Takeshi Kameyama (Kogame)
KogamePhotographer / ArtistNiigata, Japan
For those who see it —a spark to think,and to act.
A Niigata-based photographer capturing nature, architecture and towns, and the people who live there.
I help local governments and companies share what makes their region special, from planning to photography.
IPA 2022 Non-Professional Nature Photographer of the Year, among other awards
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Portfolio
Kogame
Takeshi Kameyama
Portfolio
IPA 2022 Non-Professional Nature Photographer of the Year
Tadami Line in Winter
Hyugagurayama rising behind speaks of nature’s severity; the small train, of the lives lived here.
A photograph of people and nature living together.
01Why I photograph
What I truly want to keep
is the landscape itself.
In 2011, heavy rains washed away bridges on part of the Tadami Line, and that section stayed closed for eleven years. In October 2022 the whole line reopened, thanks to the efforts of local people. Along the line, people live alongside harsh nature. What I wanted to photograph was that coexistence of people and nature.
At the awards ceremony in New York, a juror explained the choice: beyond its beauty, it showed nature’s severity and the lives of the people there, and a wish to protect the landscape came through.
Those words changed how I think. Not only in photographs: I want to pass the landscape itself on to the generations to come. To do that, I want to make photographs that move people to think, and to act.
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IPA 2026 2nd Place, Nature / Sunset-Sunrise・PX3 2026 Gold
A Swan's Blessing
A misty morning in Yahiko, where I sense the divine in all things. I studied the weather and returned for four years, waiting for the mist. When swans crossed above the torii, I felt blessed. So much welled up inside me that I was in tears as I took the photograph.
02What I want to achieve
When a familiar landscape
becomes a source of pride.
In rural Japan, young people keep leaving for the cities, and populations keep shrinking. Yet if the landscape people see every day were recognized by the world, they could feel proud to live there. I hope my photographs help people notice the value of where they live, and choose to build their lives there. For me, that place is Niigata.
It starts with the people who live there taking a fresh look at what makes their region special. This is called civic pride. Pride is not limited to landscapes: skills and traditions handed down, and the people themselves, are part of it too. I see photography as a way to help people notice them.
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IPA 2026 3rd Place, Architecture / Cityscape
The Crown of Paris
The pride of Parisians, layered onto the crown from the City of Paris coat of arms and the light of the Eiffel Tower.
03What photography is for
Making visible
what only I noticed.
On a trip to Paris, I explored the city by bicycle, wanting to feel its air and the everyday lives of the people there. Along the way, the coat of arms of the City of Paris caught my eye. On it sat a crown shaped like city walls.
On my last night, watching the beacon spin at the top of the Eiffel Tower from my hotel window, it struck me: “That’s a crown.” The tower that hundreds of millions of people have seen had been wearing a crown all along.
Every beam in the photograph really lit the Paris sky that night. It let me show something the eye cannot see: the pride of the people who live in Paris.
View the photobook “The Crown of Paris”5
Honma Corporation
Pride in the work of building, captured in project photography — for young people interested in construction and for the people who built it.
04Work with companies and communities
The subject is not me,
but the region and the company.
Not what to photograph, but what to convey. What is the challenge? What does success look like? Who should it reach, what should it say, and what change do we hope for? Only then do I choose the means: photography, film, writing, or an experience.
- Yahiko Village, Niigata — official promotional posterExpressing “Yahiko, Where the Gods Dwell” through photography.
- SONYConveying the appeal of G Master through the landscapes of Niigata.
- Honma Corporation / HONMA GALLERYEntrusting pride in building to photography.
- Ono-gumi (Tainai, Niigata)Linking a hometown its people love through photography and calligraphy.
- JR East Morioka Branch × Tokyo Camera ClubRediscovering and unearthing a region’s appeal with fresh eyes.
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Cabinet Office, Government of Japan — January 2024
Highlighting Japan
Interviewed in the government’s English-language magazine as a photographer of Japan’s winter landscapes.
05Reaching the world
Niigata’s winter,
reaching the world.
A photograph recognized at an international competition is seen across borders. Tadami Line in Winter appeared on the cover of Highlighting Japan, the Cabinet Office’s magazine for readers overseas, as an image of Japan in winter. The awards have also led to exhibitions, commissions from companies, talks, and judging at an international competition.
- SONY “FE 24-70mm F2.8 GM II” review video
- Featured in Highlighting Japan, January 2024
- Juror, Great Photo Awards
- TIFA × Kogame Photo Community Joint Exhibition (2026)
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IPA 2025 1st Place, Architecture / Industrial
Microcosm
Falling snow in Niigata City. Homes beneath industrial smokestacks, a single railway cutting through town, a postal worker’s red motorcycle at the crossing: the quiet coexistence of daily life and industry, a microcosm of modern society.
06Learning together
Helping people
think and act for themselves.
Kogame Photo Community is an online photography community I lead. Around 180 people are members today, taking on international photo competitions and creating their own work.
Rather than teaching methods, I help people learn to think for themselves and act on their own. The results show in the international awards our members have won.
I share this approach through the community, my course Kogame Photo Academy, and seminars such as those at CP+. I also welcome requests for talks and workshops.
Ask about talks and workshops11
Profile
Takeshi Kameyama Kogame
A photographer and artist from Tainai, based in Niigata, Japan. I make photographs that prompt people to think and to act, creating my own work and shooting and planning projects for companies and communities. Since being named IPA 2022 Non-Professional Nature Photographer of the Year, I have kept winning international awards. Alongside a job at an IT company, I work independently as a photographer, lead Kogame Photo Community, and give talks and workshops. Graduate student, Photography and Film, Kyoto University of the Arts.
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