Tokyo ... camera fashion blog. Really.

Pickett Wilson said:
The Japanese seem to have turned cameras into modern day fetishes, although it's hard to understand what spirits would choose to live in these bits of metal, plastic and glass. Rather than the photos themselves being valued, it seems more like the camera itself is valued, and lends value to the photos created, more as artifacts of the process than the goal. Fascinating, but in some ways troubling.
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this is not based on anything but assumption. do we actually know this to be true or is it based on regurgitated myth? i see flickr bloated with images (some of it quite good and interesting) from Japanese photographers. i also see numerous blogs and sites about with loads of images (again quite good and interesting) from Japanese photographers. on one of the blogs linked (about the fella behind it all) has a section about his pal and his gallery show. film is available widespread and it seems to sell damn well.

it just seems like what i am seeing doesn't match up with that statement.
 
The Flickr phenomenon definitely fits with what I've seen first hand in usage. I've been looking at a number of recent used film cameras lately, and invariably, when I go to Flickr to check out pictures - both *of* the cameras and *from* the cameras - I get Japanese or Korean users. There's a TON of stuff on there, and the notes to the pictures are sometimes better than any review or buying guide. People aren't just wearing these things. They're shooting them.

I've spent a few days in Tokyo as well, and many camera shops still feature a wide selection of high-end film cameras in prominent display cases. That doesn't indicate whether the cameras are selling for "fashion" or for real use - but the big coolers of film that these places have indicate that, yes, people are probably shooting too.
 
IMHO cameras are like cars - some might dismissively regard them as fetish items and consider themselves outside that particular cult, then get in their car and go to work. Others feel no shame celebrating an everyday object and have found a way to derive joy from the very operation of said object.

I've met people who come across as only excited about the car from a cost and brand standpoint, or from a "more horsepower is better" attitude, but if you spend a few minutes getting to know them, it's clear that you are only getting the very rough surface view of their attitude. It's easy to draw conclusions based on a 10,000 foot view, but quite often the things people are accused of fetishizing are just the things that fell into their hands, not things that they had the resources to acquire on a whim. But they've since found a way to appreciate what "outsiders" regard as meaningless and obviously a fetish item since it can have no deeper significance, being just a mere object.

I'm reminded of friends from India, Hindu or not, who can't help but regard everything as having some "thing" that gets translated as "soul" even if soul isn't the right word. Or people who think they are civilized have regarded animism as barbarism and ignorant, but wouldn't dream of letting their cat "Pookums" sleep outside on a warm night because the poor thing would cry for lack of human mommy.

I think regarding a device that has the means to preserve memories of cherished moments as "magic" or inherently more than just a chunk of cold metal and glass and plastic is perfectly natural and it would be more surprising if people didn't have those feelings for cameras.
 
One hour after arriving in Tokyo two weeks ago I spotted this guy carrying a Mamiya 6 (or 7):

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film is still well and alive in this country and there are many blogs about photography (usage of film) 🙂. Almost all Japanese I have ever met appreciate both, the ART of making these cameras and the ART of taking photos with it.
 
Sure, film cameras are a fetish item in Japan, but I'm willing to bet that you'll also see more people shooting film cameras here than anywhere else in the world.

Partly due to his camera fashion blog, John Sypal has been featured in Nippon Camera magazine on several occasions! And more power to him for it!
 
I had to say I enjoyed looking through all the pages (lots of break time) of that tumblr, thinking to myself, "Wow that's an amazing amount of Mamiya's & Leica's!"

Definately bookmarked.
 
40oz said:
but quite often the things people are accused of fetishizing are just the things that fell into their hands, not things that they had the resources to acquire on a whim.
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Very insightful...I am now a convert in the cult of Zuiko thanks to an almost accidental acquisition of an OM-2n and 50/1.8. I know I'm not the only person who has experienced this phenomenon.
 
To me, arguing about how people want to use their camera is the stupidest thing I can think of. Who the hell cares? Who cares if some guys want to look at their gear and enjoy using it just as much as they enjoy the results.

At least it's supporting film!
 
Tokyo Camera Style is an exact parallel to the very popular "Show Me Your..." threads here. We like to look at pictures of other people's cameras. This guy focuses, for real, on hands holding cameras. Good for him.
 
jonmanjiro said:
Sure, film cameras are a fetish item in Japan, but I'm willing to bet that you'll also see more people shooting film cameras here than anywhere else in the world.

Partly due to his camera fashion blog, John Sypal has been featured in Nippon Camera magazine on several occasions! And more power to him for it!
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This is how I felt about the blog when I posted. My thinking was "it's interesting how someone is blogging about all the various film cameras and wasn't "apologetic" about it. He's a genuine enthusiast. I like that.
 
I always enjoy the Tokyo Style site as it's fun to see the passion for cameras that exists in Japan. I was actually stopped on the street here in San Francisco by a guy who is going the same type of site here (he saw my SP with VC meter attached). I let him take his picture but I can't find his site for the life of me.

I did chuckle a bit looking at the Tokyo site realizing how many of those cameras I have owned 😱
 
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