Lee

Printing is something I’ve both thoroughly enjoyed and fully embraced over the last few years. It’s the final piece of the photographic process, and one that in a time of screens everywhere and constant scrolling feels more important than ever.

With that in mind then, I’ve updated my print shop with the 12 photos below. A selection that I hope is appealing as well as providing a good amount of variety. Images that will work in different spaces, along with one that’s even ideal for the water closet.

Should you be interested, the link to my shop is here. All prints are A4 (8 x 12 inches) and will be shipped anywhere in the world by registered Japan Post air mail. I should also add that if any of my other photos appeal, just get in touch and we can sort a print out.

There’s definitely something special about old Tokyo laundrettes. Their soapy smell is certainly a factor, but more than that it’s their wonderfully dated signs and retro details. Elements that hark back to a different time. An era that nowadays at least seems simpler and slower, making it easy to imagine the conversations that were had in such spaces. Also the books read rather than screens scrolled.

All of which is more than likely a rather romanticised ideal, but either way, these old and surprisingly resilient businesses are almost always interesting, so this is a selection from over the years, with all of them taken in Tokyo except the last one. A lovely little place that I simply couldn’t leave out.

There are lots of dilapidated structures on these pages, from dated markets to once busy drinking streets, but due to its location and truly tumbledown nature, this old corner building is without a doubt really quite extraordinary.

A lot of my time is spent in Tokyo’s older, eastern districts, but I also like to wander areas more towards the west, and especially Shinjuku and its environs — a part of the city I’ve been photographing for years. These then are images taken on a couple of recent meanders in and around those neighbourhoods.