After two weeks of waiting for my film to be processed, it's here! I haven't really used a film camera for more than ten years, and I haven't really taken film photography seriously before. When I was browsing through travel blogs about Japan, I ran into a tip of buying a disposable camera and go around the city to shoot. Took the advice, and veered every possible chance of finding a camera in convenience stores but have not gotten any; on our second day, I found a Fuji store in Koenji and they sold disposable cameras for 1700-1800 yen for 39 shots. I got a Fujicolor Simple Ace disposable camera, a no fuss camera that literally just needs you to point to your subject and shoot. I really enjoyed the risk I took of shooting things carefully, there are some shots that went overexposed but majority of the photos went out to be just fine. 

Here are some prints that I was able to compile: 

Designers and Artists all have their favorite works, big or small scale, the criterion of making it into the favorite list would not be as complex as others think it is. At least for me, I consider a project a favorite when there is a strong collaboration between me and my client. Collaboration in a sense that I know that my client trusts my judgements and that they give me the freedom to translate their vision of their space. It's been quite some time that I actually worked on a space, I decided to lay low in Design and Construction because I want to prioritize finishing my graduate studies as soon as I could. But as I was collating my portfolio from last year, I came across to this particular project where I felt the most creative, and I felt the high respect and trust from my client.

When my client approached me to re-design his space, he was very particular in telling me how he wants this space to double as his home and an avenue for entertaining chosen guests. He also was strong about the idea that this place will be the gathering place of prayer, worship, and spiritual discussions among friends and brethren in Christ. The client also gave me the hint of how much he loves staying at hotel suites and enjoying the cozy and welcoming space.

With this, I decided to provide a space that is not limited by it's space but instead one that works around its given space. I played around the idea of muted colors, play of lighting, and the elegant juxtaposition of the Parisian-New Yorker Penthouse aesthetics.

Since it was a condominium unit, I retained the existing open plan of the common areas to maximize the distribution of the natural light coming from the window and to give an illusion of an elongated and wide space. Another thing that I loved in working with this project would be the sourcing of products, it was a mix and match of modern and classic pieces from both luxury and thrift brands. I wanted to show how a space can be designed and presented with a complete function given limited the space.

In my attempt to jumpstart my Tokyo journal, I have put together some photographs that I took of bicycles and their surrounding areas. In the next few posts that I will be writing, I will show more of the things I saw and observed. In the meantime, I hope that this Tokyo bike photo essay would at least speak for the things I saw and appreciated during our trip.