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Visions of Japan at Global Gallery – A few thoughts

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Visions of Japan at Global Gallery Pete Leong

Visions of Japan at Global Gallery (AutoStitch image by Pete Leong)

It’s been a couple of months since I held my Visions of Japan exhibition at Global Gallery. I’d promised I’d write a  post about the experience of putting on this exhibition, sorry it took so long. (If you haven’t read it all ready, take a look at my previous post Zen and the Art of Photography Exhibitions in which I talk about what I learned from my first few shows)

1) Space

I had more space for this exhibition. It was great to be able to show a large range of images. I did however only hire half the gallery to save on rental costs. I was able to display around 20 framed A2 landscapes and 24  matted A3 portraits.  The larger area also gave me the space for several tables from where I could display and sell prints.

2) Costs

The basic costs for gallery rental, postcards and posters came to a little over 100,000 yen or $1000. In addition to this were the costs of producing the pieces for display.

3) Sales

This was the first exhibition where I had items for sale. Rather than just handing over a business card and telling people to go through the website, people could browse through the prints and purchase them then and there. Along with the larger prints I produced some smaller pieces to give people a greater selection. (The smaller pieces are not available on the website but can be purchased at Kadena Gift Corner on Okinawa). Over the week I sold several prints, which covered the cost of the exhibition. I’d like say a huge thank you to those who purchased prints, it’s really appreciated and it’s an honor to have my images on display in your homes.

Vision of Japan at Global Gallery (A ropey first attempt with AutoStitch for the iPhone)

4) Visitors

There were around 320 visitors to the exhibition over the six days. The majority of visitors came to Global Gallery having been invited directly by me, having received a postcard from me, or having read my blog. Surprisingly few visitors were passersby. The main reason for this was due to the location of the gallery. Although in a busy shopping center,  Global Gallery is located on the 3rd floor along with restaurants, a hairdresser and a photo studio. People browsed on the first two floors, but didn’t make it up to the third floor unless they were going to the restaurants (or for a hair cut). As the space is not always occupied with exhibitions, you also don’t get people who habitually drop by the gallery to see what’s on show. Overall, if you don’t get the word out about your event, people probably won’t come. Advertising and promotion is just another skill that photographers need to learn. (It turns out that simply watching Mad Men doesn’t make you an advertising genius.)

5) Digital Photo Frame

Back in 2009 I had an exhibition at Cotonoha Art Space + Cafe. One of the great things about Cotonoha was the presence of a digital projector and screen that allowed you to display far more images than using wall space alone. At this exhibition I tried something similar but on a much smaller scale. I bought a 8-inch digital photo framefrom Amazon Japan for about 80 dollars, uploaded a selection of images, and placed it on the counter. It worked really well, although it’s not quite the same as having comfy sofas and your images being projected onto a wall.

Overall the exhibition was a good experience. Thanks again to everyone who came by. Your support is really appreciated. If everything goes to plan I’ll have my first exhibition in Tokyo this year. Watch this space 🙂

E161-403F ?

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E161-403F (Coincidentally, this is also the launch code for several ICBM's)

Turn on printer, insert new yellow ink cartridge (one of twelve). Printer mocks me with blinking orange light. Slow realization that this will be a frustrating and expensive experience. Must make cup of tea….

Inside the Matrix

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Inside an elevator on a cold day in Niigata

I really should wander around with my camera more often. Rather than planning exactly what I want to photograph, I should explore and see what’s out there. It’s both liberating and challenging.

As I no longer have to pay for film and processing on each shot, I should use the opportunity to go out and shoot more (or even a lot more). I tend to notice  repetition and geometric patterns quite easily (This may have something to do with my father) which is why I took this shot. I think I read somewhere that people vary in their affinity for shapes and colors.

So my question is…. what catches your eye, shapes or colors?

 

C.S.I. Luna

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Lighting test - gridded beauty dish with blue gel back light

Spent a couple of hours on Saturday with fellow photographer Luna testing out colored gels.

I have a feeling that this blue back lighting is pretty standard in the laboratory scenes of C.S.I. Las Vegas. (I think they also tend to put a green or yellow gel on the main light.) The above image was desaturated slightly in Photoshop.

 

Rise of the Vending Machines – 8 years on

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Here’s a piece I wrote for the Asahi Weekly Newspaper on February 2, 2003

Rise of the Vending Machines

The drink machine at my British secondary school seemed to have three settings: 1) You put in your money and nothing happened. 2) You put in your money and it gave the wrong drink. 3) The machine dispensed the correct drink but did not dispense the plastic cup. If you got the third of these options, it usually meant you’d be spending the rest of the day walking around in wet shoes.


Japan seems to have a love for, if not an obsession, with vending machines. It’s not just the number of them (over 5 million) but also the variety. There are machines for rice, hot meals, toothbrushes, hairnets, certain genres of videos, and even underwear.


Drinks machines are by far the most popular. They seem to be on every street corner offering Coke and Fanta along with Japanese tea, sports drinks and juices. My personal favorites are the hot drinks available in the winter. There is nothing better than a warm can of hot chocolate on a snowy Hokkaido evening. You can use the unopened can straight from the machine to defrost your gloves or mittens, then pull the tab and warm your insides, too.


What does frustrate me is that there aren’t anywhere near as many aluminum recycling bins as there are vending machines. Couldn’t it be common policy that every can machine has a regularly-emptied can and bottle collector right next to it? It would be an easy way to make convenience shopping more environmentally friendly.


What worries me more are the beer and cigarette machines. In Japan, the legal age for buying both alcohol and cigarettes is twenty. How can this law be realistically enforced when there are vending machines selling both of them on the street? Unless these machines can somehow check the age of each customer, they are allowing teenagers easy access. Although some machines automatically switch off at night it still leaves plenty of opportunities for children to use them. There are plans in development to produce age I.D. cards that would have to be used in cigarette vending machines. I doubt, however, that tobacco companies are in such a hurry to introduce the system.


Vending machines provide convenience for customers and easy profits for companies. Maybe we need to think about what effect this convenience is having on the environment and the health of Japanese teenagers.

In 2008, an age identification card for smokers was introduced in Japan. It’s called the TASPO card and the system seems to be working. Teenagers are still smoking, but at least they’re having to be a little more resourceful to get their fix.

Japanese Cigarette Vending Machines (9 out of 10 horses smoke Marlboro)

TASPO age check system

Winter in Niigata

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Winter in Niigata

I spent the first 6 months of my time in Japan living in Niigata. It’s a busy port city, famed for its excellent rice and heavy winter snow falls. This shot really reminds me of the paintings by L. S. Lowry. It has the same grey, industrial bleakness as my hometown of Manchester. The factory with the red and white towers is the paper mill.

(This bleakness is not a permanent state, both cities do have some lovely sunny days.)

Lucky Cranes

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I spotted this Red-crowned Crane on the back of a bridal kimono while wandering around Niigata. The Red-crowned Crane is thought to bring luck, longevity and fidelity which is why it’s often found on wedding kimono. Hopefully I will get to see some real Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis) later this winter in Hokkaido.

Hopefully I will get to see some real Red-crowned Cranes (Grus japonensis) this winter. I spotted this one on the back of a bridal kimono. The Red-crowned Crane is thought to bring luck, longevity and fidelity which is why it's often found on wedding kimono.

Red-crowned Crane on Kimono

Snow Monkey Portraits

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Lonely Snow Monkey

Lonely Snow Monkey

Snow Monkey Grooming

Snow Monkey Grooming

Sleepy Snow Monkey

Sleepy Snow Monkey

Stoic Snow Monkey

Stoic Snow Monkey

I didn’t spend that much time with the monkeys this year, but came away with a few good shots. Really pleased with the detail I was getting in the eyes and fur, then a nice drop off into creamy bokeh.

Weather proofing of the body and lens was useful as it was snowing at the time, and the monkeys tended to splash when they were getting in and out of the water.

Dosojin Fire Fesitval, Nozawa Onsen

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Dosojin Fire Fesitval is held on January 15th each year in Nozawa Onsen, Nagano Prefecture.
A “shaden” or temporary shrine is built of beach wood and then the town’s 42 year old men (an unlucky age) sit on the top. The town’s 25 year old men (another unlucky age), drunk with sake, stand at the base of the shrine. Local men and boys carrying flaming torches try to set fire to the shaden while the drunken 25 year olds must protect them by hitting the torches with pine branches.
The battle goes on until flames take hold of the shaden and the 42 year old men quickly descend by ladder to safety.
The shaden is then engulfed by flames, and everyone staggers home.

Dosojin Fire Fesitval, Nozawa Onsen

Dosojin Fire Fesitval, Nozawa Onsen

Dosojin Fire Fesitval, Nozawa Onsen

Dosojin Fire Fesitval, Nozawa Onsen

Dosojin Fire Fesitval, Nozawa Onsen

Dosojin Fire Fesitval, Nozawa Onsen