at the age of 35, and after the photography workshops of Satoru Watanabe and Issei Suda, started giving exhibitions actively at Tokyo, China and etc. He runs photo-essay on a magazine, and also a lecturer of NHK (Japan Broadcasting Corporation) Cultural Center. In 2012, became a member of the Japan Professional Photographers Society, published his photo book “THIRTEEN ORPHANS”, gave exhibitions at photo festivals in Japan and overseas, and received good reputation. In 2013, attended Review Santa Fe, and selected to Photolucida’s Critical Mass Top 50. In 2014, received the award of Lensculture Portrait Awards.