Japan Trip 2022: Medium Format Film Photo Recap

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I traveled to Japan 🇯🇵 in December for the first time to document a wedding client’s ceremony & immediate family who still live there. Afterwards I spent 2 weeks taking medium format film photos & being an outsider in a beautiful, new land.

I made myself a promise in 2022. To shoot as much film as I did 20 years ago, but more importantly, to shoot for myself. For play. For self-confidence. To feed my big curiosity. I wasn’t going to try to “do anything” with it, no enterprising plan was attached, or grand conceptual project was researched. I just wanted to get back to the very elemental, joyful place that I used to swim freely in before the thought of trying to *support myself* with *my art* (and all its accompanying pressures & responsibilities) even formulated in my mind. I’m proud of myself for keeping that promise.

I traveled solo, rented a car, drove around the south of Japan (on the left side of the road), wrapped myself up with nature, another culture, & exercised EXTREME HUMILITY. I Google-translated my way through spaces where I couldn’t read or understand much of anything. I kept my eyes wide open so I could mimic what everyone else was doing & fumbled often. More frequently than not, I had no clue what I was eating or the “correct” way to eat it. And I would still do it all over again (& will probably do it again this year).

My point is, the trip was amazing. And exhausting. And confusing, but also full of so much wonder. I am forever in awe of this world. I feel like the tiniest, most anonymous human as I wander around this bigger-than-I-can-understand world. And I am comfortable with that. I know my place & I am thankful.

⚔️⚡️TOURIST FOR LIFE ⚡️⚔️

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