I’m not too sure when or where or how I heard of Hiromix. It was after I (re)discovered photography (October, 2010), before I started shooting film (late-2013) and before I started reviewing photobooks and filming unboxings here (June, 2015). It was probably 2012 or 2013, sometime before I got into film, so I have an idea of when… but where, why, and how I first heard about her, I have no recollection.

One thing I do recall: Hiromix gave me a direction to head, something to strive towards that I sometimes forget, but still hope to find one day. Her work serves as an ongoing influence, and she’s one of my favorite photographers.

For all my claims to being a fan of 1990s Japanese photography, it was 2017 before I ever heard of Yurie Nagashima, and 2020 before I ever bought a book. Now, after spending quite some time with Self-Portraits, her new-ish book from Dashwood, now in its second printing, I need to get on bookfinder and find some more…

Mika Ninagawa’s Sugar and Spice came out in 2000 and was pretty popular: my copy is the 7th printing, from 2004, if that’s any indication. Strangely, though, the book doesn’t appear on Ninagawa’s website and despite my best efforts, I’ve been unable to find any reviews or any real discussion of it online anywhere, and only found a brief mention of it in a biography of Ninagawa at Nippon.com. Maybe this (admittedly bad) review will provide some exposure.

“Choosing & Losing” is a subscription-based quarterly zine from John Whitmore, featuring his words and images around some sort of theme. For Issue #2, Q2, 2021, Whitmore takes us back to his 2015 walk along the Inca Trail.