PROFILE
Kazushige Wada
Birthplace: Tokyo, currently live in Tokorozawa.
Alma mater: Doctor of Science, Tokai University Graduate School of Marine Science
Employment: Over 35 years as a geophysical exploration engineer at a mining consulting company, engaged in domestic and overseas underground resource surveys, overseas mining master plan projects, and also new geophysical equipment development projects etc. In 2008, he assumed the position of representative director of subsidiary firm, and then came back to the parent company as president in 2015. He retired at the end of March 2019. He has been still working as a technology advisor for the company. As of 2024, currently working on NEDO's project to develop technology for advanced utilization of geothermal power generation.
In December 2019, he launched TerraPictures, a portfolio site for landscape photography and time-lapse video works. In August 2020, the 360 panorama photo site “Panorax” was launched, but it was canceled in about half a year. February 2020 Google Street View Professional Photographer Certification. In September 2024, the number of Google Street View accesses reached 5.5 million.
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/fuzzykazu/?hl=ja
Favorites: 2001: A Space Odyssey, The Professor and the Madman, The Music of the Primes by Marcus du Sautoy, Homeland (US TV Video), Fermat's Last Theorem by Simon Singh, Gipsy Kings, Illapu, The Undertaker, JURA DIURACHS' OWN, Jared Diamond.
His interests in and reverence for nature began when he was in junior high school, and it greatly influenced his choice of major at university and employment. With that in mind, he would like to introduce himself, focusing on how he has been involved with photography.
His love for photography begins with drones. Initially, he enjoyed flying over the hills and riverbeds, but he was particularly interested in panoramic photography. He still vividly remembers the excitement he felt when he stitched dozens of 360-degree photos together to create a panoramic photo.
Alongside the drone, he started shooting 360-degree video with GoPro Fusion and fell in love with the manually steered footage after stitching. Initially, it was hand-carried, but soon it was mounted on a drone and a video was produced.
After that, he began to feel the need to acquire full-fledged photography skills. He mainly had been conducted self-study from various sites and books, but at some point he came across a site called Photography life, where he learned a wide range of related technologies such as photography principles, photography techniques, evaluation of peripheral equipment, etc. It has become a bible for learning for him. Additionally, he wants to put his favorite books here regarding photography, which are 'The HDRI Handbook 2.0' by Bloch and 'Understanding Photography' by McHugh.
Ever since he bought my mirrorless SLR camera, he has been shooting in different locations, seasons and times, with a particular focus on landscapes. Shooting methods include panorama, HDR, focus stacking, long exposure, and time-lapse. Luminance smoothing (Holy grail) for different time-lapse photos, etc. he was puzzled by the wide range of technology required, but he enjoyed overcoming it. He's also interested in time-lapse photography (hyper time-lapse) while moving the camera, and he started using a rotating motion mount. In addition, he has introduced a support device for Holy grail photography, which has traditionally been manually operated, and he is fascinated by its power of expression.
On the other hand, he has been posting 360-degree panoramic photos taken with a single-lens reflex camera on Google Street. He worked to contribute to the public at Tokorozawa Memorial Aviation Museum, Sayama City Museum, etc. From 2023, he opened a new site in Sketchfab to disclose 3D models based on photogrammetry and LiDAR scanning and put some examples in this site too. He believes the future potential possibilities of dynamic expression approaches of a various kinds of objects using 360-degree panoramic photos and 3D modeling creations, and will continue thus activities.
Sketchfab: https://sketchfab.com/TerraPictures
On this site, he mainly introduces photos and videos, he also writes down technical items on blog, and he decided to write down his experiences and goals in the hope that he could share them with like-minded people. He would appreciate it if you could comment on the work and make requests.
Started in December 2019, updated from time to time (latest version on October 14, 2024)