My portfolio is now live. Please check it out.
Human
Tonight I watched again first episode of NHK スペチアル ヒューマン。I love this awfully beautiful but very scientifically accurate program.
https://www.nhk-ondemand.jp/goods/G2012036277SA000/?spg=P201200085700000
It is interesting notion that one of the key differences between homo sapiens and chimpanzees is that human mother needs help when delivering baby. This is due to the structural differences in female pelvis versus chimp.
I really recommend this documentary.
T-shirt design
My recent T-shirt design for Japanese elementary school.
つぎは
つぎは、
ニコニコ駅前
ニコニコ駅前でございます
Afternoons and Kara-age
Today I called my father in Finland. My mother is suffering from Alzheimer’s disease and is in hospital, so my father lives alone now. Mother’s condition is getting worse.
This doesn’t happen so often, but tonight I feel wave of homesickness. So I took my tested cure for all sadness and loneliness, album of Crash Test Dummies, “God Shuffled His Feet” and listen it with my stereo. When I was bullied in school I listened this and it always managed to make me relax and feel soft. I got the CD actually from my sister’s boyfriend way back then and it soon became one of my favourites . There’s something about this sweet music that just works for me.
Tonight I cooked my speciality, Kara-age, a fried chicken in Japanese style. This food is also kind of my personal comfort food. (And this is likely my best dish.) It just heals the soul. And now my kitchen is still smelling like it has been used, which I like.
It’s strange really. I don’t feel that often homesick. So when it comes it really hits hard. However, it’s wrong to keep thinking the same thing over and over again, as it was said in Tarkovsky’s Nostalgia. Yes.. we must live in the present.
Refresh
I am wearing a skirt my wife borrowed me. I am loving this feeling of smooth light fabric on my skin. (I’m not wearing underwear). Women are way luckier than men I think, since they can wear so comfortable clothes. I am enjoying this refreshing feeling while I’m writing this, listening Bjork’s “Big Time Sensuality”.
You know I have had so many blogs. And I always gave up writing them sooner or later. Most often the reason was that the design didn’t please me. Either the colours were wrong, too dark or the site felt like a corporate blog. Most often the environment just didn’t feel like me, and as result I couldn’t write as honestly as I’d like to, after all.
I wish this is more like my own journal or notepad for myself rather than serious blog written for some audience. Facebook has been kind of like my public notebook, but it seems everything disappears after a while and it’s hard to go back in time to really see what was going on some time ago. This, however is a permanent record.
Photographers are a quiet bunch. If they talk they talk anything else except photos. I also feel like I should save all my energy for the moment of taking photo. So rather than talk about photo, I wish to talk about my life.
However, let me write this; selecting the images for the front page gallery was interesting chance to look at the photos I’ve taken during last three years. Then it really helped me to understand what I am doing with my camera, in a bigger scale. Even if this turns out to be only fruit of the effort of entire redesign I am quite happy about it. This is what I do.
Anyway, I will be updating this as my main series of images to reflect my best works frequently, so please do return to check every now and then.
Meeting Oota-san in Sokyusha book shop in Tokyo really helped me to curate my own images into more simple and pure form. I feel I’m privileged to know such a great person and get his advice. Then, seeing my ex girlfriend’s photo book “Looking for Forest” (森をさがす) was another inspiration for me to change my website’s layout into somehow more simple form.
Then, I realise also that I have just recently started photographing really seriously. I still have a lot of mileage to cover. As I left Sokyusha last time, Oota-san threw me casually; “Hey, Jaakko, Don’t give up taking photos..”. I can still hear his voice, and remember how he said it.
I can’t say that I don’t understand why so many do, especially those with families. Perseverance is a required feat in this thing. We just simply have to love what we do. If the love dies, it’s game over.
However, when I get depressed I feel like I want to throw my camera into a dark well in my parent’s backyard. It’s so difficult to explain this to someone who is not into photography. How could she possibly understand?
My family friend said to me yesterday, “If your wife would really become to understand your photography, then it would mean she became a photographer. Think how hard it would be then?” Bravo!
The Heaven, Mine
「天国,わたしの」は完売しました。
The Heaven, Mine photo book was sold out.
Thank you for all who bought it.
Why Photo
There is an article over in my Things blog about the reasons why I shoot.
“It’s like digging up these huge stones from the soil. You know, my father is a farmer, and he taught me how to clean up entire field from stones. Much like him, I am preparing my grave. He brought a shovel. I brought a camera.”
http://things.hiyayaakko.com/why-photo/
Going to Space
Going to space for me would be a milestone in my own journey, and in my spiritual growth. To see the beauty of this planet from outside it would be a breathtaking experience; not only in overcoming the physical and personal challenge, but also spiritually. Life is a huge cosmic journey itself and going to space would be a perfect visualisation of it.
I was separated from my mother when I was two years old. I want to experience that separation again, this time from mother earth; going to space would be like amazing personal movie for me.
I would refuse to ride a Nasa shuttle or rocket, but I wouldn’t mind riding Sir Richard’s vessel. Things must be done in right spirit ecologically, and Richard surely does just that. In any way, I strongly support Virgin Galactic, what they are doing is remarkable and extremely responsible. They might be a company but what they do is so much more.
What next?
(note for myself)
One of the common questions I’m asked during my exhibition is “what are you going to do next?”. I have given it a thought.
I’m going to clean up my work room. It’s a total chaos. I don’t mean like creative Einstein-like-chaos. I mean total-unfathomable-godcrazy-abyss-like-chaos. It’s going to take at least a week to restore the room into some kind of working order.
After that, I’ll sit a moment and have a cup of coffee.