Because all what we have is now
I found beautiful photo essay by MaYa Sinji Jung 鄭信智 in JPGMag. http://jpgmag.com/stories/18598
Reading it brought tears to my eyes.
She writes lines like “None of the birds fly without the weight.” and “Freedom, and peace should have buried next to the cat you killed.”
Her beautiful self portraits do excellent justice for her poetry.
I think Sony’s remark in their Chinese website “girls couldn’t shoot” is perfect symbolism for the company’s values. It’s probably good that they are going to focus on software since industrial design surely wasn’t one of their strongest areas since maybe, Walkman.
I can’t say I like any of the company’s present line of cameras and I think that their comment is right in line just how serious they are about photography.
DigitalREV translated the remark in the website: “from now on, shooting is no longer stuff of men”. The guys made hilarious video about the topic that is spot on: http://youtu.be/IDFCMHLtNl8
Hey Sonny, have you ever heard of Anna Atkins or , ehm. Annie Leibowitz? Women were shooting photos long time ago there even was Sony.
I have uploaded my short story Baghdad. Please download it for free. (pdf) (eBook).
I wrote this in 2006 and it’s based on a dream I saw. Now that I read it, I think it somehow summarizes my feeling what I had about the decade. Invasion war repeated once again, dictator in Middle East fell and the cowboy told his lies to the world.
I had shivers while typing my Macbook’s keyboard in my empty apartment in middle of the night. I had fever, but I couldn’t stop writing. The dream felt so vivid. The main body of the story came out in couple of hours. I sent the original manuscript to Random House and much to my surprise, received reply from the chief editor Mr.Rowley. According to him the story could have been published if my English writing would have “flown more”.
My short story received two passes of edits and this, what will the last version of the story, is quite readable in my opinion.
Please feel free to download and read the story and send me the comments. I’d love to hear them.
Yours,
Jaakko
I went to Tojimbo cliffs in Fukui Prefecture some years back. The place was just as eerie as it’s reputation as famous place for suicides in Japan. The cliff’s shape was very unique and sharp rocks looked very lethal.
There are free telephone booths which can be used to call for help, should one find himself in desperate situation, and also people patrolling the area. All of these are organized by volunteer force.
Japan’s suicide rate is among the highest in the world. There are about 24,4 suicides per 100,000 people. Japan was ranked second in 2009, after Russia.
While mass media is thriving..
I’m keeping Pinterest board about photography that interests me.
http://pinterest.com/yaschan/favorite-photography-links/
Please come and follow it by all means.
Here is the News Release regarding my incoming exhibition in Yokohama. This is intended for immediate release.
If you want to help to distribute flyers please let me know and I will send them.
Regarding Edmund Burke’s famous quote (on war and peace):
“All that is necessary for the triumph of evil is that good men do nothing.”
I think it should be:
“All that is necessary for the triumph of peace is that good men do nothing.”
I realized recently that actually I’m not so interested about cameras. Sure I have some interest, especially in old film cameras (Leica M series especially) and the philosophy behind the old photography. But there is endless number of blogs in web dealing with questions such as what camera should one buy, which lens is sharp and which camera brand to choose.
This camera has automatic landscape mode, pet face detection, and this camera, oh-my-god! It can go so high ISO that it can shoot black insects in coal mines without flash! And look at this zoom lens!
It feels like perfectly creative peoples minds are consumed by the technological possibilities.
In order to focus in photography, I decided to be simple regarding the gear. If I’m doing my own art photos I usually use my Fujifilm X100 and nothing else. I have the cheap flash unit for it (fits in pocket easily) and I use it rarely as a fill flash, but that’s all.
Simple images have power. I’d like the process of taking a photo to be as simple and unobtrusive as possible.
Yosuke Kakegawa & Kimiko Mori’s Icelandic Honeymoon is interesting work which suffers from being too cute. I like the overall expression, but don’t understand the shots of McDonalds meals or airplane wings. This could have been much more. Currently, too much conservative and obvious. However, color and overall feel of the photos is great, although a bit like watching a commercial.
I went to Eroguranmasse exhibition last summer in Yokohama. My friend was one of the photographers who arranged it, and also featured his own work in the exhibition. The exhibition, as the name suggests, was very cross-artistic and bohemian, with erotic theme.
My music Magical Forest was used as a background music for the exhibition, so I felt some strange , personal feeling. In fact, I was a bit startled.
Generally I liked all of the pictures and artworks, but one piece caught my eye especially. A photo framed in black.
Although the photo portrays a dead woman, and is rather believable, she seems so alive too, I remember thinking. “Intertesting..” I said to myself and went on to see other works, while my very own “Fish Hospital” played from the speakers, the piece music I had performed live in Monzennakacho year before.
After returning to see the photo (twice) I decided to buy it.
It was later revealed to me that the picture was taken by iPhone and that the woman in the photo was the artist herself. I had pleasure to meet her after the exhibition and it was very delightful to see her alive face. She proved to be witty and funny person.
I think it wouldn’t do justice of the photo if I show it here, instead I will show what is written behind the picture (after I bought it). This photo is still hanged in my office and will be unlikely replaced any time soon.
I will ask the Riesan if there is some way to see her work online. Will link.
