I have been reading through the materials of Takashi Amano (admittedly I am only on book 1) and viewing some of his scapes and I have to admit, his ideas inspire me and his scapes are what I call aquatic heaven. His designs seem so simple yet so amazing. It seems as though his fascination with nature aquariums stem from photography but he is undeniably a master of creative layouts. His layouts last for years and years and are clearly not quick set-up's for photography.
The man's an artist. A professional photographer. A planted tank guru. An aquascaper among other things. After doing many online searches I am learning about his books and published articles and how they are responsible for attracting new people to the hobby. I've come across his share of haters as well.
Some claim he is overrated. I am just learning about the man so I'll withold any judgements on that but whether he truly deserves God-status or not, even I, a relatively inexperienced aquascaper who is new to the planted tank hobby cannot deny his contribution to the hobby and that I can respect.
I can honestly say everything I am reading and viewing from him is having a profound impact on me and I am going to keep his ideas in mind when designing *cough* redesigning *cough* my 55 gallon. I am going to attempt to create a Universe in a small space. Although I have a long ways to go, my goal is to be a great aquarium designer and to keep improving. I'm sure I'll make many accidents BUT I shall look for (and hope for) "happy accidents" meaning something going better than my original vision.
Regards,
John
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