Tomoaki Katsuba, known for his poetic visual storytelling, has been awarded the Platinum Prize and named Best Photo of the Season in the Cityscapes category at the World Grand Prix Photography Awards 2025 Season 1. His winning image, part of the Urban Shan Shui series, captures a breathtaking view of Hong Kong enveloped in a sea of clouds—a fleeting moment decades in the making.
“Growing up, I loved watching Castle in the Sky by Hayao Miyazaki,” Katsuba shares. “The idea of a floating city hidden in the clouds stayed with me. Then I saw a photo of Hong Kong under cloud cover nearly twenty years ago. It instantly reminded me of that fantasy. From then on, I dreamed of capturing something like it myself.”
That dream came true in March 2022. After years of chasing weather forecasts, monitoring live cams through the night, and enduring countless missed chances, Katsuba finally stood before the scene he had imagined since childhood. “It was deeply emotional,” he says. “Like watching a dream materialize through the viewfinder.”
But the technical challenge was immense. Capturing a sea of clouds requires perfect timing and rare weather conditions. “I’d often arrive too early, too late, or the clouds would be too dense. It’s a test of patience and persistence.”
What distinguishes Katsuba’s work is the delicate harmony between technical mastery and artistic depth. “Technique gives you the structure,” he explains. “But it’s what you do with it—through emotion, post-processing, and vision—that makes the image art.”
For this photo, taken just after golden hour, the raw image lacked drama. But Katsuba saw something more. “It reminded me of the Shan Shui ink paintings I admired as a child—soft layers of mist, vertical depth, poetic quietness. So I edited the image to reflect that aesthetic, blending modern cityscape with ancient art traditions.”
This conceptual blend is the essence of Urban Shan Shui, a title that fuses contemporary urban landscapes with the timeless spirit of Chinese landscape painting. The result is not just a photograph—it’s photographic art, a term Katsuba champions in a world increasingly flooded by AI-generated images and smartphone snapshots.
“Photography is at a crossroads,” he says. “Anyone can take a clear picture now. But photographic art is about personal vision. It’s not just what the lens sees—it’s how the artist feels, interprets, and shares that moment.”
Through his work, Katsuba hopes to spark imagination and memory. “I want people to see my photos and enter their own stories. What I create isn’t only what I see—it’s what I’ve felt. And I hope viewers can feel that, too.”
Full Interview
1. What inspired you to take this award-winning photo? Is there a story behind the piece you’d like to share?
Growing up, I loved watching Castle in the Sky, the animated film by Hayao Miyazaki. The story of a floating city hidden above the clouds stayed with me for years. Then, about two decades ago, I came across a photograph of Hong Kong covered in a sea of clouds. That image immediately resonated with my childhood fascination; it felt like a real-life/urban version of the floating castle. From that moment on, I dreamed of capturing such a scene myself.
In March 2022, after nearly 20 years of imagining it, I finally had the opportunity to witness and photograph the sea of clouds over Hong Kong. It was a deeply personal and emotional moment, like seeing a dream come to life through the lens.
2. Were there any challenges during the process of creating this series or image? How did you navigate them?
Capturing a sea of clouds is incredibly unpredictable. When I first started, I had no idea what exact weather conditions were needed for this phenomenon. I learned by observing and connecting with other photographers, but even then, nothing was guaranteed.
On days when mist or fog was forecasted, I monitored live webcams every one to two hours through the night, hoping for signs of cloud formation. Often, I’d arrive at the location only to find the clouds too thick to see anything, or I’d miss the perfect moment by just minutes. It was a cycle of trial, patience, and often heartbreak. But in the end, persistence paid off.
3. How do you approach the balance between technical skill and emotional/artistic expression in your photography?
For me, technical precision is the foundation; understanding the weather, the light, the timing, and the composition is essential, especially in landscape and cityscape photography. These elements are what enable emotional expression to come through. But that’s only the beginning. I refine and optimise the artistic expressions through post-processing.
The image I submitted was taken just after golden hour, so the raw scene lacked visual drama. As I worked on it, I realised it reminded me of the traditional Chinese ink paintings, Shan Shui, that I admired in childhood. So, I chose to edit the photo to reflect that aesthetic, creating a bridge between the modern cityscape and the traditional art that shaped my visual imagination.
4. What message or feeling do you hope your photography conveys to viewers?
I aim to create images that don’t just show a place, but invite people into my story, and encourage them to experience their own. Behind every image lies a personal connection: the emotions I felt while shooting, the story that led me there, and the message I want to share. Through these layers, I hope to spark the viewer’s imagination and memories, so they can engage with the scene in their own unique way.
5. In your view, what role does photography play in today’s world?
Photography today stands at a crossroads. With the rise of smartphones and AI-generated imagery, anyone can produce a technically sound image. As a result, photography as an art form is undervalued or misunderstood.
What I create is not just photography; it is photographic art. And photographic art is not about recording reality as it is. It’s about interpreting a moment through the artist’s perspective, emotion, and story.
In an age flooded with images, I believe meaning comes from vision and artistic depth. That’s what gives photographic art its value, not simply as a tool of documentation, but as a lasting expression of personal and creative vision.
