courtesy Erena Shimoda
Tokyo native Erena Shimoda calls herself an underwater healer, whose photos have one goal: to help. Using underwater portraits, Shimoda hopes to inspire and encourage those who have endured traumatic life experiences.
Shimoda first fell in love with diving on a trip to Roatan, Honduras. What began with a small underwater camera soon expanded to what she calls her “most expensive hobby,” when four years ago she decided to start photographing people.
“Taking photos of fish, I wasn’t really inspired. I was not happy with it,” Shimoda says.
While helping with the American Cancer Society program “Look Good, Feel Better,” Shimoda sought a way to help boost patients’ confidence using her talents.
“For females, self-image is really important,” Shimoda says. “Going through those treatments, losing hair and damaged skin — that reduces their confidence. I thought I could combine my photography with cancer survivors to overcome their experience and body-image [issues].”
As for her subjects, Shimoda says that they can be tentative at first but begin to loosen up throughout the shoot.
“I’m not a big-name photographer, so I’m sure it’s hard for them to trust me taking their pictures, but after I show them what I did to their images, I think they feel more confident.” underwaterhealer.com
Courtesy Erena Shimoda