PHOTOGRAPHY ZINES AND BOOKS NO: 45 – Japan Camera Hunter

Tokyo Street Vol.5 by Tatsuo Suzuki

Who?

We actually featured Suzuki in our last round-up with his Vol.3 edition of Tokyo Street. Previous visual interviewee, he is the cofounder of Void Tokyo and at one point a few years ago notorious from his work as ambassador for Fujifilm in which he was dropped for his photographing methods (Google it).

What?

Tokyo Street Vol.5 is his latest in his ongoing series published in December of last year. Perhaps, more than the 2020 Fujifilm fiasco was more quietly his Steidl photo book release, so Vol.5 sees Suzuki simply hitting his stride with seemingly effortless street snaps expertly put together as a cohesive work exhibiting everything the artist is. As the essay included with the book points out, he tiptoes the line of fiction and non-fiction as some are street snaps and some are actual photographs of models.

It is a purposeful blurring that the photo critic Takazawa points out, “that in doing this he casts doubt on the myth that street snaps are merely an expression of the unconscious, and simultaneously makes them perspective to the hypersensitivity to use of personal images and the symptoms of snap-phobia.”

Why?

With this blurring… is the layout itself that has become increasingly more experimental than our previously reviewed Vol.3. Which upon visiting the annual Void Tokyo group show last month was also the case! I like in a lot of works the photographers heightened their use of digital of photography…that is embracing it instead of hiding the fact, that came off with a lot of artistic success in contradiction toward my bias to digital photography.

Details

◆【 ZINE ×1 】
100pages / B5size (257×182mm)
◆【 Prints ×3 】
size (89×127mm)
◆【Poster ×1 】
A2size (420×594mm)
Backside text: “A Prescription for Street Snap-phobia” by Kenji Takazawa (Photography Critic)

Where?

You can check out this and other zines and prints on his site here for international audiences & here for those in Japan.

Instagram

Follow the Light By Bob St-Cyr

Who?

Bob St-Cyr is a Canadian fine-art photographer. He works in all formats of film (35mm-large format) beginning his photo journey back in the early 90s. He is guided by his simple mantra….’follow the light.’

What?

“Follow the Light” is a photo project taken around Maple Ridge & Mission, British Columbia, Canada. Mission is an hour east outside of Vancouver. It is divided into three parts: the first is ‘Alouette Lake’ which makes for a serene study of tree stumps along the lake shore line. The second is ‘Fak-135’ that utilizes 35mm film in a medium format camera to shoot various nature shots. The third is ‘Stave Lake Powerhouse’ a historical hydro-electric power house. The images personally remind me of Charles Sheeler’s work at the Ford Motor Company.

Why?

Perhaps Bob puts it best in the book forward, “Photography historian Beaumont Newhall once said that, “Over the years, photography has been to me what a journal is to a writer-a record of things seen and experienced, moments in the flow of time, documents of significance to me, experiments in seeing.” I can truly say that a lot of what I do photographically resonates with Beaumont’s words.

Photography is a real privilege when as a photographer, I am able to enjoy the experience of the place where I am photographing and then come home with some of those experiences as latent visual memories waiting for the next process which happens in the darkroom. Photography gives me a wonderful way in which to see deeply into that which was framed in a camera and decide if the inner eye within moves to make an exposure or not.

The importance of photography is not only in the practice because I can, but because of the passion and the process, which reflects dedication, commitment and experience as the ingredients which are innate in my relationship with photography. Photography for me, is a whole and therapeutic experience, from the smells in the air to the sounds of nature, to the wind in my hair or the excitement of sharing my work and techniques with others.

I’m motivated by the ‘doing’ of my photographic art practice, getting out … just out and about with my camera(s) and rolls of film in my pockets or loaded film holders in my bag. I’m motivated by the interplay of light and subject and the blessed opportunities to capture some of this on film and later on interpret the negatives into hand-crafted gelatin-silver archival fibre prints. Here is a modest collection of some of my work which is film based as I continue to follow the light…” – Bob St-Cyr

Where?

Unfortunately the zine is no longer available.
You can follow his blog here and his Instagram here.

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Thanks to our two guests for their submissions, it is a really cool thing to be able to share them all with you. And remember, this is open to everyone. If you would like to have your zines or books featured then all you have to do is mail me. Hopefully there will be plenty more of you who want to get your books and zines out there to the world. Another installment will be coming soon.

Thanks
-JF