Photographer Sean Bonner’s New Book Project Documents People on the Streets of Japan

Los Angeles and Tokyo based photographer, Sean Bonner, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for his planned book project featuring Tokyo street photography. Captured around the streets near his office in Shibuya and surrounding Tokyo, the series of images captures citizens as they go about their day-to-day journey. Bonner has launched the campaign to raise funding for the book, which he hopes will contain around 35 final pages and printed in an 8.5” x 8.5” square format. Currently, he’s seeking to raise $3,000 which will go to the book’s production costs.

A passion for street photography, Bonner prides himself on carrying his camera everywhere he goes. This has resulted in him amassing a collection of images that say something unique about the different places he’s traveled. Since he often splits his time between Los Angeles and Tokyo, he found himself creating images as he watched the denizens of the metropolis go about their day. His goal with his images is to reveal a little bit of truth, a little bit of fiction, and to leave a lot to the viewer for interpretation.

The images in the book have been shot completely in black-and-white which Bonner credits for creating a forced constraint. He also likes to allow the light and shadows to “do their thing” and reveal something about the scene. His plan is to sell around 65 copies of the book through Kickstarter and if sales go beyond his goal he wants to include a signed limited edition print with the copy of each book.

Bonner had previously shown some of the photos featured in the book in a gallery exhibition in 2014, but the book will be the first curated collection of the images as they were originally taken. Equipment he used throughout his process include Leica M film cameras, a Roliflex, a Minolta, and even a Voitlander. The photos were shot on Fuji Neopan 400 and 1600 and he worked exclusively with prime lenses.

Using his previous experience in bookmaking to see the project through, Bonner doesn’t foresee too many potential risks in completing his goal. For those looking to pledge their support, they’ll have access to rewards such as a signed photograph of one image featured in the book, and even a signed and numbered copy of the final book. Estimated delivery of the completed book is June 2017.

To get more information about Sean Bonner’s Tokyo Street Photos project or to even pledge your support, visit his Kickstater page here.