Almost in focus

Year of the Horse

For my tenth trip to Japan, I wanted to catch up with friends in Tokyo, dive into the underground music scene, and celebrate New Year’s Eve in the hot springs of Beppu. The journey also took me through some familiar places and new locations like snowy Shirakawa-go, Nagano, and Izu. Once again, black and white film was my medium of choice, primarily to preserve these moments as physical gelatin silver prints. Besides, I think that stripping away the dimension of color makes the photos feel more abstract and timeless.

I love Berlin in color

In 2025, after a year of developing black and white film at home, I bought a sous vide to control water temperature and a CineStill Cs41 kit for color film. This setup finally gave me independence from photo labs, and I started shooting color film during my walks much more frequently. This album contains my favorite color photos of Berlin taken throughout 2025.

Carnival of Cultures

Berlin, June 8, 2025

Hiroshima

Revisiting Hiroshima after nine years, I found the memorial park packed with tourists. Overall, the city didn’t look very photogenic, as most of the new tall buildings looked more or less the same. The next morning, I went to a Showa-era coffee shop and accidentally ended up in Nagarekawa, the local red-light district. This part of the city immediately captivated me with its gritty streets and old houses. The deeper you go, the girl-bars gradually give way to massage parlours, which eventually transition into soaplands. A few drunk folks were still stumbling out of bars early in the morning, adding to the surreal atmosphere.

Seoul

On the north side of the Han River

Shiro Kuro

The first time I encountered the work of Robert Frank, it became a major source of inspiration for me, especially in the way travel photography can be approached. During my winter trip through Kyushu and the western part of Honshu, I challenged myself to shoot the entire journey on black and white film to capture the unfamiliarity that triggers my curiosity.

Back when it was snowing

Snow is quite rare in Berlin, so seeing kids suddenly take out their sledges and start riding downhill from every slope immediately brings back memories of childhood and canceled school during the severe cold.

The Half

While I’m far from being a runner myself, I went to the Berlin Half Marathon to cheer on a friend. The atmosphere was absolutely fantastic! All the people running in costumes made it a lot of fun to photograph.

BWerlin

Day-to-day chaos in ordinary life

The World

Just here and there