Now, it is the autofocus of the SLR camera, which has become "common" in surfing photography, but in my long life as a photographer, I have witnessed the moment when it was introduced as the latest tool.
Minolta's "Alpha 7000", released in 1985, was the first SLR camera to incorporate autofocus that could withstand practical use. That kind of autofocus mechanism was already installed in compact cameras, but it was groundbreaking for a single-lens reflex camera. Until then, the SLR camera was an autofocus driven in the lens, so it could not be said to be practical at all. By installing an autofocus mechanism in the body of the Alpha 7000, the accuracy of the "autofocus" of SLR cameras has been dramatically improved.
At that time, Marui invited Japan to the world championship and held the tournament in Niijima and Chiba. For some reason, I had the job of an article that reports the state of the game with photos called the sports newspaper's tournament bulletin. Maybe it's because I often went to Niijima and Chiba to shoot in a surfing magazine. That's why one day, the reporter in charge of the newspaper came
"We are a sports newspaper, so we can prepare the latest equipment. I use it in baseball and other sports interviews," he says. So he said to me, "Mr. Yokoyama, I'll bring it, so please use it." He lent me a Minolta model.
The latest version of Minolta, Alpha 7000. About 8 years have passed since Konica released autofocus with a compact camera, and Minolta has achieved a featual autofocus with a single-lens reflex camera. Of course, it's the era of film. He also brought a 600mm lens.
At that time, we were focusing with our own hands while chasing the surfer's riding. It's hard to focus on the moving subject, but it was also possible to do that. But when you get to the shore, the surfer gets bigger and bigger in the finder. It's quite difficult to follow it while taking pictures of it coming from the sea and keep matching it to the front. I was turning the focus ring by hand, so as I turned it, I gradually approached the shore, and if it was 600 millimeters, the subject would be very big. And at the last minute, I can't turn it all. But the players decide their skills at the last ride near the shore. Like roller coasters that were popular at the time. It's hard to take pictures of me chasing.
So I borrowed a Minolta autofocus camera, but until then, it was mainstream to match by hand, so I was skeptical about whether I could really match it properly, but when I took a test shot, "This, go It's right! That. If you focus on the one who rode near the shore, it will fit. So on the day of the contest, when I took the camera to the sea, a photographer I knew around me said, "Tai-chan, there's no way you can use that." That's right, because no one has ever used it. I'm still worried about whether it can really be caught up to the end with autofocus. Their opinion is also reasonable. But you know, I used it properly in production and put the photo in the newspaper. I guess that's why everyone's eyes have changed.
In fact, as a professional photographer, I was proud to be able to follow the riding and focus with my own hands. But since that experience, none of that has disappeared.
I'm still the type to try, saying, "I don't know unless I try anything." In today's world, autofocus is no longer a matter of course. But in Japan, I was the first to do it in the surfing game without a doubt.
Also, what surprised me even more was that I was told to take a photo with negative film. Until then, our surfing magazine work was a positive film, so I was surprised. When there is a game in Chiba, I come to the game venue by motorcycle to pick up the negative film I took that day. Immediately develop it at the head office and make it in time for the next morning newspaper. During the game in Niijima, I asked a photographer on the island to develop and send the picture immediately. It would have been normal for baseball and other sports coverage, but I think it was the first time in surfing.
The first interview was very exciting and fun. The newspaper reporter was at the same inn, so it was fun to teach them how to ride the waves in their spare time and to go to the only few bars on the island at night.
Marui's tournament was attended by top professional surfers from abroad, so I was allowed to take portraits between the matches, and now I think I was able to leave valuable photos.
OCCY before the game filmed in Niijima in the mid-1980s. When I told him that if he won, he would do a hero interview, so let me shoot later, he was full of confidence and said, "I have to wear a tuxedo instead of dressed like this!" He said that. But after losing the game, I went back to Australia in anger and didn't show up for the interview. Just the other day, when Okki came to Japan and was allowed to take a picture at the Villabon event, I told him about it, "That happened!" It was a big laugh. After 40 years, he is still a hero.
In Niijima in 1985, Tom Karen, Ockey, and Potts came. Ocky had an appointment for a shooting in a magazine interview, but he didn't show up because he lost and got out of his age and left. When I met you the other day, I remembered when I talked about it. It was a big laugh. Ocky is also 59 years old, so it was almost 40 years ago.
Major leaguer Otani also did it, but Tom Carroll won the championship and wore a Japanese helmet from Marui's tournament. Lisa Anderson was also here. It's so good that I don't know if it's a girl or a boy. It was like Stephanie Gilmore today.
In Niijima, the way the players' feathers were removed was also bad. In particular, foreign players were popular with Japanese girls, and I'm sure there will be happy memories in their memories of their youth.
The era of Marui's tournament was before Kelly Slater and the others appeared. I filmed the best surfing in my teens and 20s of players who are now called "legends" in the surfing world. Yes, the first time I was able to take a focused photo with Auto Focus is an unforgettable memory for me.
