Tokyo Street Vol.5 by Tatsuo Suzuki
Who?
We actually featured Suzuki in our last roundup with their Vol.3 edition of Tokyo Street. Former visual interviewee, he is the founder of Void Tokyo and once infamous a few years ago for his work with Fujifilm in which he was criticized for his photographic methods (Google it).
What?
Tokyo Street Vol.5 is his latest work in his ongoing series, which was released last December. Perhaps Fujifilm’s 2020 fiasco was quieter than its Steidl photobook release, allowing Suzuki to simply ramp up in Vol.5 with seemingly effortless street shots expertly assembled into a cohesive work, showing all the artist is . As the essay that accompanies the book shows, he tiptoes between fiction and non-fiction, as some are street photos and some are real photos of models.
It’s a deliberate blurring that photo critic Takazawa points out “challenges the myth that street photography is merely an expression of the unconscious while relativizing it to hypersensitivity to the use of personal images and its symptoms of snap phobia.” “
Why?
With that blurring… the layout itself has become progressively more experimental than our previously reviewed Vol.3. As was the case when attending the annual Void Tokyo Group show last month! I like that photographers are making more use of digital photography in a lot of their work…that means embracing it rather than hiding the fact that, contrary to my fondness for digital photography, it has come with a lot of artistic success.
details
◆【ZINE ×1】
100 pages / B5 format (257 × 182 mm)
◆【Prints ×3】
Size (89×127mm)
◆【Poster ×1】
A2 format (420 × 594 mm)
Text on back: “A Prescription for Street Snap-phobia” by Kenji Takazawa (photo critic)
Where?
You can view this and other zines and prints on his website here for international audiences and here for those in Japan.
Follow the Light by Bob St-Cyr
Who?
Bob St-Cyr is a Canadian fine art photographer. He works in all film formats (35mm large format) and started his photography journey in the early 90’s. He is guided by his simple mantra… “Follow the Light”.
What?
“Follow the Light” is a photo project shot around Maple Ridge & Mission, British Columbia, Canada. Mission is an hour east of Vancouver. It is divided into three parts: The first is “Alouette Lake”, which allows for a tranquil study of the tree stumps along the lake’s shoreline. The second is “Fak-135” which uses 35mm film in a medium format camera to take various nature shots. The third is the Stave Lake Powerhouse, a historic hydroelectric power station. The images remind me personally of Charles Sheeler’s work at Ford Motor Company.
Why?
Perhaps Bob puts it best in his book: “The historian of photography Beaumont Newhall once said: ‘Throughout the years photography has been to me what a writer’s diary is – a record of things seen and experienced, Moments in flux Time, documents that are meaningful to me, visual experiments.” I can honestly say that a lot of what I do photographically is in line with Beaumont’s words.
Photography is a real privilege when, as a photographer, I can enjoy the experience of the place I’m photographing and then come home with some of those experiences as latent visual memories awaiting the next process that takes place in the darkroom. Photography gives me a wonderful opportunity to look deep into what has been framed in a camera and to decide whether or not the inner eye is moving within it to capture a shot.
The importance of photography is not just in the practice because I can, but because of the passion and process that reflects dedication, commitment and experience as the ingredients innate to my relationship with photography. Photography is a holistic and therapeutic experience for me, 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.
What motivates me to “make” my photographic art practice is to get out there… just being out and about with my camera(s) and rolls of film in my bags or filled film holders in my bag. What motivates me is the interplay of light and subject and the blessed opportunity to capture some of it on film and later interpret the negatives into handcrafted archival fiber gelatin silver prints. Here is a humble collection of some of my film-based work 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’s really cool to be able to share them all with you all. And remember, this is open to everyone. If you’d like your zines or books to be featured, just email me. Hopefully there are many more of you who want to get your books and zines out into the world. Another episode will follow soon.
Many Thanks
-JF
