Jia Zazhia blogzine on poetic PHOTOGRAPHY in & near China, plus other Beauties

摄影师Justin Waldron 2006年从纽约移居东京，娶了一位日本太太，平时爬爬山、骑骑车、散散步，在那儿过着悠然的日子。他一开始的梦想是做电影摄像师，但在进入纽约电影学院之后反而放弃了这个理想，转而钻研胶片摄影。不过，移居日本前才买了第一台胶片机。他的摄影温暖、别致、注重色彩，但却又完全超越了“小清新”式的自怨自艾。受到艺术家妻子河井美咲的影响，他开始做自己的手工杂志，每季度出版一次。最新一期的主题是“步履”。这次，假杂志请他详细的谈了谈他的摄影和手工杂志，访谈在作品后。

Justin Waldron is a film photographer based in New York & Japan. He moved to Tokyo in 2006, and married a Japanese girl. Riding a bicycle, exploring mountains, walking around in his spare time, he leads an idyllic life there. He once dreamed of being a cinematographer, but falled in love with film photography after entering New York Film Academy. He bought a film camera just before he moved to Japan. His photography is warm, chic, colorful…making people happy, though totally different from the self-complaint style. Under the influence of this artist wife Misaki Kawai, he began to do a handmade zine, published quarterly. The latest issue is titled “footsteps”. JIA ZA ZHI invited him to talk about his photography and handmade zine. Please find the interview after the images.

你为什么会移居日本？你觉得日本是个怎样的地方？

其实并没什么特别的原因，我只是凭自己的感觉罢了。平常里我要么待在工作室里，要么骑自行车在附近逛逛，或是在京都附近的山里走走。身处这些地方让我意识清明，贴近自我，而这一切都发生得非常自然。这样的心境对我的工作和每日的生活来说很重要。所以，我感觉和日本有种密切的联系。

你的作品温暖、别致、色彩丰富，使人愉悦，你是如何做到的？摄影对你来意味着什么？

我的作品中凝结着诠释我的感觉的瞬间。我会有选择地拍摄，并在冲洗前仔细观察每一幅胶片，一直等到有将某一张冲洗出来的感觉。浏览胶片、整理照片之前我也会等待那个对我而言正确的时机的到来，接下去做的事也会顺理成章地完成。为了将我的感觉原汁原味地保留，我不会强迫自己去做事，每一个步骤都耐心对待。

当我用胶片去表达感受时，我认为其它每个步骤都和抓住瞬间同等地重要。这大概就是摄影于我而言的意味了。

你什么时候对摄影感兴趣的？还记得是怎样开始的吗？

我对摄影的兴趣源于我对摄像的爱好。11岁的时候，我开始用一台VHS-C便携式摄像机记录玩滑板的过程。我一直这样记录并在15岁时开始学会剪辑。在摄像和剪辑过程中，我不断地审视自己拍摄的作品，并逐渐形成自己的观点。20岁时，我进入纽约电影学院读书，在那里我第一次接触到电影胶片。到那时我才开始真正确定自己的方向——跟胶片打交道，虽然那之后的好几年我都是在做电影摄像师。2006年我移居到日本后，才买了一台很重的胶片相机。那之后我开始正式成为一名胶片摄影师。

说到“大师”，你马上会想到谁？请谈谈你自己对他/她的评价。

老实说，听到“大师”这个词，我谁都没想起来。对我来说，只有在说起一个用以拷贝的原始记录时才会提及这个词。不过要说一个人的话，我觉得大竹伸朗很棒。他是位多产的日本艺术家，他的作品带有大师的感觉。

你为什么开始做手工杂志？能谈谈你的最新的那本《步履》吗？（图片见访谈后）

制作手工杂志让我觉得我可以在工作流程中保持一种持续性。为了能够完全掌握每个步骤，我会尝试各种能够保存我捕捉到的感觉的方法。同时每季度一次的出版频率，也让我有新的动力去寻求感觉和继续尝试。另外一个原因是，我的妻子是一位日本当代艺术家，她从事手工出版已经超过10年时间。她的手工艺术作品非常出色，这也激励了我出版自己的作品。

《步履》是一个手工杂志的第四个系列。杂志每季出一刊，每刊发行50本，包含12页印在手工选择的原料上的图片。这一期里的图片都是在最近去尼泊尔的旅行中拍摄的，从中可以感受到一个人的童年、居住环境以及成长的过程。

（访谈：言由 / 假杂志版权所有，转载请超链接本文网址）

Why did you move to Japan? How is Japan in your mind?

There was no one particular reason for moving to Japan. I simply followed my feelings and found myself here.

These days, I often spend my time in my workspace, riding my bicycle nearby, or exploring the mountains surrounding Kyoto. All are places where I am able to have a clear consciousness & connect with my inner-self. It happens very naturally here, which is very important for my works and everyday life. So, I feel a close connection with Japan.

Your works are warm, chic, colorful…making people happy, how do you manage it? and what does photography mean to you?

My works are moments which naturally translate feelings. I shoot selectively and hold each film closely until a time comes which feels right to develop it. I also wait until I feel the time has come to begin scanning films, assembling series of images, and so forth. To naturally retain what was originally felt.. nothing is forced. Each process is approached with patience. When translating a feeling with film, I believe each process is equally important as capturing the moment itself. In words, this is precisely what photography means to me.

When did you first get interested in photography? Do you still remember how you started?

My interest in photography had derived from my interest in videography. At the age of eleven, I began documenting skateboarding with a VHS-C camcorder. I continued recording and began editing at the age of fifteen. As both a videographer and editor, I was constantly re-evaluating my own footage, and began growing on my own criticisms.

At the age of 20, I attended the New York Film Academy where for the first time, I began working with motion picture film. It was then that I truly developed my direction towards working with film. However, it was mostly motion picture film for several years to follow. It was not until I moved to Japan in 2006, that I equipped myself with a heavy still film camera.  There & then was when I grounded myself as a film photographer.

Speaking of “master”, who will you instantly think of? Please talk about him / her in your own words.

I must speak out of honesty: No one person came to mind when I heard the word “master”…

For me, it is a term used when speaking of an original recording from which copies can be made. However, when thinking of a person…Ohtake Shinro is a name which comes to mind. He is a prolific Japanese artist whom I believe works in a master-like manner.

Why did you start to do handmade zine? Could you talk about your new zine “footsteps”? (find the images after the interview)

To do so, I had felt that I would be able to create a consistency in my workflow. To be able to be in full control of each process, I could experiment with ways of retaining the feelings which I had captured. I was also interested to create a quarterly (seasonal) release in which I would have an additional motive to continue capturing and experimenting.

It is also meaningful to note that my wife, who is a Japanese contemporary artist, had been creating handmade publications for over ten years. She works with a prominent handmade / craft aesthetic. So, she had certainly inspired me to move forward with self-publishing my works.

“Footsteps” is fourth in a series of handmade zines that are released on a quarterly basis. Each zine is in an edition of 50, and features 12 pages of images printed on a hand selected stock. The images from this particular release were all captured from recent travels through Nepal. There may be felt a sense of childhood, community, and growth in this series of images.

(Interviewed by Yuan Di / all images © Justin Waldron; Please link JIAZAZHI, if you want to use any part of this aritcle )