The Far East

I visited the Far East twice; in 1980 I spent a month in Japan and visited a dozen different cities. In 1996 I was in China, South Korea and Japan, and in each country I was in many unusual smaller cities, well away from the paths traveled by most tourists. There were requisite stops in Beijing and Tokyo, but the most interesting photographs were found in places with names like Yamagata, Dalien and Chegu-do.

I did not have a specific project in mind in 1980 or 1996. I visited these three countries on business, and when there was time, I wandered with my camera, usually by myself, which gave me the freedom to go wherever I wanted and take photographs without time constraints. I just looked for things that interested me or which I thought were beautiful. And you have to be careful, particularly in Japan, where so much is so very beautiful. If I have one regret about these two trips it’s that the vast majority of the photographs were taken in color. Perhaps one day I’ll create a color companion to this collection of 54  black and white images.