= Dutch Light

soooooooo cold these days, it just won't get warmer. my muscles don't work well in this kind of weather. however, when it is cold, the air becomes so crisp and one can get a shot at good images. good thing i was inside a boat : ) ...

dutch light, very famous from the old masters, witnessed first hand. maybe the nicest thing about holland? hmmm... just kidding.

http://www.hollandslicht.nl

exploring amsterdam by boat with a friend visiting from kyoto. it was his first time in amsterdam so it is always special being able to give someone a first insight into a place. it will decide whether it will be I LOVE AMSTERDAM or i DON'T. all went smoothly and it was very enjoyable amongst rain, snow, sun and clouds ... all in 1 day !

was going to head to tokyo again in a week but seems like there is not enough european media attention for the upcoming tokyo collection / tokyo fashion week in tokyo. i always see all the updates from milan, paris, new york and london. i wonder why tokyo is still so separate and divided. sure, many reasons why geographically it is quite separated from the rest of the shows but i feel the level of creativity in tokyo's fashion scene ranks way up there compared to the rest. at least it has a lot to add ...

from the media organizations i see a lot of interest in always portraying crazy outfits through street shooting. basically the old harajuku outfit (goth loli etc...). amazing how in this day and age, for most that seems to be the best representation of japanese fashion.

i will miss being at tokyo collection this year : (

well...the freelance years have been good but on to reality: i am looking for more solid work and one of the places i am looking is JAPAN ...

if anyone by any chance happens to know of any opportunities that currently exist in tokyo or elsewhere in japan, i would be grateful to hear about them. of course i can provide a resume and portfolio if anyone asks.

i am looking in the field of publishing, design, communication, press etc...

in short: i am 37, German national. i speak german, english and dutch fluently. french and japanese i speak on an intermediate level. education and experience in design (print and web), photo-journalism and international business.

i know many of you might also be looking but, hey, why not try and ask, one never knows.

THANKS !!!

been on the japanese mixi (mixi.jp) community for quite some time now and i have seen so many people put in their profiles under the heading interest/hobby: diet.

DIET?? never saw it as a hobby or interest but i guess more of a necessity for some people. when i think about hobby i think about something fun. i guess there are so many diet products etc... out there that it becomes fun finding the best diet strategy? ... not sure.

enlighten me !

it has been a few weeks since we went to paris but the purpose of such a trip is twofold. one to see something else and the other, of course related, is to escape from the usual surroundings. the nice thing is, the experience can be summoned at any time, when feeling a bit dull, stressed out etc... so, after two weeks or so, here it is again: the relaxing but ice cold paris day. thinking of it makes me relax and see things in a bright light.

things to enjoy in paris are certainly the general atmosphere and visual appearance, beautiful museums (centre pompidou, palais de tokyo - museum of modern art, and many others), bit "dusty" fashion. things not so enjoyable are grossly overpriced food and drink, not so friendly parisians and some cafes which consist of 80% cigarette smoke and 20% oxygen.

all in all, though, a time to remember !

the last few months have been dominated by a new feeling, a new life coming, changed responsibilities, however, at this point still very abstract. modern technology is amazing, though. the photo shows an echo of our child at around 4 months old. i wish i could communicate already .... moshi moshi !

a new life affects our lives in many ways. where will we live, what to do with my/our professional lives, what about upbringing, where is the safest place. since our child will be half german/japanese, we think about what languages to use, etc... etc... also, the seemingly impossible situation to find a suitable daycare center. waiting lists are sometimes almost 2 years, brothers and sisters will get priority. then the price of daycare....so expensive. one month full-time 1,200 Euro, i was shocked !! however, the government subsidizes so the actual cost maybe only around 40 percent of that.

everything is happening at once these days, so trying to turn my freelance work situation into a full-time stable opportunity and at the same time preparing for the new arrival. confusing, nervous, stressed out but also very excited.

excuse my irregular journal updates : ))

New LINK is out ( www.linkmag.nl ) ... as a steady contributor i usually focus on japanese fashion themes. For the new edition I photographed and designed a street fashion spread and collage working together with up and coming tokyo stylist Tsuyoshi "Jealousy" Takahashi ( www.jealousy.jp ) ...

===============================

part of the spread is a poem i wrote depicting the tokyo fahsion scene:

surface of ice
core of lava

escaping the daily
prison of tradition
and jumping
into the sea of neon lights.

every day artificial
every day different.

i want to be different
letting my lava flow
justifying my love
for fashion...

allowing me to be me.

===============================

PEACE OUT ...

big city
big ego
many SMALL lives
feeling BIG to us.

wonderful to see at night time, looking at lit-up windows with many stories, happiness and tragedies hiding behind them. puts all into perspective.

crowded but alone
we walk
the jungle of
urban dreams
and stings.

......... on the train to rotterdam on my way to school i overhear a lady in her early 50's talking to a colleague about work. she complains that due to automation she no longer has the personal contact to people she once had. "I used to know who to call for certain tasks and we always had a long personal history so we trusted eachother and it was easy to get things done. Now I have a list of people I have to call who I don't know and who will then arrange for someone to come."

She sounded lonely and alone. Her colleague, a bit younger than she is, seemed to care less about it. He can only see the advantages in this more "efficient" system. He just says: "But it is more efficient and, anyway, these days it doesnt matter where your laptop and phone stands". HMMMMMM ... I don't know about that...I can certainly feel with her ...

In this world of i-pods, e-mail, cell-phones, blackberries, laptops, WIFI, Hotspots etc... we are proud to have the newest gadgets but we are loosing one thing: THE ABILITY TO COMMUNICATE. We say things in e-mails that we never dared to say face to face, we pay for our groceries at the supermarket register with our i-pods on or our cell phone glued to our ear frying our brains. Soon will there be any stores at all? Why even bother going outside? We communicate with ..... WHO ?

I don't like it !

and I wish we could somehow go back in time, getting some personality back into our lives. Why are there so many people suffering from burn-out or in need of fighting their loneliness with endless shopping sprees??? Everyone needs the feeling of being accepted and I think giving back personal acceptance to people will be the best and "cheapest" anti-depressant available, and all of that OVER THE COUNTER .....

bright lights
big city
big heart
big smile

why cry
when happiness
lies in the small
things.

from now on
I will search
for big smiles
in small things
and places.

LET"S ALL TRY AND SEE WHAT HAPPENS !?

from the land of bikes and cheese, i wish all of you a happy 2006 with lots of health and happiness. as always the beginning of the year is ruled by idealistic new year resolutions, so i say: let's go for it and have some fun !

i will be in tokyo in april/may, so anyone who reads this is in tokyo and feels like meeting up, let me know.

end of year, a new year to come. i am finally starting to relax but my thoughts are heavy.

in 1997 i changed my career. once a wall street trader, now a photo-journalist with a focus on japanese fashion. inbetween some stints as graphic designer, headhunter, english and german teacher and manager of a business development division. it sure sounds like a life with a clear direction hahaha

how important is success and what is the price of it? how do you define success? for me success is achieving something worthwhile and valuable with a tight team of people. so that is something to work on in 2006. my work is interesting, yet frustrating since i work alone, so i am in search of a tight and inspiring team of people to work with. then there is location ... europe or japan ? hmmm, not sure but i believe that japan has some exciting times ahead, especially in the professional field and category of interest i am in. my next trip to japan will be in april/may, so that will be the time to really explore some serious opportunities.

so ... the thoughts are heavy but full of excitement and motivation. time to break out of the comfort zone and move ahead. oh...and one more goal ... that i can write the same thing i just wrote in japanese by dec 31, 2006?

happy new year....

may it be merry
for each and everyone.

photo from over a year ago (harajuku crossing) but current use. using it in a collage used as theme for my first skirt i am designing. tomorrow is review ... always getting nervous around review time. photos of skirt will follow sometime soon ... i really think i found something i really enjoy - fashion design.

hidden emotion

i am sad
i am angry
i am excited...

behind the mask
i hide them ... unexpressed

the emotions
that rumble inside
my inner core
of sensitive reality.