PHOTOGRAPHY ZINES AND BOOKS NO: 73

 

Ariphoto Selection Vol. 11-12 by Shinya Arimoto

Who?

Shinya Arimoto is a Japanese photographer based in Tokyo. Already some what of a legend, he runs Totem Pole Gallery in Shinjuku, works as a photography lecturer, and has multiple books in publication.

What?

I have been writing about this series for well over a decade now and in 2025 was presently surprised to discover two more. You can see the first 5 volumes reviewed here with 1-3, here Vol. 4, and here in Volume 5. Each zine has a theme usually based on a location and no different with these here being shot on the outskirts of west Tokyo, mostly the Tama region. Vol. 11 carries the title, ““A Dead-End of Tokyo” & Vol. 12 “Oriental Turtle Dove.”

Why?

I will use Arimoto’s own words that serve as introductions to each zine (chronologically):

“Wanting a change of scenery, I left the city center where I had been taking photographs for so many years and headed to the western outskirts of Tokyo. Here I found shuttered shops and business on their last legs – and old, vacant houses. Across the street, uniformly-built, new housing tracts sit deserted, looking like a graveyard. Such is the beautiful wilderness left behind by Japan’s ‘Lost Decades.”

“I head west from downtown Tokyo. Once I leave the twenty-three wards that make up central Tokyo and reach the Tama region, there’s a change in scenery and urban wildlife. The pigeons seem a bit smaller here in Tama, their plumage a bit browner. Rock pigeons, the most common species in the city, tend to flock together; Oriental turtle doves, on the other hand, stay alone or in pairs. They never approach humans for food and simply live for themselves in the environment they inhabit.”

Refreshing to see his Tokyo shots outside of Shinjuku…though he could shoot anywhere and I would still be there for it. Aside from his flawless portraiture, I always appreciate his quiet, perhaps even “I could have shot that” shots that you actually wouldn’t as it requires such a level of sensitivity… focusing on the temporal.

I love the above selection stumbling on a homeless man’s…cave… that appears empty in vol. 11 and we see the man in vol. 12. Subtle but just these thoughts give his books a rhythm that so many don’t appreciate or really feel to understand as photos work through companionship rapidly expanding and contracting in the mind of the viewer.

Details.

Book Size 356 × 279 mm

Pages 20 pages, 16 images

Binding Softcover

Publication Year 2025

Limited Edition 500

Where?

If you are in Tokyo the zine can be purchased directly from the gallery. Otherwise they can be purchased as a set here with international shipping available! They sell out pretty fast and have become a collector’s item so i’d strongly recommend getting them now.

 

 

In Human Hands by Andrew R. Smith

Who?

Andrew R. Smith is an American photographer. He shoots film in both 35 and 120, commonly focusing on specific themes as deduced from his blog style website here.

What?

“In Human Hands” draws from his color photography from the last couple of years. All shot on Kodak Gold 200, there are just under 20 photos of really nuanced everyday images.

I particularly enjoyed the above pairing with fence being built around the two trunks. Recalls a favorite essay by the first foreign Japanese cultural critics after the war in Donald Richie who wrote an article describing how the Japanese will always build fences around trees whereas America will always opt to have the tree removed. He ascribes this two the fundamental differences of the Japanese allowing the tree enrich their fence in showing humility toward nature in trying to be apart of it…

Why?

Well he did not include any text in the book serving to add an heir of mystery. In the accompanying letter he sent with the zine he describes thematically that the zine is his own personal reflections on human life and where we might be headed as times progresses. Also adding to the mystery of his work overall, he has no social media to speak of outside of Facebook. Sharing in common with the zines above as neither photographers have Instagram.

Where?

The book is limited to mere 25 copies. It can be purchased directly via email here for 15$ US shipping is included.

 

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Thanks to our guests for their work, it is a really cool thing to be able to share zines with you all. And remember, this is open to everyone. If you would like to have your zines or books featured then all you have to do is mail me. Hopefully there will be plenty more of you who want to get your books and zines out there to the world. Another installment will be coming soon.

Thanks,

JCH