The tunnel I pass through to and from the studio. Tokyo, 2024.
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- Prepared Michibiki Vol. 2 exhibition at Jinny Street Gallery.
- Shipped all Punctum exhibition catalogs—some copies are still available for sale.
- Made major modifications to the darkroom to enable C-printing.
- Created a “VNS adapter"—merging Valoi easy120 and Negative Supply light source for better color negative scanning.
- Published Pentax Digital Spotmeter Sticker.
- Published Foldable Film Reminders.
- Completed shooting the final roll for the Out of Memory Vol. 10 project.
- Committed to a year-long bookbinding course starting in April.
- Featured (with Lorenzo) on the cover of a local Jingumae magazine—andJ.
- Created substantial updates to the Unbound Notebook System’s Analog Photography Templates.
- Took a ski trip to Zao Onsen in Yamagata, experiencing the famous “snow monsters” (ice-covered trees).
- Spent time developing my film scanning workflow, improving negative-to-positive conversion techniques.
The shortest month of the year turned out to be quite productive—or maybe it’s just being back in Tokyo and getting into its rhythm again that moved me fast. For certain, I do feel quite a bit more comfortable in my studio—creating and working there comes easily.
I’m catching up on my infinite backlog of tasks and getting closer to launching a membership program. I haven’t set an exact launch date yet, but it feels more imminent than ever.
- Developed new sections for toto.photo—exhibitions, press coverage, and a works archive.
- Had three photographs from my Tskaltubo series published in the Atlas of Ruins book.
- Migrated The Flaneur newsletter platform to ttvl.co; no more Substack and walled gardens.
- Updated ttvl.co: the darkroom section now has several new items, and the Unbound System section has been expanded with new templates.
- Learned a new technique for negative-to-positive conversion in Photoshop using negative mask subtraction—still fine-tuning the results.
- Built and started experimenting with a pinhole camera.
- Started working on a membership website platform using Go + Gin.
- Took a long walk in the Pigneto district in Rome.
- Visited the Vatican Museums; Raphael’s School of Athens and the Sistine Chapel are impressive.
2025 started off very busy. I’ve made good progress towards my plan to launch a membership program alongside three(!) websites. I feel like I’m on track to achieve that. The 12-week year system is working well for me, although I do not adhere to its original methodology from the book. I didn’t find the book quite good, frankly—but the idea is well worth trying.
The visit to Tbilisi was pleasant as usual, but the moment I was there, the protests were much calmer than I expected. I didn’t manage to shoot much.
- Completed the Punctum Exhibition Catalog – now available for purchase.
- New film development workflow using the Jobo Tank System. I might consider using it as a rapid travel film development workflow too.
- Made a new Film Process Template page on Unbound, creating detailed guides for chemical preparation and development procedures.
- Published the Film Canisters Stickers project.
- Acquired and tested a second Contax G2 camera body – Araki – with a 21mm Biogon lens and GD-2 data back.
- Published EDC Modular Keychain for carrying photography accessories (film canisters, filters, and other tools) alongside with keys and EDC essentials (band-aid, AirTag, etc).
- Led few Artist Walks for Punctum at Jinny Street Gallery.
- Upgraded the studio workspace with new adjustable lighting system – now my shop desk is as lit as a stadium.
- Traveled to Tbilisi for protests and New Year’s Eve.
December was hectic, but it felt less overwhelming than November, mainly because I’m no longer preoccupied with the visa and paperwork I had to submit to the government. Everything is completed, and now I’m just waiting.
I’ve also found more time to spend in a studio, which has become my happy place for small projects and creative work.
November is always tough on my brain, but pleasant on my senses. Tokyo is blessed to have one of the nicest Novembers of all the places I have been. The sun shines at least two-thirds of the days, and the cold is not as bone-piercing as it could be. November is also the month I have to renew my Japanese visa—every, damn, year. I hope this time I’ll get a three-year break from it.
- Worked on book projects including printing Out of Memory Vol. 9
- Tskaltubo photos accepted for publication in Atlas of Ruins book
- Managed Jinny Street Gallery activities, including an Artist Walk
- Trip to Bucharest, Romania
- Started Transcendental Meditation
- Visited Tokyo Photographic Art Museum to see Alec Soth’s A Room of Rooms
- New photography books: list them.
- Volunteered as polling station staff for elections in Georgia
- Spent time in Georgia and Tbilisi
- Took a trip to Kazbegi, staying at Rooms Hotel with views of Mount Kazbegi – never gets old.
- Did a photo shoot for byLudo at Tsekhi
- Successfully repaired an RZ67 camera using 3D-printed parts
- Translated a Lucky/Fujimoto CP32 manual from Japanese to English
- Implemented a new 6 AM work routine
- Continued work on Out of Memory series
- Set up and organized the Studio
- Italian road-trip: Rome, Siena, Lucca, Cinque Terre, and Porto Venere.
- Walked the Aurelian Walls in Rome
- Explored Cyprus: Larnaca’s coastal areas, Nicosia’s divided capital, Famagusta’s ghost town, Troodos mountain villages
- Rammstein show in Gelsenkirchen, Germany.
- Launched the Jinny Lemon Sour project at the beginning of the month
- I have new dedicated studio in Tokyo! A lot of work completed: renovation including wall repainting and deep cleaning, established a dedicated darkroom area, installed work bench and some storage systems
- Led an Artist Walk for the final day of Maan Limburg’s Without Us at Jinny Street Gallery
- Bonobo live DJ performance at O-East Shibuya
- Travel: Naples and Pompeii, Italy
- Attended and documented live music performances, including an Arabic punk band—Tabla Kwaiesa—and other local musicians in Tokyo
- Averaged 13.5km walking through Tokyo with RZ67 (it’s heavy!)
- Milan Design Week (Salone del Mobile) and Venice Art Biennale, with notable visits to Pirelli HangarBicocca featuring Anselm Kiefer’s work and discovering Nari Ward’s installations
- Participated in a traditional washi paper-making workshop in Asakusa, exploring potential applications for alternative printing processes like platinum palladium
- Alec Soth’s exhibition for Bottega
- Fuego show
- Met with Yosuke Taki, son of Koji Taki (co-founder of Provoke magazine), had an interesting chat
- Set up Sean Lotman’s exhibition at Jinny Street Gallery; Grateful to have him in the gallery.
- Developed film workflow templates for the Notebook System
- Launched Jinny Street Gallery T-shirts
- Started testing various film development processes
- Attended a Kintsugi class; the instructor’s fashion style was 11/10.
- Snowboarding in Nozawa Onsen during heavy snowfall conditions; Nozawa distillery was a highlight. Shiso gin is top notch.
- Travel in Japan: Kawagoe, Okutama and Sawai.
