Veteran photographer, photography instructor, and longtime Japan resident Andy Barker has published a book of his photos of Kamakura in English and Japanese.
Title: Kamakura – A Collection of Photographs by Andy Barker
ISBN: 978-4-9903528-0-6
Price: 2100 yen (inc. tax)
Published by: photospace b books
Available at: Kinokuniya (Tokyo, New York, and San Francisco) and Maruzen book stores in Tokyo, and at Kamakura book shops (Shimamori bookstore, one block directly in front of JR Kamakura Station’s East Exit. Hasedera Temple’s gift shop located next to the ticket gate. Kamakura Prince Hotel gift shop.)
*Autographed copies available directly from Andy Barker at photospace_b@yahoo.com (2500 yen within Japan or USD30.00 outside Japan including shipping)
Sample images: http://photospace_b.tripod.com/extras.html
This square book has 60 pages with 59 photos, mostly color. It’s a medium-size book, light enough to carry home and small enough to put on your coffee table along with a few other books.
The pictures are divided into the four seasons, starting with spring. Each picture is captioned in English and Japanese. The book’s design and layout was done by Andy himself and it turned out very nice and attractive.
The pictures show the temples, shrines, festivals, gardens, and people of Kamakura, a former feudal capital city of Japan. This famous city has already been photographed to death, and for this book, Andy avoided including the standard, cliched shots and put in more unique images. For example, the famous Daibutsu statue is photographed at night as well as in snow. The book makes a great gift from Japan.
Andy fell in love with Kamakura decades ago and still goes there to shoot regularly, commuting by bicycle from his home in nearby Zushi. After shooting Kamakura for so many years, you’d think that he has photographed everything already. But apparently not.
Well, that’s the thing about Japan. There is an infinite number of pictures to be captured. Even in the same place or city, it looks different during the four seasons, during different times of day, and during different years. You really have to keep going back if you want to photograph “everything.” The possibilities are endless, and our job of photographing Japan never ends.
Update: Andy Barker’s Kamakura photo book is also available as an app for download on your iPhone or iPod Touch. The price is 230 yen or around $2.50. Just search for Andy Barker and you’ll find the app.
Andy also holds photography classes in English in the Tokyo area. More info here: http://photospace_b.tripod.com/course_descriptions.html
