IZU Kenro

IZU Kenro 井津 健郎 (1949.5.13- ) Osaka.

Acclaimed, US-based, fine-art photographer.

Major themes Ancient stone ruins, still lifes

Education Graduated Nihon Univ. in 1969 majoring in photography.

Career Moved to America in 1970. Opened a photo studio in New York in 1974.

In 1979, when he photographed the pyramids in Egypt, he started his ancient stone monument photo series which he still pursues today. He has photographed places such as Stonehenge, Easter Island's statues, and Cambodia's Angkor Wat.

Uses a large-format camera. In 1983, started making platinum-palladium prints and now is a leading platinum printmaker. Flowers and nudes are also favorite subjects. Currently lives in New York.

In 1993, he visited Angkor Wat for the first time to photograph the famous temples. That was when he met children who were crippled by land mines. He then decided to build a hospital for these children.

In 1995, he founded an NGO called "Friends Without a Border." By gathering donations from Japan and the US, his NGO opened the Angkor Children's Hospital in Angkor Wat's Siem Reap village in 1995. The hospital also trains doctors and nurses. (2001.9.25)

Official site: http://www.kenroizu.com/