Music and Photography in Japan

Jim Atwood — Tue, 17 Jun 2008 12:24:09 +0000

I’m a huge fan of music. I play guitar, keyboards, and sing on a regular basis, but not in a band at the moment. I just enrolled my 5 year old daughter in Yamaha piano lessons which I’ll be going along with her. She’s a huge fan of Hannah Montana, Madonna, Fergie, and other stuff which I play in the car a lot when I take her to/from school here in Nagano.

I always listen to music when I work in Photoshop on my photographs. At the moment I enjoy listening to a singer named Samantha James which is kind of House music mixed with Lounge a little bit. I’m a big fan of Sade and I think Samantha James is an extension of her music. I also like to listen to Ambient, Techno, and other sorts of Electronic music like BT, Crystal Method, and others. I have an iPod system setup by my computer which allows me to flip through all the songs.

When I first came to Nagano, my wife was and still is involved with lots of Hair and Design shows. I had to help her a lot with choosing music for her models and cutting shows. That was fun.

I am also a huge fan of Japanese Pop music. I’ve been collecting singles from various artists since 1993. It’s sort of a “memory lane” thing where each song reminds me of a place and time I spent in Japan. Lately I enjoy J-Soul music the best with the likes of Heartsdales, Double, Sugar Soul, M-Flo,Tyler, Steady & Co. to name a few. Back in the late 90’s my wife and I were into the big platform shoe gal movement and I listened to a lot of Globe, Amuro, Max, TRF, and other J-Eurobeat sort of dance hits. When I first came to Japan I used to go to that now defunct place called Julianas which was the home of Bodycon for those that remember. Nowadays, things are pretty tame, but I’m glad I got to get glimpse of that.

Does anyone listen to music while shooting?

I actually have been listening to my iPod more while out on the streets and other areas with my camera. I like to listen to high energy stuff and for some reason it makes me a bit bolder when I shoot. It’s funny. I guess if you listen to some hard rock stuff you feel like you can photograph anything and get away with it….laugh.

In any event, music is a big part of what drives my everyday life and photography. I’m curious how others incorporate it into their photography if at all. Also, what kind of Japanese music do you like if you listen to that sort of thing as well.

Jim

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Music and Photography in Japan