Shuzo Uemoto was born in 1948 in Hiroshima, Japan, and has lived in Hawaiʻi since 1953. His interest in photography began while in college, but he is essentially self-taught. Over many years he developed a mastery of the photographic medium through much trial and error. He is respected for his exacting and timeless portraiture, and as someone who can capture a myriad of nuances and moods. Furthermore, his portraits are known for their cultural and spiritual sensitivities. He is a dedicated experimenter who utilized unconventional photographic printmaking methods.
He exhibited his works in prominent local, regional, national, and international venues in Hawaiʻi, the continental United States; Paris, France, and Osaka, Japan. His photographs are included in private collections as well as in the Honolulu Museum of Arts and the Hawaiʻi State Foundation on the Culture and the Arts. His works are in Contemporary Photographers of Hawaiʻi (1985), “Collective Visions,” SFCA; American Photographer , 1981- 87; Nānā I Nā Loea Hula Vol. I & II; and Lessons of Aloha with Brother Noland 1999.
Shuzo Uemoto is listed in the Index to American Photographic Collections, published by the International Museum of Photography located at the George Eastman House in Rochester, New York. Shuzo was a lecturer in photography at Kapiʻolani Community College and was the staff photographer for the Honolulu Museum of Art for many years.