What Truly Happened at the Storm-Swept Ochiai River

9月26日

読了時間: 3分

Yuichi Nakamura 4x5 Photography: An Empty River, an Eerie Presence

Yuichi Nakamura's 4x5 film record—an out-of-focus, empty image where careful focusing yielded no visible form, capturing only raw presence. — It was such a severe storm that someone precious to me told me to "please stay safe"...

It was a day of record-breaking torrential rain and violent winds. With news warnings everywhere, carrying the words of someone precious to me—“Please stay safe”—I headed into the storm with my heavy 4x5 large-format camera.

嵐の落合川で、本当に起きたこと。

記録的な豪雨と暴風が猛威を振るう日だった。ニュースで警戒が呼びかけられる中、大切な人の「気をつけて」という言葉を背に、私は重い4x5大判カメラを担いで川へ向かった。

An Empty River, an Eerie Presence

Naturally, not a soul was in sight. I have walked the Ochiai River for 52 years and know its every depth. Yet the moment I stepped in, a sharp chill of fear ran through my entire body.

It sounds absurd, but no matter what, I am thorough with the basics—I always focus meticulously. In fact, shots taken at another location earlier that same day were perfectly crisp.

Yet that specific spot was completely different. There was an ominous tension in the air, as if the location itself was warning me: "Do not come here."

誰もいない川と、異様な空気

当然、人なんて誰もいない。52年間通い詰め、熟知しているはずの落合川。しかし足を踏み入れた瞬間、全身に強烈な恐怖が走った。

バカみたいな話だが、いくら私でも最低限のピント合わせくらいは徹底する。事実、同日の別の場所では完璧にピントが合っていた。

だが、あの空間だけは明らかに違っていた。まるで場所そのものから「ここに来るな」と強く拒絶されているような、異様な気配があった。

A Camera Out of Control

In the pouring rain, I framed the shot and set the focus. For just a split second, while securing the tripod, I let go of the loosely tightened camera.

In that exact moment, the wind and rain bared their teeth. The heavy 4x5 camera spun right around on its tripod head.

"It’s just the wind," I told myself. But perhaps it was the sheer force of the world telling me "Do not shoot."

I don't know why I was so determined. I was simply desperate to capture it.

手から離れたカメラ

大雨の中、構図を決め、ピントを合わせる。固定するまでのわずかな瞬間、仮止めしたカメラから手を離した。

その瞬間、風雨が一気に牙を剥き、重い大判カメラが雲台ごとぐるりと回った。

「ただの強風だ」と自分に言い聞かせる。だが冷静に考えれば、それは「撮るな」という世界の意志だったのかもしれない。

なぜそこまでして撮ろうとしたのかは分からない。ただ、命がけで必死だった。

An Irreversible Result

After making it back alive, I looked at the developed negatives and froze in disbelief.

"Wait... what on earth is this??"

Despite my careful checks on site, those two specific frames were severely out of focus—the boundary between darkness and green melted into an uncertain, ghost-like image.

It did not go as planned. Yet, this is the raw, irreversible reality of what truly happened on that stormy day.