Some 16 year old Japanese high school students spend their winter vacations lazing around at home in front of the playstation or DVDs, others hang out with their friends in karaoke boxes or shopping expeditions, others immerse themselves in their club activities or cram schools.
And then others, like my grade 10 student Yuki, travel around Japan at their own expense, trying to find the perfect train photo. Yuki is a classic Otaku - an obsessive [train-spotter/camera] geek. A very damn talented one, it seems. He creates these little full color booklets of his photos every term, and leaves a copy in the English staffroom.
The teachers all chuckle a little (the word Otaku gets bandied around with an indulgent smile), but they completely support and encourage this unusually talented boy - after all, who knows - maybe he'll turn his train-passion (according the definition in the link above, he is a "gricer" - a photographic trainspotter) into a legitimate photographic career. He took this magnificent photo in Northern Gunma prefecture in January, while I was sailing around sun-drenched Fiji.
frangipani wrote this on February 17, 2005 11:39 PM
Comments
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jizes, yuki's a star. i say encourage his otakuism. that's a fabulous picture and to find kids with such passion (and talent) is pretty darn impressive. you go boy
ha, jonny! i was just about to say the same thing! what a great photo. this kid is a superstar, for sure.
On February 19, 2005 5:16 AM,
Dustin Appel said:
Wow! If you ever see Yuki again, tell him that this picture is awesome and if he pursues taking pictures of trains as a career, than good luck with it. Not that he needs it by the looks of it.
folks, glad you all like it too. snowdrenched, hogwarts express-ish, magnificent! Dustin, I see Yuki every week and have already told him that this picture (and some of his others) could make him money. He hadn't ever considered that, but you could see the clock ticking over in his mind as we talked.
Yuki-san could put his otaku-ness into a book - "Nihon no densha"
Wow what a talented 16 year old. I am so impressed.
On February 19, 2005 10:39 AM,
Riddhi said:
Yuki-kun is amazing! Props to him for breaking the mold.
On February 20, 2005 10:41 AM,
Ellie said:
what I find so amazing about this talented boy is that he takes pictures of TRAINS. Not of nature, not of people, not of buildings... trains. That is one crazy interest... and that is one crazy photo. Trains...
This pic is... well, as everybody said before, this pic is wondeful.
I'm just so happy that people can spend time for what they love, no matter what others may say, and can express their talents.
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