Jingna Zhang, a young Singapore-based photographer and friend, has just released her first photo book “Something Beautiful”. The 20-year-old has a talent for expressing the beauty of the feminine form and has quickly gained a large following across the internet.
Unfortunately, my camera ran out of batteries before I could finish, so I’ll have to do the last leg tomorrow. Before the batteries died though, I made it nearly to Tamachi from Uguisudani station. 23287 steps, 594 calories, 11.64 km. Stations passed along the way: Ueno, Okachimachi, Akihabara, Kanda, Tokyo, Yurakucho, Shimbashi, Hamamatsu-cho. I took so many photos today that I stopped and picked up another compact flash card! Day 3/4 video tomorrow, and entire Yamanote Line Walking video by next week.
Today, I started my little project: “Yamanote Line Walking”. Day 1 took me from Meguro Station to Ikebukuro Station taking photos along the way, and turning those photos into a YouTube video. The video is a little over 6 minutes long, so if you get tired with one area skip to another.
My pedometer recorded 24468 steps burning 596 calories through the 12.23 kilometers walked.
I took 1442 walking photos and more.
This leg of the loop took 5 hours to complete.
I have walked from Meguro to Shinjuku before in parts, but never all at once. From Shinjuku to Ikebukuro, it was for the most part new to me, so I was quite interested what I would find. Those thoughts are for later though. The origin of this project was an acquaintance of mine who does this walk every year but all at once. With his friends, he walks from Tokyo Station right around central Tokyo following the Yamanote Line and ends back at Tokyo Station in some 12 hours. I couldn’t possible do that at my lethargic pace and taking photos too. Today, of the 29 stations on the line, I completed 9 in 5 hours. Not a bad pace for this 3 day project.
Take a look at the video and tell me what you think!
This is more of a note to myself to take a look at this photographer’s work a little more closely: Akio Tomari (www.littaitomari.jp). My friend Yu-ki Matsuoka, a photographer himself, just recommended Tomari’s exhibition.
He seems to have that Kawauchi Rinko-like, soft, opaque, subdued atmospheric style for some of his photos which I like, but which I also believe is often used in place of having actual message to communicate. If the artwork is not communicating anything, then it’s just pretty. Just pretty isn’t so bad, but it does separate the artists from those who are simply technically talented. Then again, in Japan’s tiny art market, artists are often forced to become designers…that is, working commercially.
Another thought, artists working as designers (commercial "cameramen") have counterparts in actors and actresses in Japan who are given as much credit for their commercials as they are for their movies and TV shows. Maybe they are the contemporary manifestations of Kawabata Yasunari’s "Palm-of-the-Hand" stories?
Anyway, more later once I get to see more of Tomari’s work.
