I put together a short list of notable photobooks from 2014 for The Japan Times ¹.

Ryuichi Ishikawa ¹, a promising photographer from Okinawa who I’ve introduced here, has a show at a space in Shibuya from 11/7 – 11/24.

Update 11/8/2014: Ishikawa will also be releasing two photobooks with Akaaka ² very shortly. Big moves!

© Ryuichi Ishikawa

I first met Okinawan photographer Ryuichi Ishikawa at the 2011 Higashikawa Photo Festival ¹. Many of the portfolio reviews in Higashikawa are done in a semi-public fashion, so I could watch as he filled an entire table with prints of his color portraits—while still keeping an immense stack in reserve. At the time, Ishikawa’s photographs seemed competent, and certainly showed plenty of energy, as it seemed like he’d photographed every person he’d ever come across. That actually might have been the case, because he uses a Hasselblad with a digital back (an investment which caused his reviewer a small shock).

It’s generally not that fruitful to discuss cameras up front, but in Ishikawa’s case I think it’s worth mentioning, because his newer work shows a significant improvement. On the one hand, he’s gotten better technically, avoiding the 6×6 format trap of always having the subject in the middle of the frame. More importantly, though, it seems like he’s gone a bit deeper in finding his subjects. In each case, the ability to literally shoot for free can only have helped his development. Ishikawa was awarded Honorable Mention at the 2012 Canon New Cosmos of Photography.