Kei Orihara (折原 恵, Orihara Kei, born 1948) is a Japanese photographer whose work has portrayed the United States and who has created photobooks for children.
[4] In 1984 Orihara was noted for her success in interior portraits with natural and ambient light; she avoided flash.
[4] In keeping with Orihara's interest in people who at first seemed different from herself, she took on projects on young, third-generation Koreans in Japan,[4] and people at a Roman Catholic church in Sotome, Nagasaki Prefecture.
[4][5] Orihara turned to townscapes, photographing the port cities of Kobe, Kita-Kyūshū and Hakodate,[6] and the rooftop water towers of New York City (especially those of the traditional, barrel-like construction); the latter appeared both for adults interested in photography[7] and as a photobook for children.
From July 2011 until March 2016, she ran a photoblog of scenes in and near Sunnyside, Queens.