On My First Exhibition, the photo poster project

This past weekend, I participated in a photography exhibition for the first time. As I’ve written, so far this year I’ve felt a bit “behind schedule,” not quite living up to my own goals for myself, so it was especially nice to hit one of my goals for the year, even if it was one I wasn’t prioritizing. Let me say up front that I was contacted by the organizer cizucu to participate, and they agreed to waive the participation fee in exchange for me writing about my experience here, but my thoughts are my own.

I was initially contacted by cizucu through Instagram DM, asking if I wanted to participate. At first, I wasn’t sure if this was a real opportunity or not. I have a fairly modest Instagram account, but I still get a decent amount of DMs from companies that seem... disreputable. After chatting with them a bit, I realized my doubts were unfounded, and that this was part of a larger series of events the company organizes, called the “photo poster project” (ppp).

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These are mini-exhibitions in major cities around the world, held for just a single day, where photographers are brought together to exhibit and discuss their work as A2-sized posters (as you might expect). Photographers can apply to each event and pay a nominal fee (varies by country, etc.) to participate. That fee helps cover the costs of the exhibition, as well as the costs of printing the images. For an additional fee, they'll also print a set of business cards for you. Of course, you’re free to keep the poster and cards after the exhibition. Some of these exhibitions are themed (cizucu also holds themed contests on their site), but this exhibition wasn’t—photographers were free to exhibit any image they wanted.

The exhibition was held on a Sunday at a coffeeshop called STAYFUL LIFE STORE (who also has a webshop with a bunch of lovely things) in Mitaka, a neighborhood about 45 minutes from central Tokyo I’ve only passed through before (I’ve been only to the station before to purchase a collection of manga from someone I met on Japanese craigslist, but that’s another story). It snowed heavily this past weekend in Tokyo, and it was through this serene landscape that I headed to the exhibition.

I got there around noon, and stopped for a coffee (have to support the host!) before heading down to the basement where the exhibition was held. In a large white room, I was greeted by the cizucu staff, and they checked me in, gave me my exhibitor’s lanyard and business cards.

From there, I walked through the exhibition and started talking with some of the other exhibitors and staff. There were 15 other photographers including myself, and what immediately impressed me was the variety of work shown.

The image I submitted for the exhibition.

I submitted a black and white street photography image, one that feels especially representative to the work I aim to do going forward. It shows a construction site near my office, with a temple in the distance (the roof of the temple is the same as in the image shown on the Members page). Usually many of my images start with either beautiful light, or a beautiful scene, but this photo arguably has neither—though I like the sheen lighting off of the ramp behind the subject and the background in general. I had waited just a moment for someone to pass the frame, but am very happy with the pose I captured them in, and their positioning overall.

Most of all, I like the compression of space. This was photographed with a 40mm lens, my go-to, but the compression here seems much tighter to me, something closer to 75mm, 85mm, 90mm perhaps. It’s an effect I’d like to intentionally get more often; perhaps I should start carrying my 90mm.

You can see all of the work here, though I’m not sure how long this site will be up for. Looking around the exhibition, I felt an immediate kinship with many of the photographers whose work felt close to my own (Allison, umaigohan, niwa, lofiseoul, manami, among others.), but I also felt fascinated by the photographer’s work which differed most from my own.

There were a lot of images that I may possess the technical ability to capture, but it wouldn’t ever occur to me to do so. I’ve only barely attempted some lightpainting like 勇人-san’s shodo-like image, and never anything like 鉄カメラ小僧-san’s impactful zoom blur. I’m no stranger to photographing plants, but there’s something transiently beautiful about Kiriko-san’s withered hydrangea. I love スズキトオル-san’s image from his “ossan project” (old guy’s project), where he got three office workers to pose (mostly nude) with the instruction to make a “sexy” face. The scale and pristine cleanliness of 2KASA-san and satsuki-san’s landscapes is truly enviable. Finally, the clarity and color in Nishizaki-san’s image is really lovely.

Meanwhile, I’ve photographed plenty of motion-blurred city scenes, but while my images have always attempted to convey the city’s frenetic energy, Allison-san’s image conveys a sense of calm. I love the sense of curiosity umaigohan-san’s image captures, and the depth of the shadows present here and in IMIN-san’s image. As another beautiful light appreciator, lofiseoul-san’s image is near to my heart. 穂-san’s image sits alongside some of the work I admire most: playful, light, and makes you want to look closer. Finally, niwa-san, and manami-san captured beautiful moments from daily life, the kind I’m always looking to share.

Talking about my work

After chatting for a bit, all the exhibitors and those present gathered for a brief gallery talk. Each photographer spent about a minute presenting their work, what was important about it to them, and fielded some quick questions. I’d worked over a written statement quite heavily, but only quickly considered what I might say, ad-libbing a bit in Japanese. I don’t remember what I said, but I hope I represented myself well.

It was fascinating to hear from the other photographers, to get a glimpse into the thought processes that produced their images, learn directly from them what they were concerned with. I’d been impressed with the quality of work from the start, but hearing from each photographer deepened my appreciation.

Overall, I was thrilled to be able to participate in the ppp from cizucu. I was able to meet a lot of wonderful new photographers, and hopefully make some new friends. I saw a wide variety of work I wouldn’t have otherwise, and got to appreciate not only my own work, but that of others printed and mounted. Not to be too proud of myself, but I’ve framed the poster, and it’s hanging in my apartment now.

This might just be the first step in taking my own photography more seriously, but I’m very grateful for the experience. I’ve felt such a stronger sense of community among photographers since moving to Tokyo, and am so glad to be able to continue to meet others and strengthen those bonds. cizucu talks about these events centering around an appreciation for photography, and I truly felt that during the exhibition. Everyone supported one another, and showed true interest in each other’s work. I think community is probably born from that feeling.

This article was written from a personal perspective, supported by cizucu, who covered the participation fee for the photo poster project (#ad).

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