The philosophical whereabouts and the Tokyo 23 series.
I had been thinking about creating this site for quite some time, but I wasn’t sure what form it should take. More than anything, I wanted a portfolio that would be independent of social media—a space where I wouldn’t feel pressured to post one photo over another due to algorithms. A place where I could also explain my intentions without worrying about saying too much.
Not that my approach is particularly philosophical, but writing and putting words to certain things sometimes helps me better understand my own process. It also allows me to realize why I chose to take one photo over another. That’s how the idea for this blog section came about.
For the photography section, I wanted to avoid a simple photo drop with no beginning or end. So I decided to create series and group the images by themes, cities, or concepts.
When it came time to decide on the content, it seemed obvious to start from the beginning: those three months in Japan, with my girlfriend Camille, at Almost perfect. This process also gave me the opportunity to revisit those early photos, to immerse myself again in the memories they represent, to edit them once more with a sharper eye, and to rediscover some images I had previously set aside—or, conversely, to leave out others that once seemed more relevant. In short, to take a step back.
About these first series
Tokyo 23 | Pt.1 brings together photos from the first few weeks, before Camille’s residency began. At the time, despite having been to Tokyo several times, it was the first time I truly looked at the city with a photographic eye.
Tokyo 23 | Pt.2 focuses on images taken around the Almost perfect residency. It’s mostly explorations of the Taitō and Yanaka neighborhoods, where we liked to spend our evenings.
Tokyo 23 | Pt.3 marks a turning point. After almost two months of walking 10 to 15 km a day with my Fujifilm camera on my shoulder, I ended up injuring myself. So I decided to get a smaller camera that I could always carry with me. No viewfinder, a different fixed focal length—hello Ricoh GR IIIx. Looking back, I realize that my approach changed from that moment on. I started capturing more snaps, fragments of the city, pieces of urbanism, elements that, to me, define the essence of Tokyo.
Tokyo 23 | Pt.4 is about people, the streets, those fleeting moments of life observed during my explorations. It also includes photos from our last month in Japan, after traveling across the country. Our rhythm had changed, as had our surroundings.
