Hiro | |
|---|---|
ヒロ | |
 Hiro circa 1986 | |
| Born | 若林 康宏 (Wakabayashi Yasuhiro) (1930-11-03)November 3, 1930 |
| Died | August 15, 2021(2021-08-15) (aged 90) Erwinna,Pennsylvania, U.S. |
| Nationality | Japanese |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Occupation | Photographer |
Yasuhiro Wakabayashi (若林 康宏,Wakabayashi Yasuhiro) (3 November 1930 – 15 August 2021),[1] known professionally asHiro (ヒロ), was a Japanese-Americancommercial photographer. He was known for hisfashion andstill life photography from the mid-1960s onward.
Hiro was born inShanghai to Japanese parents. His family returned toJapan from China at the end of theSecond World War.
In 1954, he went to the United States,[1] and briefly enrolled in theSchool of Modern Photography in New York.[2] He was dissatisfied with the school, however, and apprenticed himself to the studio ofLester Bookbinder andReuben Samberg. At the end of 1956, he gained an apprenticeship atRichard Avedon's fashion photography studio in New York City.[1] In 1957, Avedon recommended him toAlexey Brodovitch, theart director atHarper's Bazaar, and Hiro worked there as his assistant for a time,[1] during Brodovitch's Design Laboratory atThe New School.
By the end of 1957, Hiro was no longer Avedon's assistant, and had launched his own career. Within only a few years, Hiro became a fashion photographer in his own right. He contributed as a staff photographer toHarper's Bazaar from 1956 to 1975, then worked as a freelancer taking commissioned assignments fromHarper's,Vogue and other magazines.[1]
One of his early celebrated photographs is a 1963 image of aHarry Winston diamond necklace placed on a bovine hoof.[1] Surreal and unique, Hiro's photographs are noted for their elegance and clean appearance. He uses uncommon lighting, the juxtaposition of unexpected elements,[3] and his particular use of color.
He was named Photographer of the Year by theAmerican Society of Media Photographers in 1969 and 1982.[2] Also in 1982, the trade magazineAmerican Photographer devoted an issue to him.[1] In 2020 Hiro was inducted into theInternational Photography Hall of Fame and Museum.[4]
He died at his country home inErwinna, Pennsylvania, on 15 August 2021, at the age of 90.[1]
Hiro married set designer Elizabeth Clark in 1959, and they had two sons.[1] He lived primarily inManhattan, and had a country home in Erwinna, Pennsylvania.[1]
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