Picture This: Franz Freitag In Tokyo
Picture This is a series by creatives, photographers, friends and lovers that belong to the worldwide Biancissimo family. In every episode of this series one of these talented people will take us on a visual journey of their own. Franz Freitag is the very first contributor and Tokyo was his playground:
Allow me to introduce myself, I go by the name of Franz Freitag aka your super professional low-key photographer from next door. Born in the East, raised in the West, I returned to Berlin 6 years ago to study fashion & design management. Overly dedicated to streetwear brands with a strong heritage and a story to tell I luckily have been working with them ever since. Collecting sneakers like stamps, i came to the point in life where I realized I'd prefer collecting moments rather than shoes. Now having sold everything, I left the industry for a little while to travel Southeast Asia, starting off in Tokyo.
I followed the Bianco Food Guide like it was a pilgrims path to deliverance, the desired meal my holy grail to forgiveness on my never ending road to heaven. I never ever have experienced anything more extraordinarily amazing than this country, never ever have I seen better dressed people, with a more distinct sense of style than Japanese youth. Having said this, it was pretty hard for me, coming from a fashion background, to always choose between the same two outfits for half a year. Every day. I needed a different creative outlet, something I could put my own handwriting into.
I started to love taking sneaky pictures with a humorous and unexpected twist, especially of people because I think that the image of a country is based on the humans living in it. They literally embody the culture and create a certain vibe. I am always on the lookout for their emotions, I want to read faces and capture them in their natural habitat. I feel like this is the only way to give somebody else an idea of how these people actually live, eat, speak and feel.
Pure emotions and privacy can only be captured when feeling completely unobserved in a moment of total anonymity. I was lucky enough to catch a few of these moments from a nation that I got to know as overly delicate and warm hearted. I felt home away from home in between human beings I might have not understood but totally feel a part of.
