Incredible Photos of Japan’s Natural Landscape That Look Like Watercolors

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Tokyo-based photographer Takashi Komatsubara unlocks the beauty of Japan's natural environment with his enchanting photographs. His artistic images seem almost like watercolor paintings, awash with color. Through his lens, Komatsubara transmits the calm elegance of nature in Japan.

Taking up photography in 2009, Komatsubara slowly moved from just aiming to document his world to transforming his photography into art. “When I take pictures, I try for photos with emotions,” the photographer writes us via email. “I want to shake the hearts of people who see my pictures.” He wishes to reflect tranquility in his work, which is largely devoid of humans. By photographing forests and mountains without a trace of man, he projects calm solitude in his portfolio.

A Nikon lover, Komatsubara shoots with a Nikon D810 and a host of different lenses—from a fixed TAMRON SP 90mm F/2.8 to a Sigma 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM—in order to achieve the perfect, artistic look. As a viewer, we are transported across the seasons, from cherry blossoms blooming over Mt. Fuji to snow covered forests glistening in the sun. Ultimately, Komatsubara's combination of landscape and fine art photography frames Japan's natural world in a light worthy of its beauty.

Takashi Komatsubara's landscape photographs of Japan look like colorful watercolor paintings.
Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Japan Photography by Takashi Komatsubara

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara japan nature photos

Takashi Komatsubara: Facebook | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to use photos by Takashi Komatsubara.

Jessica Stewart

Jessica Stewart is a Contributing Writer and Digital Media Specialist for My Modern Met, as well as a curator and art historian. Since 2020, she is also one of the co-hosts of the My Modern Met Top Artist Podcast. She earned her MA in Renaissance Studies from University College London and now lives in Rome, Italy. She cultivated expertise in street art which led to the purchase of her photographic archive by the Treccani Italian Encyclopedia in 2014. When she’s not spending time with her three dogs, she also manages the studio of a successful street artist. In 2013, she authored the book 'Street Art Stories Roma' and most recently contributed to 'Crossroads: A Glimpse Into the Life of Alice Pasquini'. You can follow her adventures online at @romephotoblog.
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