Observation + Imagination = Evocation
As photographers, we need to be constantly observing our surroundings, noticing the things others perhaps glance over, or hanging a left when others are venturing right. Through this continuous practice of observation, we can begin to anticipate scenes unfolding much like an author describes the intricacies of the protagonist, the battles with the antagonist, and all the details of each particular scene.
On countless walks through central Kobe, Japan, I’ve taken thousands of photographs. Most days I am left skunked, but rarely am I disappointed. Alex Webb said that 99% of photography is failure. Wayne Gretzky said that you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take. And what is it that Thomas Edison said? Something along the lines of instead of failing, he simply found 10,000 ways that did not work. With this in mind, I keep framing shots, pressing the shutter button, adjusting the ISO, and trying to place any potential disappointment in the backseat. If anything, a good photo walk will yield about eight to 10,000 steps and a chance to breathe some fresh air. It will also yield around 100 frames, depending on caffeine level, light conditions, and subject matter.
While out photographing the world the other day, I was listening to a lecture series about writing fiction by author and professor James Hynes. At one point Hynes mentioned “observation plus imagination” in regard to character development in fiction writing. While my current bucket list does not include composing a novel, I do find these lectures quite intriguing. I’ve started to draw parallels between attempting fiction writing and trying to become more effective with my photography. As photographers, we need to be constantly observing our surroundings, noticing the things others perhaps glance over, or hanging a left when others are venturing right. Through this continuous practice of observation, we can begin to anticipate scenes unfolding much like an author describes the intricacies of the protagonist, the battles with the antagonist, and all the details of each particular scene. However, simple observation may not quite be enough to yield a photograph that brings joy and satisfaction. We need imagination as well. Imagination in photography could be attempting new perspectives, using a softer focus, intentionally over or under exposing, slowing the shutter speed to portray some sort of movement, or even breaking every rule of composition ever written and framing a subject barely coming into or escaping the frame.
Hynes also poses that fiction writing needs to not only be descriptive, but also evocative. One can easily describe a scene or a character with a handful of carefully chosen adjectives, but to evoke takes writing to the Nth degree. And maybe that is what the best photography does as well. It stirs something within us so deep that we cannot quite explain what makes the photograph stand out. We simply know it does.
Keep observing. Keep imagining. Strive for evocation.
Central Kobe | February | 2026
YOU ARE NOW AT A BRIGHT EYES CONCERT
If you have been to a Bright Eyes concert in the last year or so, you surely noticed that the band made it very apparent as to where you were at the time. Behind the band there is a digital message that reads in big upper-case letters: YOU ARE NOW AT A BRIGHT EYES CONCERT.
If you have been to a Bright Eyes concert in the last year or so, you surely noticed that the band made it very apparent as to where you were at the time. Behind the band there is a digital message that reads in big upper-case letters: YOU ARE NOW AT A BRIGHT EYES CONCERT. It is a simple sentence, truth be told. As an identity-seeking linguist, I thought it would be interesting to analyze this sentence for all it’s worth by diagramming its syntactic structures. Trying to make sense of a sentence that has now been seen and consciously or subconsciously processed by thousands of Bright Eyes fans is wonderful fodder for any wintery afternoon.
But first, I must pose a question: Why do you think Bright Eyes has such a display at their live shows? What is the implicature of this message? Of course, taken for its semantic value, it simply states that you are, in fact, now at a Bright Eyes concert. Easy enough. But what about its pragmatic function? Could it imply that, since you are now at a Bright Eyes concert, you should put your phone away and take in the show without posting immediately to social media? Or does it entice the audience to snap more photographs of the stage decoration, posting it online and therefore giving the Bright Eyes namesake that much more visibility on all the social networking platforms? Regardless, it’s a brilliant marketing tactic.
See the image below for a syntactic tree structure of the sentence at hand. We have the sentence as a whole, but within the sentence, there are two noun phrases [“you” and “a Bright Eyes concert”], a verb phrase [“are now at a Bright Eyes concert”], an adverb [“now”], a prepositional phrase [“at a Bright Eyes concert”], a preposition [“at”], and a determiner [“a”]. There is quite a bit going on in this sentence - and in any sentence, really - syntactically.
Language is everywhere. Pause, take a look around, and have a deep think or two about what a string of words has the potential to imply.
Linguistics aside, it was wonderful to see Bright Eyes perform after what had been just over 20 years. They were in top form, played a smattering of songs from their entire catalog, and left us all thinking more profoundly about what “One For You, One For Me” means.
Bright Eyes at Yogibo META VALLEY | Osaka, Japan | December 3, 2025
See Your Heroes on a Tuesday
Seeing Jawbreaker take to the stage and break into “I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both,” from the record that broke them was so disorienting that it took 45 seconds for me to figure out what song they were playing, despite knowing it as well as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.”
I first heard Jawbreaker on Revolution Radio in the fall of 1995. I was alone in my living room. It was cold. It was dark. It may have been raining. The moment “Fireman,” from their major label debut Dear You, transmitted through the airwaves and onto the three-disc changer AIWA bookshelf audio system, I was instantly hooked. The clashing guitars, the pop of the Rob Cavallo-produced snare drum and the smooth delivery of lyrical poetry grooved a much needed neural network in my brain, one that would soon be treated to an entirely new canon of music. As soon as I discovered Jawbreaker and their then - and even more so now - revered back catalogue, they disappeared - a major record label deal gone sideways and a once welcoming - on the fringes, at least - punk rock community disowning them for abandoning life in the van. Fans were left crushed. Having just discovered the band that could save our generation, and then after coming to terms with the fact that we would never get to see them perform their genius on stage, was disheartening at best. It was akin to discovering The Beatles’ catalogue in 1966, only to shortly after learn they had put the brakes on live performances. In a way, this was worse. At least The Beatles continued to record and release music for another four-plus years. Yes, Jawbreaker were our Beatles - at least in a very underground and imaginative sense.
Blake Schwarzenbach gives Adam Pfhaler (not pictured) a nod
You can imagine that, 30 years after first hearing “Fireman,” finding myself on my way to a small club in Osaka’s Umeda district with a ticket to a Jawbreaker show in my left breast pocket was a tad more than surreal. Seeing Blake Schwarzenbach, Chris Bauermeister, and Adam Pfhaler take to the stage and break into “I Love You So Much It’s Killing Us Both,” from the record that broke them was so disorienting that it took 45 seconds for me to figure out what song they were playing, despite knowing it as well as “Twinkle, Twinkle, Little Star.” That neural network was reconfiguring itself in real time, barely able to process what was unfolding five metres in front of me. It wasn’t until five or six songs into the set that my mind settled in and actually began processing what was happening: my heroes playing the melodies and singing the lyrics that carried me through so much of my teenage angst, 20-something coming of age nonsense, 30-something self-rediscovery, and my now mid-40s, reflectively sentimental self. A single tear streamed down my right cheek when Pfhaler perfectly queued the voice sample on “Condition Oakland.” The driving guitars complemented the cruise-control drums all the way to the final breakdown, with all its double snare hits and intermittent rhythmic patterns. This is my condition.
Chris Bauermeister (bass) and Adam Pfhaler (drums) dialing in the rhythm
The remainder of the set was a blurry dream-like euphoria, like the opening and sharing of a bottle of a 1995 Château Cheval Blanc to celebrate a 30th wedding anniversary. I tried my best to take it all in, to be fully encompassed by the noise, and to let the memories of listening to Jawbreaker over the last 30 years simply exist. To finally hear Blake sing “1, 2, 3, 4: Who’s punk what’s the score!?” in the same room, in real-time: his guitar perfectly out of tune, a broken string, a crowd-surfer, a sing along.
Blake Schwarzenbach offers a cheers to the crowd with a freshly cracked near-beer
Listening to Jawbreaker sounds different now and in the best way possible. I can reflect on a memory I once thought impossible, while revisiting late-night drives, mixtapes with “Jink Removing,” and the fantasy of how spectacular it would have been to actually see them play live. Go see your heroes, even if it’s a Tuesday.
Jawbreaker at Club Quattro | Osaka, Japan | December 2, 2025
30 Frames Has November
One photograph a day for 30 days.
A photo-a-day project is nothing spectacularly new and on the surface may seem pretty easy, albeit an inconvenience at worst. Simply press the shutter but once a day, have a decent archiving method, and after a predetermined period of time (in this case 30 days) the project is complete. However, to pose a question in tag form: Nothing is as easy as it seems, is it? Yet with persistence and a daily goal of just getting one slice of life, it is and was very possible.
For this particular project I wanted to challenge myself a little bit more than a simple snap each day, so I set the following guidelines/rules:
1: Portrait framing only.
2: Set the ISO to the ridiculously high level of 51200.
I have always enjoyed pushing a camera to its absolute limits and since my camera does not go any higher than 51200 ISO that was the limit I chose. Honestly it did feel like the camera was dragging itself through the month and I missed a ton of shots due to its slower response to the request I persistently gave it. But I just imagined I had ISO 512000 film in the camera and let it fly - no excuses or questions asked.
Overall it was a challenging and rewarding month of photography. I did tire a bit of only portrait orientation and when I finally lowered my ISO it felt like I had a brand new camera. I am quite happy with most of the photographs and even caught one or two that I would be happy to rediscover years down the line. I would welcome round two of this next year, especially in November when the light softens and leaves begin to change and twirl to the pavement.
Below are a few of my favorites from the month. The entire project can be viewed here.
