Happy Christmas!

...to all my cyberfriends and to everyone who's reading this.
I'm truly grateful that I have met and made friends with so many creative, unique and inspiring people, much love to you all!

The wonderful Martine Roch (aka Petite Chose) sent me this beautiful image, one of her latest creations, thought I'd share with you.


You should check out her flickr site, her works are truly amazing.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/petitechose/




P. S. 　I'm in love with this song.

Happy Christmas!
xxoo
Michiko

Georges de La Tour and Candle Light

One Hell Of An Imagination

I would like to introduce to you amazing works by Madonaperra aka Jesus Almeida, a Myspace friend of mine.
I wish I had this incredible imagination....

Go to his Myspace and check out the picture albums.

And his flickr site
http://www.flickr.com/photos/jesus_almeida

The Way Things Go

My great Myspace friend Maximillian introduced me to this interesting work by Peter Fischli and David Weiss. Here are a couple of excerpts from this precisely crafted amazing 30mintues chain reaction.

The Best Vintage Photo Archive

Check out this wonderful site.
You won't be dissapointed.
Square America
(A gallery of vintage snapshots & vernacular photography)

Sceneries of Japan in Old Photographs

Seeing vintage photographs of Japan from Meiji-Taisho era is such a strange and wonderful experience, it does not make me feel like slipping back in time but it's like seeing a life in mysterious exotic place that never existed. It's the romanticized and exaggerated view of Japan created by/for foreigners. I love it that these photographs are so free from all the traditional Japanese values or ideas, they make me notice and appreciate the beauty of my country in a different way. Not that I don't appreciate the history and traditional culture of Japan, it's about seeing things in different perspectives and discovering new ideas.

Unknown

618 Temple at Shiba, Tokyo by Kimbei Kusakabe

M2 Papenberg Rock by Adolfo Farsari

Moat Round The Tycoon's Place, Edo by Felice Beato

I'm particularly fascinated by this last photograph by Felice Beato.
It looks, to me, as though the traditional values and authority associated with the architecture (Edo Castle) are ignored, and what's important here is the beauty of the structure, the composition and the shapes.

Some more photos by Felice Beato

All the photographs except for the "unknown" are from this Japanese site

Meiji Taisho 1868-1926 Showcase