BLUE COUP D’ETAT

new york
.
.
.
.
and
.
.
.
.
the eye of the jedi

back in april i had my appendix taken out right before it exploded, these are some pictures from around that time
pictures of participation
shot counter shot -
making chiz laugh
chiz laughing
chiz cherry blossoms blooming
chiz and the blue truck
chiz is very short
me in the emergency room, waiting seven hours for surgery
my tired hero who took care of me (she doesn’t like this picture)
she didn’t even have a chair in the emergency room, she either stood or leaned on my bed the whole time but she stayed and made sure i got into surgery and helped me go to bathroom when i needed to
thanks baby

just got back from a trip to edinburgh and amsterdam, no pictures from those places in this post though
these pictures are from march 2007 when there was a fire in my building
a woman died in the fire, my heart goes out to her son and her family
observer photos-
a pen holding open a window
the gerry rigged light on the second floor of my building
the apartment that caught on fire (it looks almost the same five months later which is very sad)
a dictionary drying out in the sun
an umbrella pulled from the wreckage
spring time sky
street sleepers
prostitution kills
evening sleepers and subway living
a woman in a closed store
the building down the street from my place

ron
need i say more?

139th and riverside
some morning in late 2001

part of collaboration is to listen to collaborators
another is to listen to what tugs at you and won’t let go
even if it is counter to what everyone else is saying
take the chance of being wrong
might just be ok

waking up with young working as usual
bye bye suitmen
rainy fake empire state building
girl standing in a puddle
helmet dude flip off
sweeping rain
lockers turn left
a real dude and up to the right
shinjuku station entrance
express train to the airport - arrival, entrance, sitting
escalator
check the departures
shrine to the little girls
and that statue behind it

here are our 11 favorite pictures that kimiyo took of the wedding
thank you so much kimi!
not just for the pictures but for being there and being a great friend

stayed in tokyo a couple extra days back in feb 2007 to help young shoot a film for visvim called “dissertation riko teepee project”

pictures of the set - actually visvim’s new office prior to renovation - an old rice packaging factory
desolate and strange
the movie turned out good, i’ll have to post it sometime, lyrical

another roll of “lost film”
left it at the seattle airport because i had it hand checked due to its high 1600 asa
good work seattle via jetblue
a lot of low light pictures from tokyo japan feb 2007
a cold, wet weekend alone at suitman’s place, he was in sendai for the opening of a visvim store
wandering the streets, exploring the neighborhood
mostly i remember the cold and the wet and playing video games on young’s ps3 but there were times that i ventured forth and these are an almost random record of those times
also testing the film stock which i like very much
pictures include:
family
waiting
proper way to bend down to get your change out of the pop machine
comfortable seats and subway germ fear
escalator
music store tokyo punk girl listening
a round bench
real estate agent selling to his bicycle
a very small door
snoopy oden
fruit store
dry cleaning
flower shop
rain, rain, rain (three pictures)
hut in the darkness
the corridor of park habio
the suitman outside

this first and for most: let it tell you what it is
very important to listen
the footage knows when it sings
and it will sing to you if you let it
be open
follow rules but break them when it is right
have accidents
controlled accidents
or maybe a better word is be aware of accidents and take note of them because they often open new doors
it is clay, not a house of cards

some pictures i took and derek took on my wedding day
getting ready
hot day cab ride
i got the money
going in
sealing the deal

old stuff from a roll of film i thought i lost
mustache and a pink wig
nurses, pirates, long noses and anime characters
drunken smiles and far off stares
laughing
margaritas at five am
time to go to bed brooklyn blue shirt chiz

i got married to chizuko
photos courtesy of davi russo
witnessed by
derek cianfrance and kimiyo okubo (they also took photos but not included here)
a special day full of love