The area around Tokyo’s Shinjuku station might have the highest concentration of photography galleries in the city. Still, Third District Gallery might be in the most interesting spot of all, located as it is on the fourth floor of a narrow building, directly above this shop:

Haruto Hoshi (星玄人) has been holding a series of exhibitions at this gallery for a while, each titled “Street photo exhibition” #1, 2, 3 and so on. I’ve always picked up his flyers while visiting other shows, but this is the first one that I’ve seen.

As in other countries, there’s a tradition in Japan of taking a camera into the “underbelly” (or whatever) of a big city, and flashing away. Just because someone’s done it before doesn’t mean it can’t be done again, though, and there are a few reasons why I think Hoshi’s work isn’t just imitation.

In the first place, he’s not only wandering around looking for interesting people to flash. It seems clear that in some of the pictures, like the one below, he has a connection to the people he’s shooting. This makes everything more interesting; aside from drawing out a different character of the subjects, it makes me more curious about Hoshi as a person, and why he’s taking these pictures.

Aside from this, I think he’s edited his pictures well to bring out more of the scenery. It’s a simple comment but I like the aesthetic of shooting things a little bit wide; it’s nice to see more of what’s happening. The flash often picks up interesting textures, and I have the feeling that Hoshi is looking for that just as much as for interesting people.

The light intersecting with this man’s eye is from Hoshi’s camera—it’s not glare from a light in the gallery.

She’s posing with a cardboard cutout, possibly of herself.