I recently spent a few Autumn weeks in Japan with my girlfriend, and while I was there I had an opportunity to refresh my art practice. In Zen Buddhism there’s a concept called “Shoshin", beginner’s mind..
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A reached out to me about doing a session because her birthday was coming up, and though she had achieved a successful corporate career, she had never really dabbled in making art. So, we planned out a delightful shibari boudoir session. Read how it turned out.
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This is a recent shibari session I did with Sarah, our first time working together. The goal was to make work that was elegant and sensual, and explore the mystery of how the ethereal aspect of our souls/personality intertwines with the flesh and blood nature of being human.
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SHIBARI 縛り is the Japanese style of rope bondage, which is both an art form as well as a BDSM activity, and is derived from historical methods of tying up prisoners. For me, shibari is a mode of kinesthetic communication between two people. But what does that mean?
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This is a question that I’ve been hesitant to approach, because for a long time I wasn’t sure.
It took me over ten years of photography before I started to find my voice and figure out what it was I had been trying to say all along, and likewise shibari has taken some time, about ten years off and on. Most of my realizations have come after I found my voice through the art of photography, and started to find parallels.
Due to the Covid quarantine, I and others have found that it is possible to do beautiful boudoir photo sessions virtually, by means of video calls. For me, creating art through these sessions is a joy, like flying after being let out of a cage. It’s still quite a ways away from the experience of actually having a proper boudoir photo shoot in person, but it is also rewarding in its own unique way, with constraints and opportunities.
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Recently several of my friends have asked me for advice on buying a new camera, with some asking specifically about film cameras. I’ll explain the most important thing to understand when buying cameras, some considerations for choosing between film and digital, as well as the different types of cameras and lenses available, and my recommendation for what to buy and how to find it.
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We are so used to only experiencing photography on our computers and phones that it can be easy to assume that's the final product-- and for some purposes that may be the case. However, Digital images are easily lost, whether it be to accidental deletion, devices breaking, going obsolete, or being upgraded.
In contrast, physical works such as prints or books are real, tangible objects that you can proudly display in your home, or keep private to enjoy for years or decades in the future. In this way, artwork you make can become treasured mementos that only become more valuable as time passes.
Social Media is a blessing and a curse; it offers connection and validation, but comes with a hidden cost, and it shapes how we express ourselves and what kinds of art we make. That is, certain types of posts are more welcome, and others are actively discouraged. Here are my thoughts, and why I think there’s magic in making art that is meant to be kept secret.
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Currently we are in a golden age of photography-- we consume and create more photos each year than in the first century of photography. It has quite literally never in history been easier to use our individual, personal gaze and make photographic images and to share them with people around the globe-- forever visible. We are adapted to be aware of a Second Gaze, that of the judging public at large, which by the nature of the current internet is not bound by proximity of space or time. I suspect this has changed the nature of how we create and think about personal photography, how we see ourselves, and encourages us to find privacy by masking our true selves.
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Japan is an incredible place, and Tokyo in particular is so rich that you could find literally anything you are looking for. Want to spend a week trying out world-famous sushi, centuries-old sake breweries, and seeing live music every night of the week? Or perhaps go on an all-night bender through Shinjuku & Shibuya between scouting the nerd-Valhalla of Akihabara? Or a serene week of ancient temples interspersed with martial arts training in the mountains? Whatever you want, you will find.
You could take a lifetime of exploring to only scratch the surface. Here are a few of my favorite spots and a few day trips that I have found to be fun, as well as a few recommendations.
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Japan is one of my favorite places to go, and I have been fortunate to visit many times in many occasions in the past several years. I wrote this guide for friends who are visiting for the first time, and I decided to publish it publicly for others to enjoy as well.
In this first part, I’m excited to share with you some tips that will make it easier to get by, both in terms of navigating the big city and also the big menus. This will be an incomplete guide for people who have never been to Japan before, and might not know anything about the culture or history.
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This is from a recent shibari session with my friend Karissa.
To be frank, I consider myself an absolute beginner in this art, and it would be foolish for me to claim to have much more experience than that. My rope tying is improving with practice, but like photography, the real art is in the deeply personal communication that takes place during a session. Literally anyone can learn how to tie some knots, and with practice make it look good. But that’s just the beginning, not the end goal.
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One of my friends just got a new DSLR camera, and asked me what lens he should get next, so I decided to write out my advice and share it.
The key is to understand what you need, and decide if you need it occasionally and can rent the equipment, or if you will be better off owning it.
I’d also like to offer my thoughts on buying used equipment. If you are buying something new, you have a warranty guarantee— if you are starting out with a new system, or an autofocus lens, this is very useful. You never know if the previous owner dropped the camera, or what. However, if you don’t mind buying used (and almost all cameras made in the last 5 years are just fantastic), then you can pick up some amazing gear at very affordable prices…
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Long story short, I realized that I wasn't very good at writing about my work. I could talk about it well enough over drinks with friends, but when it came time to clearly describing it for strangers, I struggled. I’d fall back on describing it as simply following my intuition, which is true to a degree, but misrepresents the amount of thought and time I have put into my practice over the years.
For a long time I gave myself the excuse that if I was good at writing, I wouldn’t be a photographer. This was BS— I am good at writing, and it has nothing to do with why I got into photography.
Talking about one’s work is a skill, and like any other skill, you need constant practice to improve. I decided to start up a blog so that I could have a reason to force myself to sit down and put my thoughts to text somewhere outside of discussion groups on forums or Facebook…
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I love being able to capture a moment, a glance, a thought between words, and preserve it. Some art philosophers say photography is about death, a never ending struggle to keep fleeting memories that are in reality already gone the instant the camera’s shutter closes.
I disagree, I think it is about life: celebrating the moments as they happen, savoring them, and allowing them to be shared with others in a way that transcends space and time. Long-gone civilizations have their monuments, our memories of love and laughter can last as long as paper can hold them.
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I was recently thinking about inspiration and how people develop a personal style. There's a phrase, "follow your Muse." But what's a Muse?
In modern times, a Muse is considered a person or thing that inspires you. In Greek mythology they had a different idea: the Muses were goddesses of music, poetry, comedy, and other arts, and they were responsible for providing inspiration to humans. A song was not invented by humans, it was created by these goddesses who would whisper it into the mind of a musician. Divine inspiration.
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It’s really easy to take time for granted. Even if the future is open, everything is finite. I may live to 110 or I may die tomorrow, but either way, there will be a finite number of photographs I create. A finite number of birthdays, a finite number of dinners with any particular friend. Cherish the moments you have, as you have them, because you never know when it may be the last.
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Ah, the faithful 50mm lens, or for beginners the fantastic-plastic nifty-fifty. This essay will explain what it is, and why I consider this lens to be the best teacher in photography.
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