Room
Turntable View

Collecting Photobooks and Magazines

Koni Omega Camera

I think I really discovered the joy of it around 2014, when I gave away a lot of paperbacks and decided I’d only spend money on art and photobooks instead — stuff I couldn’t read on my Kindle. That didn’t last (I still buy plenty of novels), but my photobook collection really grew, especially after visiting Taiwan and Japan. I’m really drawn to the history and artists from Asia.

As for the objects themselves, I’m not totally sure why, but I think part of it is this need to feel safe and comforted. It just feels good to have things I love around me. I like the idea of being able to share them someday — maybe with kids, maybe with friends, maybe just with myself when I’m older. I look through them pretty often. I’m especially into photobooks that show everyday life — families, neighborhoods, old buildings, or moments from a certain time or place.

Magazines

  • Camera Mainichi – 1978 (12 issues)
  • Rinko Kawauchi – Illuminance
  • Masahisa Fukase – Ravens
  • Kazuo Kitai – Sanrizuka
  • Shomei Tomatsu – Chewing Gum and Chocolate
  • Takashi Homma – Tokyo Suburbia
  • Juergen Teller – Go-Sees
  • Nobuyoshi Araki – Sentimental Journey
  • Takuma Nakahira – For a Language to Come

About Kes

Late thirties. Alive.

Attempting to make a website.

Vegan Journey

Since I was 15, I've been on and off following a vegan/vegetarian diet, doing my best to reduce my intake of animal products. I grew up on a farm with rescued racehorses and have been surrounded by animals all my life. I despise any form of animal abuse or cruelty. Naturally, I'm very against the practices of the slaughterhouse industry, prioritizing profit above all else at the cost of deep psychological harm to workers, dangers to nearby communities, and unimaginable suffering for animals.

I don't want to eat beings who died terrified and crying out for help. Once you start seeing "farm animals" as real individuals, they're no different from dogs and cats, creatures many cultures see as friends, not food. Cultural differences shape what we think is normal or horrific. Some countries eat cats, dogs, cows, pigs, dogs, horses. None of it is objectively right or wrong, it's just subjective.

I don't care what others eat. I just want people to understand why some of us choose to step away from it.