Luciano Rigolini’s new book: What You See

Bruce Osborn’s Oyako

We featured Bruce Osborn’s fascinating photo series, Oyako, a little while back on Lost At E Minor. Osborn lives in both Los Angeles and Tokyo, where he works as a commercial photographer and directs TV commercials and music videos. This shot is one of my favourites from this series that looks at the relationships between Japanese parents and their children, running the gamete of society ‘including Kabuki actors, punk musicians, policemen, Buddhist monks, and porno actresses’.

Armed America portraits by Kyle Cassidy

The Armed America website compiles portraits of the owners of weapons in America. Photographer and writer Kyle Cassidy traveled more than 12,000 miles for more than two years taking pictures of armed Americans in their houses, all the while looking for the answer to the complex question: ‘Why do you own a gun?’ Cassidy’s work has become an item of incalculable value, not only because of its conceptual strength, but also because of the description of the way of living, feeling and thinking of many inhabitants of America. Read more

Rafal Milach’s Black Sea Of Concrete series

Of his series, Black Sea Of Concrete, Polish photographer, Rafal Milach says: ‘Eight photographers from Sputnik Photos collective were asked to cover contemporary Ukraine. Some got particular assignments, but I was free to choose the topic. As I knew I would be working in winter, I decided to go to the Black Sea. I wanted to have raw landscapes and real people. It was the only time of the year when I was able to avoid the tourist facade. The other reason why I picked the Black Sea coast was the fact that, for many years, it was a place where the entire Soviet Union went for summer holidays. Since the Orange Revolution in 2004, Ukraine has been an independent country, but still, very often, people are not able to detach it from its Soviet past. You can feel that strange mixture by the Black Sea coast’. Read more

Harajuku’s Style Deficit Disorder

It’s just a few winding blocks in a city bursting with over twelve million people, but the influence of Tokyo’s fashion hub Harajuku extends way beyond its physical reach. Style Deficit Disorder is a new book by US born, Tokyo-based author and fashion editor, Tiffany Godoy, that documents the dizzying array of trends, movements, styles and designers the district has spawned in its short history. Heading out onto the streets like a fashion anthropologist, Godoy interviews wearers and designers of signature looks now synonymous with Japanese style like kawaii (cute) and goth-lolita, while feature essays from some key players in the magazine industry show just how crucial the neighbourhood is as a platform for new labels. From big hitters like Rei Kawakubo’s Commes des Garcons to Nigo’s A Bathing Ape, as well as smaller scale brands including Milk, Baby the Stars Shine Bright, Super Lovers and Sophnet, they all got their start on the streets of Harajuku.

Sydney is Hijacked

For lovers of contemporary photography, the Internet can fast become a second home. Hijacked is a new exhibition at Sydney’s Australian Centre for Photography that gives you a damn good reason to get off that chair and head into a gallery to see new work by 44 of America and Australia’s most exciting emerging photo media artists. Embracing a sense of wanderlust, the show features photographers whose work is informed by the street and many have a particular bent for documenting subcultures, alternate lifestyles and urban landscapes. Read more

Lemon Poppy Seed

Creating letters from sky might seem an impossible task. Not only is this done very nicely by Lisa Rienermann in Type the Sky, but her aerial approach to typography sits comfortably among the pages of a new book from Die-Gestalten. Lemon Poppy Seed: Multitasking Creativity is a compilation of work by a diverse and international selection of young designers bonded together by their independent spirit and a desire to push the boundaries of graphic design. Read more