Photographers face endless choices in the field—gear, settings, framing, timing. This post explores how visual discipline and self-imposed limits can sharpen your vision, simplify your workflow, and lead to stronger, more consistent images.

This week is Obon, a mid-August Japanese holiday honoring the spirits of the ancestors. In Fujisawa, evenings are filled with the sound of taiko as our neighborhood prepares for the Kugenuma Kotaijingu Reitaisai, an annual shrine festival and drum battle that I’ve documented for the past 10 years. See my ongoing personal project photographing Japan’s matsuri culture.

Covering the Murasaki Shonan Open in Fujisawa brought me back to where my surf photography began more than a decade ago. What started as a personal project–photographing surfers along the Shonan coast–has become a recurring thread in my work, influencing everything from story development to aesthetics. A look at how my visual exploration of Japan’s surf culture has shaped my editorial and travel photography.