Plein Air
Studio
Portraits

About

Naruhako.
Becoming box.

Naruhako comes from the Japanese words for *becoming* and *box*. To me, it is the idea that something changes the moment it enters the camera. The box is more than a tool—it is a place of transformation. I photograph with a large-format camera using one sheet of photographic paper at a time. There is no motor drive, no endless stream of images, and no rushing toward the next frame. Every portrait is made deliberately, then developed by hand in silver while the sitter waits. Working this way requires trust. The image remains unseen until the development is complete, leaving little opportunity to correct, review, or start over. Each photograph carries its own character, shaped as much by the process as by the people who take part in it. Rather than striving for perfection, I embrace the small variations that make every portrait one of a kind. I believe the most meaningful portraits happen when people are given permission to slow down. The camera asks for patience, but more importantly, it invites trust—in the process, in the moment, and in one another. When those things come together, the portrait becomes more than a record of someone's appearance. It reflects a brief moment of presence that cannot be repeated.

Based in Seattle, Washington.

The result is not simply a photograph, but something made together by light, silver, time, and trust.

What comes out of the box is not a record of how you presented yourself. It's closer to how you were when you forgot to.