I moved into a house in the neighborhood in 2005. I have been taking pictures since then: photographing my neighbors and what I see on streets. Over the time my neighbors became friends and the streets became my home.
I like hearing kids playing outside on summer days. I like triple-deckers that entire families lives. My mother is from a large family. She grew with many siblings and relatives in rural Japan. I, on the other hand am an only child and have never lived with any extended family members. It makes me sentimental and nostalgic for the large family I have never had. I am reminded of my mother's up-bringing with her family and stories of their childhoods.
Photography always takes me experiencing the new world, and introduces me to someone I have not yet met, and life I have not yet known. It is a personal project for me and my first project to work on. It helps me come to realize more about myself as a person and allowing me to learn and understand what it means to be a photographer.