_valerian

Photographica is a thick, expensive, and beautifully crafted photo magazine which comes out a few times a year in Japan. The Spring 2008 issue focused on Travel Photography with several Japanese photographers having their work from around the world featured on this magazine’s hefty paper stock.

The work in this issue is fresh and immediate. There is not a single photo which could possibly make it past the editors of Lonely Planet. This is an extreme compliment. These travel pictures are about the Photographer’s personal experiences- not about traveling to create a comprehensive story of a people, or focusing on the exotic details of a foreign culture. There are no great landmarks nor decisive cultural moments- no pyramids or predictable shots of rows of traditional footwear in markets filling up the frame. No shots from behind of small children in traditional dress holding hands with a grandparent walking down the street- you get the idea.

The text throughout the magazine often is about the personal meaning of the concept of “travel”. Personal, not Universal- this is a key point to understanding a lot of Japanese photography. Or at least what’s cool at the moment.

What I like is that for most of the photos, it’s hard to imagine that the photographer knew in advance just what they would see and photograph that day. We all have ideas of the general photos we might be able to take while abroad- and it looks to me like the photographers here were able to be in the field but still stay open to what was around them. This is in direct opposition to what one sees after googling “Travel Photography Tips”.

Another feature in this issue is “Camera of Travel”- several full color pages of recommended cameras for photography abroad.

With the exception of a few of the digital cameras in the last two pages, each camera has a fixed focal length lens. This is fantastic. And an “only in Japan” kind of deal. Can you believe that this is a camera/photography magazine NOT suggesting the latest and greatest current DSLR monsters with zoom lenses covering the 12mm to 800mm ranges? Well, to be honest, there are dozens of those kinds of mags out each month. And many of those guys with backpacks full of lenses out walking around anywhere you go. So it’s extra nice when the editors of Photographica give props to the Leica M5 and Nikon 28Ti as viable equipment for one’s travels. Not only are each of these featured cameras beautiful examples of 20th century industrial design, shooting with a fixed focal length lens is going to help your photography no matter where you go. I don’t agree with this fellow’s feelings on female mental capacity in the first few paragraphs, but he gets the idea of simplicity across by the end of the article.

The less you spend thinking about what lens you might need for the shot that’s in your head the more time you can actually be photographing. A fixed focal length is not only going to give your work an admirable consistency, but it’s also going to surprise you. It’s not simply a tool to bring mental images to light- Instead, let your camera teach you how to make a picture.

The new (as 2007) 28mm Elmarit is compact, extremely well made, and smooth as hell. After several months of saving up I picked up this lens last night. It is exactly what I wanted in every regard.

You owe it to yourself to get the equipment you want.

Please point any doubting significant others to that sentence.

It has to be true.

It’s on the internet!

I’m pleased to announce that Tokyo Camera Style is featured in the June 2009 issue of Nippon Camera.

About three weeks ago I shot the opening spread for their twenty page special feature called “The New Generation of Used Camera Enjoyment” (中古カメラ新時代の遊び方). The section is all about taking advantage of the recent drop in used film camera prices, and suggestions for beginners on what to buy and use. Additionally there are several used shops suggested as places to buy cameras.

The final page is about how I go about getting content for Tokyo Camera Style, and my reasons for doing so. There is also a little part about my habit of asking to take family pictures (so that everyone can be in the shot together), and a picture of me doing just that. After I handed them back their camera, the family that I photographed was probably wondering just what the guy in the background pointing a DSLR at me was doing in both of the pictures I took for them.

This issue is available in bookstores across Japan from May 20th to June 19th, 2009.

Many thanks to the editors of Nippon Camera for this experience.

It’s spring, which means it was about time for my Leica’s semi-annual catastrophic breakdown. I knew the 1/1000 shutter speed was messed up, but something about the 40,000 yen estimate to fix that one speed made me think I’d just keep it under 500 for the time being.

Then the electrical system went weird with the camera constantly keeping the meter on as long as it was not set explicitly to “OFF”. It took 2 sets of batteries until I realized this.

Then no less than 2 hours into my (12 hour*) trip to Shiga (5 days total), the shutter said “OK DONE NOW” just outside Atami, and that quote looks like this as a picture:

Fortunately I had also stashed a Big Mini into my camera bag, and luckily my girlfriend didn’t mind swapping her FE2** for the Big Mini, and awesomely she asked to trade for keeps*** so now I have a smooth little SLR and the Leica sat in my overnight bag all week.

THIS REMINDS ME OF SOMETHING I READ ON A FORUM ONCE:
and it went a little like this:

“When you go out shooting, take a Leica and a Nikon. That way when one breaks you’ll still have the Nikon”

OH SNAP! SORRY GERMANY.

Pictures of the trip will be on my site soon.

* The amazing Seishun 18 Kippu is something I’ll blog about in the near future. Short version: If you have the time and and a travel partner, this ticket is a great way to see Japan.

** Ok, actually I was the one who bought the FE2 for her in the first place

***So maybe technically they were both mine anyways… And she prefers the Big Mini to an SLR so we are all winners. Except for my Leica. And my “Save for a Summicron Lens fund”.