Tokyo Camera Style: Through The Eyes Of John Sypal
For more than a decade now, John Sypal has been continuously creating a large compilation of pictures of cameras through Tokyo Camera Style: a concept so simple yet undeniably irresistible to anyone inclined to the craft.
The way each camera is presented bears stories as well. You can only see a fraction of the owner, usually their hands and a hint of fabric they wore the day it was taken. The camera itself somehow mirrors the photographer’s sense of style, thus the name of the project snugly fits. On the other hand, viewers are left to discover the rest by following the photographer’s profile, if there’s any.
The captions that accompany each post adds character to the beloved little machines, and knowing where and when it was taken takes the viewer back to a memory they’ve had in Tokyo.
In this manner, TCS is not just a means of seeing various cameras and being in awe of them — it is also a timeless record of a lifestyle that perpetuates in the streets of Tokyo, regardless of age, gender, and nationality.
As a cameraman himself, looking at Sypal’s photography is like bathing in Tokyo’s photogenic light, its crisp air, and the melodic ensembles of its hustle and serenity. He captures spontaneous moments that are often ignored or unseen by the city’s passersby, who are often his subjects as well.
Sypal’s photobook, 随写 Zuisha, is published by Zen Foto Gallery in 2017. He is a member of Totem Pole Photo Gallery and also currently contributes content for Photo & Culture, Tokyo.
In this exclusive Sabukaru interview with Sypal, we delved into both of his worlds: photographing other people's cameras in Tokyo and translating his vision of Tokyo through his own cameras.
How has Tokyo Camera Style [TCS] changed through the years?
In terms of the gear I use, I started it in 2008 with a tiny, cheap 2MP compact Casio camera. Then in 2009 I switched to the Ricoh GRD series. I've zero interest in digital imaging, so a simple point & click approach works for me- the GRD series is all I need, and I've ended up burning through about seven of those cameras over the past dozen years.
I started out I snapped everything horizontally- but a few years ago switched to a vertical format since it fit smartphone screens better. Horizontal shots were good for laptop monitors. The more I think about it, Golden-Age Tumblr is still my favorite era of the internet. Was that until 2015, maybe? You never knew what you'd see- and the weirdness of the site kept things loose and strange. Instagram is great in its own right- I think of it more as a communication device than a way to experience portfolios. Maybe you could say that Tumblr was about "art" on the internet and Instagram is more about content. Both have their uses and charms.
How do you approach your subjects?
Generally I spot a camera and approach the person. I'm no good with names and faces but for some reason I can easily remember models and makers of mechanical things- cars, motorcycles, airplanes- and cameras. So I approach people with a smile and a compliment, usually asking if that's a Nikon F3HP or whatever it is that I know is there in their hands. The fact that I do so with a camera around my own neck makes it easier.
What is the biggest takeaway of being able to do TCS?
Setting the fact that there are just so many film shooters in Tokyo still - I mean, I saw a guy with a Nikon FM3a around his neck in my neighborhood yesterday and several people in their early 20s with film cameras in Shibuya on Sunday- - the main thing is that Tokyo isn't really that big of a city, in terms of where people gather. So, you've got this combination of a lot of people with similar interests in the same narrow areas to run into.
I don't know how it would be in other cities- certainly, the safety of Tokyo allows people to walk around carefree with $10,000 of camera gear around their neck.
Will there be a next TCS book?
No plans yet but I would love to- my archives are twice as large as they were when the first book was edited. Plus, this time the vertical format I've switched to since then would fit the pages better.
How did you get into the photography community/ies in Japan? What challenges have you encountered and how were you able to overcome them?
I had a great photo teacher in college whose influence carried over with me to Japan- shoot, develop, print, repeat. Unrelated to photography, I came over in 2001 for a year-long study abroad program. I was taking classes, but outside of school I just did my own thing, walking around and shooting. I spent a lot of time in the university's camera club darkroom. One thing leading to another, I ended up meeting really interesting, passionate photographers who in turn introduced me to more people. Things were more organic, or surreptitious. There was no social media then- you didn't search for hashtags looking for what you wanted. I learned quickly that there's no goal, you know? Fame or success or whatever- and I don't know what that might be now, either- that working towards that stuff wasn't part of it.
One challenge is the Japanese language- I think that unless you can fluently speak about your work in Japanese a lot of doors will remain indifferently closed. There's also the fact that how a foreigner sees Japan is usually of very little interest to Japanese viewers. The reaction is usually polite bemusement- or something like "wow, you see things we Japanese don't notice" or "You're more Japanese than us Japanese".
In my case "your pictures look like they were taken by a Japanese photographer" is common. In Japan, my Nebraska photographs are of more interest to locals than the Zuisha ones. What's a middle-aged white guy like me- or all the western twenty-somethings here now with cameras- going to explain to them about their own country? I don't have anything in particular as a message about Japan for the west, either. Free of such responsibilities, I can get to work on my own terms.
Many foreigners who photograph Tokyo portray it as a place drenched with neon lights and drunk salarymen, a place filled with kawaii and kakkoii things. How do you portray Tokyo through your photography?
The neon-soaked Blade Runner vibe thing is so weird. People are running around HDR-ing the same few blocks around Shibuya and Shinjuku stations... Going back to the pre-social media thing, certainly when I was here in 2001-2002, and then from 2004 to around 2006[?] there just really weren't a lot of chances to see what anyone else was doing. In 2002 I think the only dedicated "Tokyo photo" website I knew of was something called "my private tokyo"? I was here when Flickr was a thing- I wasn't really on it but I got to see the early stages of online-photo community stuff happen, from a distance.
I started seeing how style-fads would arise- cinematic, in-your- face flash, etc. That's only intensified on Instagram now. Seriously, what's with all that teal and neon pink HDR stuff? I think a photographer needs to figure things out by engaging and experimenting with the medium, not downloading presets... so this idea that "styles" in photography is something planned and experimented with is odd. You have to be compelled to make your pictures for yourself- not for how you want them to be received.
There's a lot of photographers in Japan who like "likes" and there's even more people outside of Japan that like seeing pictures of what they think it looks like. I could give you a long list of Gaijin Tokyo Photo Clichés but in the end it's up to us all to think about what we're doing and whether it's worth the time and effort. If likes are worth it for someone, well, fine. There's room for everyone. But hopefully you put effort into figuring photography out for yourself, on your own terms- not because a particular "vibe" is popular or looks cool- but because you want to understand the essence of both the thing, the medium, and then yourself better.
You also dabble into found photography. How did it begin and do old pictures by unknown people influence your way of seeing and photographing things around you?
I can't remember how it began- Thanks to the shelves of photo albums in my grandparent's house growing up, I've always liked old snapshots. There's this antique shop in Asakusa that had a box full of snaps that I went through, a flea market stall in Ueno was another great source. There's a tremendous amount of influence in these pictures. For me, it's that basic sense of lingering attachment to a person or moment- that desire to keep something important set for a little while longer in a photograph. That's what I feel strongest as I look at old snapshots. The purity of their intent is the core of photography for me- "Get a picture of this".
That straightforward approach- that's how it begins for all of us. Keeping that in mind is important.
Aside from photography, what subculture[s] of Tokyo do you love and/or recommend everyone else to check out? Is there anything about Tokyo that you hate?
I don't know a lot about subcultures here so well... I assume that there's one for nearly everything! A visit to Mandarake or Komiyama-shoten in Jimbocho suggests this. The way that Japanese people take interests so seriously is something I will always admire. A society that isn't riddled with irony and sarcasm allows for a sort of environment where it's ok to take unserious things seriously.
There's none of that sad, defensive sarcasm that Westerners saddle themselves with. There's really nothing about Tokyo that I particularly hate- except maybe for the sad, defensive sarcasm found in the complaints Westerners sometimes have for it. Is it perfect? No- but where is? Every single day I see interesting things- I cherish the fact that there's still so much to learn. I've still got that "first week in Japan" feeling some twenty years later.
Your upcoming show is about [children and] dogs. Tell us more about it. Will there be a cat one in the future? Or probably a Margot-exclusive one?
The members of Totem Pole schedule our shows about six months in advance. I set a date and then later work on figuring out what to show. Having a waypoint every few months helps keep me going. Anyway, I realized that this February slot was coming up and, having no time to get in the darkroom lately, decided to look through the stacks of print boxes in my apartment for something to exhibit. I found one that said "Kids / dogs" on it. Inside were a bunch of un-exhibited 11x14s from the mid 2000s, 2010s. They're kind of fun and full of life- so I thought now's the time to show them. Both children and dogs have existences heavily controlled by adults- in that they have their own world and freedom. The gaps between their worlds and whatever it is we call reality is in the pictures.
A cat show - or book- would be interesting. I have a print box slowly filling up of those pictures, too. The stare cats give you is different from the ones dogs have. I have dozens of prints of them peeking- or glaring- at me. In the meantime, Margot, my cat, is the subject of an ongoing, ever-growing exhibition on a wall of my apartment.
Last year I started putting my own personal work on Instagram @john.sypal It's great because people can sort of see my pictures and maybe want to buy a book or zine or come to a show but at the same time I find the size limitations frustrating. The images shared are approximations of the actual photograph- there's such a loss of detail. Not that Tumblr on a laptop was that much better, of course. If we're talking depth and detail, actual silver gelatin prints are unbeatable. This is why my approach to instagram is less-serious- it's no big deal. It's an off-shoot to from my output, not the main mode of expression. It's mostly fun. It's like anything else that you do that's not work or life or death- why do it if you aren't enjoying it?
Thank you a lot for your time!
John Sypal’s upcoming show, Children & Dogs, is on view at the Totem Pole Photo Gallery from February 8th until the 13th. Be sure to check it out if you’re in town. Wear a mask.
Text by Anne Murayama
annemurayama.com
