Through the Lens of: Hiroshi Sugimoto

“What the early photographer gained from the study of nature, now people tend to rely on the computer or machines for. That's not good enough,” Hiroshi Sugimoto once said, speaking to the traditional photographic methods upon which he built his craft. Immersed in the work of masters like Walker Evans and Ansel Adams, Sugimoto developed a style of printing—one he has perfected for upwards of 30 years—that honors the sensitivities of his predecessors. “This system—it’s very hard to control, but it still makes the best picture. I am sticking to the traditional method.”

It seems Sugimoto is not alone. View his works alongside complementing black-and-white, topographic landscapes, each photographer working in Sugimoto’s tradition and ultimately, channeling a long history of intimate, meticulously crafted captures of nature and light.