In the Summer of 2020, when we were all trapped in our homes due to the Covid-19 Pandemic, plans for the next product photo shoot was in the works. Usually, we go on a hike to shoot our product pictures but this wasn’t really an option this time around.

In spring, with the help of our friends, we were miraculously able to shoot in Taiwan. However, it was difficult to imagine going on a photo shoot with a group of models and staff this summer in the midst of the pandemic.

Akira and the team discussed many alternative ideas for the next shoot, such as printing or projecting large backgrounds of the outdoors behind models. However, we settled on the idea of using the art of collage, and decided to place cut-out photos of models in interesting spots that replicate the great outdoors. The method itself is not particularly new, but by creating a picture of ourselves hiking on a desk as if it were a hallucination, it perfectly replicates our moods of wanting to go hiking. Hence the name “Desktop Hiking.”

We took photos of the models on the scorching hot Zaimokuza beach and cropped the printed photos with scissors. We then continued the production at Naomi Kazama’s studio in Enoshima to replicate these “hallucinations.”