Michael Kenna

Michael Kenna, born in 1953 in Widnes, Lancashire, England is famous for his black and white landscape photography. He has won multiple awards from 1981-2003 and published a vast amount of photo-books. In addition, he has participated in many exhibitions featuring landscapes and light. During his interview with Dean Brierly, he states that he developed his technical knowledge of photography through multiple sources, including his photography courses in school, specifically focused on photographic printing.


Furthermore, in his interview, he expresses his use of long exposures during night time and his work done in his darkroom. Michael Kenna has traveled to Japan multiple times and published a book containing 95 landscape images he has compiled over the years. He was intrigued by Japan's landscape in 1987 and has continued to travel across Japan for its terrain and history.

I especially admire his photography taken at Lijiang River of Guilin, China (2006). Lijiang is famous for its beautiful landscape of rivers and mountains. I have personally visited Lijiang and captured pictures of my own. However, his black and white photographs has captured scenes of Lijiang that I do not expect. I am impressed by many his photos because he is able to capture the light that reflects off the river and the overcast of the clouds.