Daido Moriyama in the NY Times :)

[David_Manning]

John,

Yeah, field of view is very personal, isn't it? I love the 35mm, since I can go wide or get a reasonable street portrait. I really really love my Contax T3 for that very reason. I just like the way the Ricoh shoots and feels.

Another person's work to examine is Anders Peterson, who shoots compacts. He's mostly a Contax T3 shooter, but occasionally shoots a Ricoh GR1V or GR21.

I tend to stick with the Ricoh GR over the Contax T3 these days due to the workflow...but I love that T3's lens and pine for a digital equivalent (of the same size chassis).

 

[cz23]

John,

Yeah, field of view is very personal, isn't it? I love the 35mm, since I can go wide or get a reasonable street portrait. I really really love my Contax T3 for that very reason. I just like the way the Ricoh shoots and feels.

Another person's work to examine is Anders Peterson, who shoots compacts. He's mostly a Contax T3 shooter, but occasionally shoots a Ricoh GR1V or GR21.

I tend to stick with the Ricoh GR over the Contax T3 these days due to the workflow...but I love that T3's lens and pine for a digital equivalent (of the same size chassis).

Thanks. I'll check out Peterson.

The one thing I have not done on the street with my GR is use flash. Moriyama does that a lot in the videos I've seen. I expect I'd be very self-conscious using it, especially at night, but maybe not. I certainly would not fllash in peoples' faces.

BTW, I'm more a fan of Moriyama's working method and of him as an artist than I am of his photography. His work can feel nihilistic to me, and I just don't see the world that way.

John

 

[Dirk]

This Moriyama video has always been one of my favorites:

http://youtu.be/foWAs3V_lkg

John

That's a very nice video in the way it portrays him. I like this guy as a person. I am struck by his humility and humanity.

 

[cz23]

I spent Saturday morning exploring Moriyama videos on Youtube. I found this one particularly informative: https://youtu.be/EaeEx0Uvef8.

He and his friends and associates discuss his life, personality, and creative initiatives, methods, and motivations. It's over an hour long but very rewarding. Enjoy!

John

 

[jloden]

I previously posted links like the one below, because I'm both a Moriyama fan and a Ricoh GR fan. Ricoh trumpeted that Moriyama was now back to his traditional GR-type camera...even Daido himself helped introduce the camera. As an owner, I have to say it's probably my favorite camera. If Ricoh could ever change physics and shoehorn a FF sensor in there, I'd probably end up selling everything else I owned...especially if they offered a 35mm model (or even a 23mm APS-C model, the equivalent).

Daido and his Ricoh GR

I don't wish to get too far off topic of Daido with gear talk but..

I have to say that the Ricoh GR is such an incredibly well done camera, especially for street. The size, feature set, design, layout - I think it's probably the closest to an ideal design for its intended purpose that I've ever used.

I'm really surprised Ricoh has never come out with a fixed 50mm (or 35mm) equivalent FoV model for the GR. Seems like it'd be a great seller for them. I like 28mm just fine, but I'd buy a second GR with a 50mm FoV in a heartbeat, and I'm sure many others would as well.

Back on topic, thanks all for sharing the links. I will have to make some time to watch a few of those videos too.

 

[ChrisLivsey]

I assume the posters here are now familiar with the recent volume "Provoke" ?

I week break allowed me to study the 679 pages, I recommend it for the insight into those few years which remain so influential and inspirational.

 

[cz23]

Chris, is the book from the exhibition? The show is coming to the Art Institute of Chicago from Paris in January, and the site mentions a 700 page exhibit volume. Looking forward to the show this winter.

http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/provoke-photography-japan-between-protest-and-performance-1960-1975

John

 

[Faintandfuzzy]

Chris, is the book from the exhibition? The show is coming to the Art Institute of Chicago from Paris in January, and the site mentions a 700 page exhibit volume. Looking forward to the show this winter.

http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/provoke-photography-japan-between-protest-and-performance-1960-1975

John

I'm curious as well....I'd love to see the book.

 

[35photo]

Chris, is the book from the exhibition? The show is coming to the Art Institute of Chicago from Paris in January, and the site mentions a 700 page exhibit volume. Looking forward to the show this winter.

http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/provoke-photography-japan-between-protest-and-performance-1960-1975

John

It looks like it is from the exhibition.. Just looked it up an amazon..

https://www.amazon.com/Provoke-Betw...e=UTF8&qid=1470690061&sr=8-1&keywords=Provoke

 

[Jamie Pillers]

Chris, is the book from the exhibition? The show is coming to the Art Institute of Chicago from Paris in January, and the site mentions a 700 page exhibit volume. Looking forward to the show this winter.

http://www.artic.edu/exhibition/provoke-photography-japan-between-protest-and-performance-1960-1975

John

John, you can see a video 'flip through' of the book at photobookstore, link here: http://www.photobookstore.co.uk/photobook-daido-tokyo.html#.V6mKga5ZGHZ

 

[ChrisLivsey]

Yes, to multiple queries, as ansered above it accompanies the exhibition, which has a limited run: Vienna,Winterthur,Paris,Chicago.
The text is a mix of interviews and erudite commentaries/analysis.
Photo reproduction is excellent.
It does stand alone and is not a standard exhibition catalogue, not all the works exhibited are in the book.

 

[Papercut]

Yes, to multiple queries, as ansered above it accompanies the exhibition, which has a limited run: Vienna,Winterthur,Paris,Chicago.
The text is a mix of interviews and erudite commentaries/analysis.
Photo reproduction is excellent.
It does stand alone and is not a standard exhibition catalogue, not all the works exhibited are in the book.

Chris,

Can you tell me / us how much of the book is focused on Provoke itself? Some of the reviews on amazon suggest a lot of book space is devoted to Hosoe, Tomatsu, etc. and subsequently the layouts of Provoke are somewhat small and underwhelming. I have many volumes by Hosoe and Tomatsu already, so if this will just reprise those with some small additions, I'll pass, but if there's a lot of material that's new, I would like to pick it up. A sense of mix from you would help a lot. Thanks!

 

[cz23]

Chris,

Can you tell me / us how much of the book is focused on Provoke itself? Some of the reviews on amazon suggest a lot of book space is devoted to Hosoe, Tomatsu, etc. and subsequently the layouts of Provoke are somewhat small and underwhelming. I have many volumes by Hosoe and Tomatsu already, so if this will just reprise those with some small additions, I'll pass, but if there's a lot of material that's new, I would like to pick it up. A sense of mix from you would help a lot. Thanks!

Kevin, here's a flip-through of the book which may help with your question. (Thanks to Jamie.)

I'm envious of your Tomatsu collection. He's my favorite among Japanese photographers.

John

 

[Papercut]

Kevin, here's a flip-through of the book which may help with your question. (Thanks to Jamie.)

I'm envious of your Tomatsu collection. He's my favorite among Japanese photographers, but his books are so expensive.

John

John (and Jamie) -- thanks! That's very helpful. It seems the Provoke pages are not nearly as small as the amazon reviews make out. There are a lot of Tomatsu and Hosoe images (and oddly they seem to be reproduced large), but the volume looks like a solid addition.

I teach Asian history and am (all too slowly) putting together a year-long seminar course on Asian photography. I always include a photographic part of courses that deal with postwar Japan; Tomatsu is a favorite of mine for that purpose as he covered the US Occupation so well. So, I have a professional incentive to collect good photographers like him. But, I don't have too many of the first editions / originals (just a couple -- and they were very painful in terms of cost), but more of the reproduction editions and retrospectives. All of them are excellent and worthwhile -- both as art and as historical documents. 😀

 

[ChrisLivsey]

Right back from enforced shopping trip!!~

The subtitle is Provoke: Between Protest and Performance.
That sums it up actually. A long pre-amble on the Protest books, in the early 60's students in the Universities, the protests against renewing the treaties with America and against the new airports, sets the scene for Provoke and takes 254 pages.
Provoke is reproduced two pages per book page with a generous margin, as was i.e. no translations. ( the coverage of the rare Protest books is superior, some individual photographers have double page bleeds) The Provoke section is 238 pages the remainder is the Performance section, what happened after Provoke up to around 1975.
If you just want Provoke this is not the best way to get it.
If you want to understand Provoke, where it came from, what it meant, how it was put together, the group dynamics between the photographers involved and those not involved directly then this is the book, much original work, very scholarly.
A knowledge of Walter Benjamin's work and Roland Barthes as well whilst not essential will set you up for the analysis here, if those names are unfamiliar, I would suggest this is not for you and you will be lost in the textural depths rather quickly, not being patronising here but i didn't use the word scholarly loosely.
Personally I found the Performance section less interesting, culturally I don't relate to that part of Japanese culture, my loss I'm sure.
If you just want Moriyama pictures then I would suggest The World through My Eyes by Filippo Maggia (ISBN: 9788857200613)which is just the opposite, picture heavy (250 of them), text light, full page bleeds no margins high quality printing, but IMHO you will be lost in a flow of images, un-dated, un-titled without context.

Hope that helps.

BTW On the flip through video linked above the Provoke layout starts at 51 secs in to about 1.15.

 

[Nowhereman]

...I must say, however, I do prefer his B&W work over the color...personal preference.

I used to think the same thing until I saw in April the Moriyama Tokyo exhibition at the Fondation Cartier in Paris, which ended on June 5. I have two books of Moriyama’s earlier color photography, both published in Japan: the first, shot with color negative film, has pale, pastel-like prints; the second, shot in digital, has “digital-looking” prints. I didnt care for the second book. However, in the Fondation Cartier exhibition, Moriyama’s color is much more saturated, intense and vibrant. In my view, this was an important exhibition, not only for how it was presented (to parallel how photographs are seen in a book), but also for how Moriyama treats color, which essentially becomes like his high-contrast B&W work. Anyone interested should have a look at the two short videos (with English subtitles), one of them an interview with Moriyama, on the Fondation Cartier website.

As others have pointed out, Moriyama has been shooting with digital point-and-shoot cameras for some years now. He says he likes the fact that he can decide afterwards whether a particular photo should be color or B&W.
_______________
Alone in Bangkok essay on BURN Magazine

 

[mackigator]

Thank you for posting about this. Anyone who likes the way their camera "freezes time" would enjoy a closer look at Moriyama's work. He's also interesting because he is very willing to be a stranger in a place and do great work regardless - his photo book Buenos Aires (https://vimeo.com/50823442) is a good example. I'll also recommend the Youtube videos he's done: https://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=daido+moriyama

 

[nightfly]

His latest color work seems like a big improvement in the quality of the color he is getting over his older color stuff. I wasn't a fan of some of the earlier circa 2008 color stuff but the new Tokyo book is really impressive.

I'm wondering if this is just an improvement in his processing or if it is due to an equipment change. Would be curious if anyone knows.

That turns out not to be the case. He doens not like the Nikon for the work he was doing with his Ricoh. He has relegated the Nikon primarily to his color work and still prefers the Ricoh for his grainy, low light, B/W work.

I've been following this transition for the last few years. The Ricoh still gets the nod for most of the work he is noted for producing.

 

[filmtwit]