Izima Kaoru’s shoots in a morbid fashion. His scenes of violence and horror are incredibly detailed. And in each, a famous actress or model, dressed in expensive designer wear, is found dead and lifeless. Karena Lam wears Jean Paul Gaultier, 2007 Kimura Yoshino wears Alexander McQueen, 2007 Hashimoto Reika wears Milk, 2006 TOP TO BOTTOM, [...]
Washio Kazuhiko takes portraits of people in a calm and dispassionate manner, yet the images seem to contain so much more beneath the surface. I particularly enjoyed his newest series, Passengers in the Far East, perhaps because I’m working (planning actually) on something similar right now. TOP TO BOTTOM, from (” Passengers in the Far [...]
There’s a new site run by a team of two foreigners on Japan photography at Japan Exposures. They seek to introduce Japanese photographers who are relatively unknown outside of the country. Japan’s photographic scene is rather insular despite the volume of publications there every year. This is definitely a welcome entry to the scene of [...]
There’s something about grainy black+white street scenes. How does one weave a story with random snapshots taken of streets, strangers and strays? © Yoshihisa Kajioka, 2008 Yoshihisa Kajioka at No Digital accomplishes the act of story-telling through arranging his random images on his website, creating stories that are similar to Daido Moriyama’s works.
Shunsuke Iwata’s images are bright and cheery. His happiness radiates from his stylized work, like a refreshing drink on a very hot day. © Shunsuke Iwata, 2007 His portfolio is divided into varying themes of portraits and landscapes. However, it does get repetitive after a while. Nevertheless, it’s a good way to start the day [...]
Toshihiro Oshima is like a flickr celebrity with his own fan base. As with most flickr accounts, it takes some clicking to unearth some gems from the amount of images posted. I found this series of landscapes taken using a Holga from his portfolio to be the more interesting images. © Toshihiro Oshima, 2007 He [...]
Hiroe Kobayash photographs visual poetry. She says: It is said that photography performed from the heart captures the truth. My quest is to cast light on the yuragi filtered through the layers of my experience. The end result is a world of mystery, images that conjure up the sumi-e ink drawings of Chinese painting. TOP [...]
In the world of Mamoru Tsukada, photography exists as a medium to relate himself to the world and its invisible structures. In Spectre, the subject matter is not apparent at first glance – we see bold splashes of color, abstract shapes… TOP TO BOTTOM, Spectre, 2006 © Mamoru Tsukada He explains: “The new works ‘SPECTER’ [...]
Rachi Akira is a recent graduate of UK’s The Arts Institute at Bournemouth. His work is deceptively simple and works on many levels. Akira: “something poetic can be political, and something political can be poetic” TOP TO BOTTOM, Field (6×7), 2004-2007 © Rachi Akira Pure and simple like a haiku. His portfolio can be seen [...]
Yoshinori Kon creates images that contain hidden truths and meanings, while having strong overtones of Japanese culture and mysticism. They remind me of Jeff Wall and Gregory Crewdson, although not as cinematic as the latter’s. Scenery with a Tunnel, 2006 © Yoshinori Kon Oku-Nikko Ectoplasm, 2006 © Yoshinori Kon First Love, 2008 © Yoshinori Kon [...]
