Nagoya, 2017

A month ago, I got back from a 5 week work trip in Japan. Because life and work was so busy in the weeks leading up to it, I started packing a few days beforehand. For long trips I usually take weeks to pack (mainly due to excitement, not organisation) so when I didn’t have that much time, the usual consequence is over-packing. When I mean over-packing, I mean almost maxing out my baggage limit and packing 4 different cameras. One or two I could have done without but I’m so happy I took my film camera long with me. 

There’s something quite nostalgic about Japan. A lot of people have this perception that Japan is this hi-tech country with robots everywhere - which is half true. They do have robots almost everywhere but everything seems to be like it’s set in the 80s or 90s. Japanese people have this “if it ain’t broke don’t fix it” kind of mentality. For example most of the taxis you’ll see in Japan are Toyota Comforts from the 90s BUT (plot twist) their passenger doors open automatically BY THEMSELVES when they pull over for you. Okay, maybe I’m exaggerating a little and that the taxi drivers may have a button to do that but still. 

It was really interesting to capture Japan through film. The big difference between film and digital is largely on the quality of the image. It isn’t perfect. It isn’t retina 3k display clear. There’s a tactile graininess and texture to film photos. It’s the reason why I love film. It’s quite mysterious and it truly captures a moment that you can’t just select the best shot and delete the rest. 

Most of these were shot on Kodak Gold 200. 

Locations: Nagoya Castle, International Design Centre Nagoya & Sakae.