An Australian in Japan

[pellicle]

Kent

and yet another Aussie who once lived in Japan (2000 - 2003).

Now that I'm not there, I wish I had access to that market for 4x5 materials and equipment!

I'm presently in Finland which is even worse than Australia for this stuff

feel free to PM me with any gripes and 'gaijin' vents you may need

enjoy :-)

[Kent10D]

Thanks for the many warm welcomes!

Looks like I'm not the only one who's desperately resisting the urge to go large format. Maybe if we all do it at once it won't be so painful!

Thanks again ... looking forward to future conversations.

Cheers!

[pellicle]

Kent

from what I've seen you're living in LF heaven. Just jump in and get one of the many good LF cameras. I personally chose a Toho (while I was in japan) after much deliberation. The Toho was my choice for lightness and the complete availability of movements. I'm left handed though, and can see that there has been design input from right handed thinking folk.

Some of the cheaper optics available (such as the Fujinons) seem to be more available there than anywhere else. A couple of trays, some D-76 and some of the bigger sake bottles from outside the 'izakaya' and you're set for processing and storage of chemistry :-) Contact printing is a peach with a small lamp from Tokyu hands and a set of VC filters from Yodobashi or Bic. I snagged a 5x7 photo frame from the local hyaku en shop took the glass out of the frame (sanded and taped around the sharper edges of the glass) and voila ... contact printing press.

I mainly focused on local architecture (some in my gallery) and just before deciding to leave I was considering selling hand made contact prints at my local coffee shop (in Nezu) as there seemed to be quite the weekend tourist focus on the historical parts of the area (more for the 'fun' than for needing any money .

If this at all helps, the biggest leap is the mind set. For less than 50 Euro I set up again my processing here in Finland and I put it together in Japan for about "go sen en".

[Thanasis]

Hi Kent,
A belated welcome from this Sydneysider. Enjoy!

[Doubrovsky]

Living in Japan, doing film photos and not into large format? I don't get it. The place calls for meditation and LF is the meditation in photography. (Please forget Adams and zone sytem - it is the Western mode of conquering and arranging nature. Forget all the technique and just let the camera do it. In Japan you do not have to do anything - just be there)

Greetings from a Russian living in Canada with hart in Japan.

[Kent10D]

Living in Japan, doing film photos and not into large format? I don't get it. The place calls for meditation and LF is the meditation in photography. (Please forget Adams and zone sytem - it is the Western mode of conquering and arranging nature. Forget all the technique and just let the camera do it. In Japan you do not have to do anything - just be there)

Zen photography! Now there's an idea I like!

And don't worry, my resistance to large format is breaking down by the minute. My "Using the View Camera" book (by Steve Simmons) just arrived from Amazon yesterday, so now it's just a matter of finding the right camera.

Then I'll go out and meditate some.

[Iwagoshi]

Zen and the Art of LF Repair (?)

Ken; Greetings from a non-Aussie in Japan, but actually only visiting, at the moment in Saitama-ken. I hope to catch the American past-time (basubol--A's vs Red Soxs) in Tokyo. The closest I've been to your locale is Yokosuka, but that was a good 15 years ago.

LF heaven? I just picked up the last 3 rolls of 120 Neopan 400 from a local suburban camera shop, and they have to special order Neopan 100, ughh.
But cheap! $3.65 USD per roll.

But hope to hit the Tokyo camera district (Shinjuku) in a few days, I hope these three rolls will last.
pellicle; I'm definitely heading to Yodobashi.

Have a great time on APUG.

Terry

[Dave Miller]

A belated welcome from Middle England.

[pellicle]

Zen and the Art of LF Repair (?)

pellicle; I'm definitely heading to Yodobashi.

Have a great time on APUG.

Terry

hey, and don't forget Bic camera (bii ku biku bicku bic ka meh ra)

They've probably re-organised it since I was there last, but straight outa shinjuku eki (south exit) and turn right to head to the Yodobashi series of buildings, heaps of stuff there!

my favourite second hand joint is up stairs off Meiji dori (heading out of the north east exit. but there's plenty of kamera ya san around there!

something like about about here


just on the east side of the chuosen a near where it says 430 on that map (near the seven eleven). I got my Fujinon SW 90 f8 there for ni-man nana sen en there! And wish I'd picked up a 200f.28 USM for my EOS 630 too!

If you've not tried it, grab a roll of fuji NC 160 ... I'm not sure if its exactly the same as the S we get here, but I've not run out of my last box from there yet.

btw .. if you can, ask them what's the go with the Fuji 6x9 bessa II copy ()


dam ... what am I doing here in Finland again??

[pellicle]

hey ... where'd the link go ... (retsu go digitaru)