In an opinion piece on the limitations of access to crowdfunding projects, we made an argument for taking the initiative to explore sites that promote photographers from countries and cultures less frequently seen.
We're following that post with a series of short profiles that will collectively provide a starting point for an exploration of international blogs, online magazines, and pages. We began by looking at Kilele, We Take Pictures Too, Arab Image Foundation, Greater Middle East Photo, Space Cadet, Street Level Japan, and Kantor Berita MES 56. We continue the series today with a snapshot look at Japan Exposures.
THE BASICS
Site: Japan Exposures
Edited and published by: Dirk Rösler and Kurt Easterwood
Location: Japan
Recommended sample post: Japan in the 60s and 70s - through 4 photobooks
Frequency of posts: Low - a post or two monthly
Last updated: March 2012
In a sentence: A grab bag with everything from photographer portfolios and video photobook reviews to services such as equipment repair, photobook resales, and tech reviews.
Japan Exposures bills itself as "a personal introduction to Japanese Photography." Rösler and Easterwood are ex-pats based in Japan who have built a multi-faceted and eclectic site, offering their expertise and services on, well, basically everything. They post exhibition reviews, write informational posts on historical photographers, feature a gallery on the site, and do video photobook reviews. They particularly focus on Japanese photobooks, but by no means is this a singular focus of the site.
Rösler and Easterwoo also offer books and camera equipment for sale that they source from Japanese stores and resell with a minimal service fee, giving access to the Japanese market at what they say are prices below eBay or US resale prices. They also receive cameras for repair that they send to the appropriate shop, especially useful for odd parts and brands no longer manufactured.
Japan Exposures can be followed on Twitter and Facebook. They also have a Tumblr page.