Restless 36 - Connecting the Map, Zeiss 6x9, and Camera Overload
Hello from a rainy Sunday morning in Kasugai.
Here are some recent posts where I walk a section of the Tōkaidō to connect my Map, buy a vintage Zeiss Ikonta 6×9 camera, and discover pleasant light leaks caused by fat roll on Lomography film.
I've been going through my online subscriptions lately, reassessing their value. I've said goodbye to SquareSpace for our business website, quit several app subscriptions on my phone, and plan to move even further away from big US tech over the coming months. I contemplated leaving Glass too, but I enjoy the community there—it's the closest thing to what Flickr was back in the 2000s and 2010s (apart from Flickr now).
As I mentioned in my last newsletter, I was given my grandfather's old Kodak Cresta Brownie and enjoyed the larger format so much that I went and bought the Zeiss Ikonta 6×9 as well. Now, unsurprisingly, I have camera overload again. Before bed last night I wrote in my notebook about going back to basics—one digital camera and one film camera (my beloved Leica M6) with only black and white film for a year. The more I look at certain photos, the more I pine for the days when all I had was my Leica M6 and a bag full of film.
Another big bit of news is that I've applied for dual nationality, which I'll talk about more if my application is successful. And after years of wanting to, I finally walked the entire stretch of the Hori River (堀川) that runs through central Nagoya—which isn't actually a river at all, but a canal. It was originally constructed in 1610 under the orders of Tokugawa Ieyasu to transport construction materials for Nagoya Castle and facilitate commercial trade. I'll be writing about that in a future newsletter.
So with all that, have a great Christmas and New Year.
Sean.
Walking the Tōkaidō – Meiden Nagasawa to Okazaki – seanbreslin.jp
Walking the Tōkaidō from Meiden Nagasawa to Okazaki – a honest account of hiking Japan’s historic route through industrial landscapes, temples, and the reality beyond the guidebooks.
Hell Yeah or No: What If Taking the Photo Was Enough? – seanbreslin.jp
What if taking the photo was enough? No pressure to post, no need to share. Just observe. A thought on photography beyond social media.
Gujo Hachiman on Film: Four Frames From Film #4 – seanbreslin.jp
Shooting film in my favourite Japanese mountain town and leaving photo-sharing platforms. On the desire to print, make books, and own your own space.
Zeiss Ikon Ikonta 6×9 – Four Frames From Film #3 – seanbreslin.jp
Four more frames — this time from a roll of Kodak Color 200 shot with my Canon EOS 7 at the Kakuozan market in central Nagoya, held once a month outside Nittaiji Temple.
