PROFILE

Masako Sato live in Tokyo, Japan

Masako is the mountain photographer. 

I have climbed Mt. Hotaka and Mt. Yari, Japan North Alps in Japan, to explore the World of Mountain Lineation and to shoot the documentary photography on the activities of the international mountain guide in Japan and Europe since the summit of Mont Blanc in the summer of 2017.

When I did  alpine climbings for the shooting, I was not able to take the scenes of  mountain landscapes as much as I could. Therefore, To reduce my frustration, I realized that shooting the guides activities is also another scenes of the mountains and started taking my guide since Europe Alpine climbing trip in 2019. The international guides have the national license for guide work in Europe. However, the status of the mountain guide in Japan is lower position. I have tried prompting how the role of guides is important for climbers, especially international guides who are top rank with the highest guiding and climbing skillset in the guide world, and  how they make clients enjoy climbing trips with safety return.  

Currently my two primary works are "Mountain Lineation”, which the sensitive play between light & shadow and the contrast between rocks and snow draw the lineation on these mountains,  and "Melt" which showcase the melting glaciers in the European Alps and Iceland.

Since late Jan 2020, I’ve started to record the COVID 19 world around my small world to reflect my anxious emotional on the portfolio.