Leaving Eri and, to a lesser extent, Japan, was the most difficult thing I've ever done. We went out that evening to do some last minute shopping and then to visit the 8bitcafe - a cafe in Shinjuku dedicated to the 8bit era of video games, with Famicoms and Master Systems to play. It was really nice, as was the expensive hotel, but we weren't really in the mood. Anyway, after that glowing introduction, here are some photos I took...
Tag Archive for 'Tokyo'
What with my manic attempts to move out of my flat by tomorrow, I haven't had time to post much recently, so here are some of the Contax shots I've had developed recently. I like these shots. I think of any film I've taken with the T2, this film probably had the highest proportion of decent pictures. Not that that was to do with anything more than luck, but still, nice to get.
Yesterday, for the first (and probably last time), I went out for a cruise in Tokyo Bay. It's a big piss-up on a boat, 2 hours at 2500円 (about £12) for all-you-can-drink beer and wine. Good fun, and lots of young, drunken Japanese people to chat with, which is always a laugh. Also lots of chances to fail to take good photos. These are again probably the better ones of the night. Click to open the gallery, or just click read more to see them all.
The last time I was invited to a wedding, I managed to take 3 photos in the entire night. This time, I was determined to take more, and bought a new film on the way. In the end, I got so overexcited snapping away, that I had to leave the after-after party karaoke to buy another film, which I proceeded to shoot all of without adjusting the focus at all from one shot to the next. I don't think I was attempting some kind of peculiar avant-garde technique, I think it may have been just because I was a little bit pissed. Anyway, these were the best shots from the night - I really like the two shots of Seri and Jacob. There's a calmness in the storm there. Congratulations again to Matt and the missus.
After going to the Moriyama exhibition, I wanted to see how my T2 performed with some B&W film, so I bought some Fuji 1600. The shots are obviously quite grainy, but I like how they turned out. If anything, the grainyness adds something to them. The first one below is my favourite, but I think I will need to experiment a little more before I can really get to grips with it. Not bad though at 900円 a roll to develop.
Eri has a hidden talent for seeing shoes that she likes, trying them on and liking them, procrastinating about buying them and upon finally deciding to do so, discovering that they have sold out. She had a bad experience a few years ago with a pair of Miu Miu boots, and the other week we saw a pair of Nike x Liberty Dunks that she (and I), really liked and when we returned to the shop to buy them, found they too had sold out. Yesterday, on going to the Nike Store in Kichijoji, we were pleased to see that they had started to stock them there too, after not having had them when I went to check the other week. I really like these. We're just trying to work out whether to keep the white laces or change to the included purple pair. Decisions, decisions.
This weekend, Eri and I realised that about 3 separate exhibitions that we had meant to see for ages were all ending, and with an impending hangover on Sunday, Saturday was the only day we had free. So, five exhibitions in a day then...
First up was the double Moriyama Daido exhibition at the Tokyo Metropolitan Museum of Photography. The exhibition, in two parts was a retrospective of his work in one gallery and then large prints of his Hawaii series in the second. I found that his photos generally got more interesting the older they were. I found a lot of the exhibition a little confusing and realised that I don't really have any idea what made certain shots "good" or not, but a lot of the older ones, particularly the Light and Shadow series, were beautiful.
I wasn't as impressed by the Hawaii series. Some of them are quite nice, but on the whole I find Moriyama's style doesn't work as well outside Japan. I found some of the Buenos Aires ones a little dry for the same reason, although Eri said she liked the Buenos Aires ones most of all, and, being a lot more artistically inclined than me, she could well be right.
After Moriyama, we went down to the basement of the museum for the World Press Photo 2008 exhibition. I enjoyed this far more than the Moriyama. I prefer photojournalism to "art" photos, so this was always going to be far more suited to me. Some of the shots on display here were awe-inspiringly good. I think the photo below is probably the one I liked most; there is a very strange and ominous atmosphere to the position of the men in it that I really love. Click to see some of the other highlights.
After the photos were went to Omotesando for Eri's Blythe Once Upon A Wonder World Exhibition and Beauty Contest. Eri has come out recently as a bit of a Blythe fan, despite hating herself for doing so. Girls and women who like Blythe in Japan have a (deserved) reputation as being on the verge of the goth-loli cosplay kind of scene that Eri loathes, but nonetheless, she finds herself liking the doll itself. I can't really complain, considering my own interest in toys though. The Blythe exhibition was properly wierd. There were six areas where Blythe dolls had been dressed up in costumes to represent characters in Fairy Stories (Little Red Riding Hood etc), and then in the middle of the room were are hoardes of Blythes all in costumes designed by international fashion houses. Serious looking women were walking round with voting ballots choosing the costumes they liked best. There's a big gala event in July to crown the winner...which just kind of beggars belief. (Photo by Bubujojo)
Last was the yearly Medicom Exhibition in the Parco Art Gallery in Shibuya. I thought the gallery space itself was a little less nicely designed than in previous years, and there seemed less on display too. The highlights for me were the (much lauded) wooden Bearbricks, the new Star Wars figures, and the Mick Jagger doll. I didn't win a prize this year though, which somewhat ruined the event for me.
