The Japanese Showa period, coinciding with the reign of Emperor Hirohito from 1926 to 1989, is noted as one of Japan’s most tumultuous and transformative eras. During this period, Japan went from a militaristic empire to a conquered, occupied nation – one that had experienced first-hand the horrors of atomic warfare. After WWII, it crawled out of the embers of defeat to metamorphose into a liberal democracy and an economic powerhouse.

Against this backdrop many Japanese photographers would emerge to document the profound changes in their nation with bare, raw realism. Others pushed the boundaries of long held societal norms and taboos.

In Jazz music there is an emphasis on improvisation. Musicians often create impromptu solos and melodies during performances, building on the musical core. Similarly, film photographers often work with finite control over the final image. As many analog photographers are aware, the development process and the nature of film can lead to beautiful, unpredictable and one of a kind results. This element of improvisation in both allows for the artist to produce creations of spontaneity and individual expression.

Undoubtedly, AI will make us more productive but will it come at the expense of our creativity. How do we foster it, when AI can generate images that can be produced within minutes by a few selective prompts on a computer? In a few short years, it has become increasingly more difficult for the average person to tell the difference between artificial images produced by algorithms or with a photographer’s eye. The possibilities of what it could produce consistently in a few years is frightening.

There are times when the only thing I want as a photographer is simplicity: film, a box for capturing light, a great lens, and a reliable light meter. The Yashica FX-3 Super 2000 introduced in 1986 and the CONTAX S2b entering the market in 1994 satisfies these photographic needs. Both are minimalist cameras with mechanical shutters and both share the Yashica/CONTAX (C/Y) lens mount.