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Lee Chapman of Tokyo Times shoots Japan in a refreshing sense and finds some great locations that look eerily staged, but are reportedly left untouched. His latest shows us an abandoned music recording studio near Mt. Fuji. Looking over the amazing photos, the spirit of anyone that ever recorded or visited the studio come through the images or at least feel like they are out of the frame trying to get your attention.
The shots come from what Japan calls Haikyo which is a term meaning abandoned or ruins. These locations are left untouched due to multiple reasons, but generally a quick need to escape seems to the main factor.
To view the images + visit Lee’s website, you must learn.
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New York City Events / Gallery Exhibition
I wish I was paying more attention to Daido Moriyama’s visit to New York last week as he recreated an installation from 1974 that involved crowd participation, photo printing, and book binding.
Though the two-day special event was earlier this month, the exhibit is still on display until November 12th.
Definitely a top priority for me.
You must learn.
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Last Thursday at Japan Society New York I was lucky enough to attend a somewhat intimate lecture given by one of my photography heroes, Daido Moriyama. The event was sold out and the crowd was just as intrigued as I was. The enigmatic photographer spoke zero English and I feel the translation was a unfortunately not as solid as I would have hoped. Christopher Phillips, of The International Center of Photography, led the interview. His questions and commentary were not entirely that of ground breaking importance, but he walked a steady line of giving us a closer look at Moriyama’s personal views and beliefs. Regardless of what was being asked, it was truly a delight to be in the presence of so many people that appreciated amazing work.
My personal highlight for the evening happened when they opened the floor to ask questions.
I hesitated at first, but couldn’t resist the opportunity. My hand raised at every given chance, skipped and skipped again. Look over here Mr. Phillips! The front of the room has had their turn! We make eye contact. MY TURN! I proceed to ask a very nerdy question regarding his camera preference. The question came from two sources. One being that I am a bit of a camera Otaku and just have to know his favorite and two stemmed from Moriyama announcing earlier in the evening his soon to be released photo book will be entirely in color and more importantly DIGITAL!
After some thought, he answers telling me that he has used many, many Ricoh cameras over the years for his snapshots. These are of course the monochromatic shots we have come to know him for. However, for the digital photos he has switched to a Nikon. This of course got me very excited as I own a Nikon DSLR. He then added in a very charming, old man remark “I wish there was one camera that can do both equally well (digital color & black and white). I can’t figure out why they don’t make one.” The crowd laughs.
There were many thoughts shared that caught my interest, but a few really stood out. The first being his outlook on photography as a tool of memory, time, and documentation. Yes, these are quite literal uses of photography, but the overlaying theme of time seems to be a large influence on many Japanese artists.
“A photo catches now, but now is also the past as well as the future.”
A moment in time. At the time, it was now. An interesting view to think about in relation to our memory.
The other being his personal motto.
“Quality comes with quantity.”
Being as prolific a photographer as him, is definitely a task very few can meet. I wonder if he feels he got to where he is because he has shot thousands of photos or because out of those photos someone managed to grab onto the right ones. Though he outright said there is no one else in Japan as good as him other than Araki, this statement humanizes his art that makes it feel less about being creative and more about happy accidents.
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Hey camera folk, need a new bag? Want one that no one else has (in your immediate circle)?
Domke + Beams JP collaborated on these really great denim pieces that keep you looking good and your camera equipment safe all at once. Sure I love looking like I am about to climb a mountain from time to time with a bag that may be inappropriate for the streets, but with these you don’t have to worry about that… and in my eyes just a little cooler than the next guy.
The larger bag shown above is a beast that can hold a few pieces of glass and at least two bodies or any other number of configurations you can think of.
The smaller version is where it’s at for me. A perfect day pack that can hold a body and two pieces of glass, with a little room to spare for filters or film.
The design and build quality is beyond top notch.
To see video details of both models + spend your next paycheck, you must learn.
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I was recently turned on to Sugimoto’s work via the Night Vision exhibit currently on display at The Met. The photo used in the show was very similar to the first shown in this small series I pulled from the internet, though much darker.
Sugimoto’s Seascapes is the where the piece comes from and seeing it for the first time I could not take my eyes off of it. The contrast between the water and horizon was so subtle one could easily pass off the photo as a shot into complete darkness or that of an accidental take while storing the camera.
Though his other fine photography is quite admirable as well, something draws me to the vast emptiness in the Seascapes series. I am extremely happy to have come across his work and look forward to his upcoming projects.
You must learn.
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