Hello,
In the previous newsletter I wrote about taking the first train into Nagoya and walking home, snapping photographs along the way. Those walks have inspired me to get moving again.
So last week I walked along the Nakasendo from Mitake to Kani (Utozaka to Nihonrain-Imawatari to be precise) and you can read about it here. Parts of it were nice, some were not.
I was also inspired by The Street Photography Manual by David Gibson, as well as the work of Shin Noguchi and Naoki Ishikawa, used Japanese photography books on walking the Kisoji and Just Walking by Stefan Speidel to begin looking back at my own photos over the years and identify themes that I’ve gravitated towards.
To process them I began creating new galleries for my website.
The galleries (a work in process) can be found on the homepage. I’m particularly happy with Yama - Hiking the Mountains of Japan as I didn’t realise how much hiking I’d actually done in recent years. More than I thought! There are galleries on festivals, including the Kumbh Mela, the walks I’ve been doing, and immigrant car parts dealers in Japan. As mentioned they are a work in progress but I have no issue with publishing them before they are finished. If I don’t start now I never will.
Creating galleries means I can look back, refine the editing process and learn more about what works for me and what doesn’t, and offer a glimpse in to how I want to move forward. Where are the gaps? The missing pieces? Only by looking back can we look forward with purpose.
It’s simple but it (hopefully) leads to improvement and the motivation to get outside and continue to discover.
Below are some recent posts. I took my daughter to the Hadaka Matsuri (the Naked Man festival) in Kōnomiya which she enjoyed far more than I thought she would. It was good to go back and photograph a festival after a few years away due to the pandemic. Hopefully I can continue to visit it for many years to come.
Sean.
Recent Posts
On Being a Photographer and Walking the Kisoji – SeanBreslin.jp
I’ve been thinking about my past walks along the Kiso-ji recently and how despite walking numerous times over the course of a year never really felt completely satisfied with what I was doing…
Some Things Learnt in 2022 – SeanBreslin.jp
What did I learn in 2022? Here’s a list.
Walking Nagoya, Street Photography, The Benefits of Cycling Into a Wall – SeanBreslin.jp
In 2014, a few months before quitting alcohol I hit a deep pothole while cycling and rode straight into a concrete wall at around 30kph, fracturing both wrists and my right elbow. It wasn’t serious…
Kōnomiya Hadaka Matsuri – Naked Man Festival – SeanBreslin.jp
I’ve never been to the main event. Mainly because it’s usually takes place at around 3 am in early February with thousands of people and the occasional death. It was also postponed for a few years …
Walking the Nakasendo – Utozaka to Nihonrain-Imawatari – SeanBreslin.jp
Last year after finishing the Kisoji I extended the walk by continuing on the Nakasendo, eventually stopping at Utozaka in Mitake, Gifu prefecture. I’ve cycled in Mitake countless times but t…
Books Read
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The Street Photography Manual - David Gibson
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The Twilight World - Werner Herzog
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Pictures from my Cabinet of Memories (Japanese edition) - Kazuo Kitai
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Financial Freedom - Grant Sabatier
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Cloud Street - Tim Winton (reread)
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The Magic & Mystery of Birds: The Surprising Lives of Birds and What They Reveal About Being Human - Noah Strycker