11,711

On my studio wall is a postcard with a quote from Henri Cartier-Bresson which says 'Your first 10,000 photographs are your worst' (I actually did a rough count because I got curious of where I'm at, well, it's more than 11,711, suppose that means I'll be good soon). I leave it there as inspiration, not just for the words but the postcard itself. It came from Project Basho back in 2008, back when it was still new and I was allowed to thrive in the middle of this every growing creative life force.


I remember the first day I went to Project Basho, I was sure I had the wrong address because all I saw was boared up rowhomes in the wrong part of town. But then Tsuyoshi opened the door and welcomed me into what became my second home in Philadelphia.

I decided to ease into life there so I signed up for a medium format class. I was nervous because I had never shot bigger than 120 film before, and I didn't do that well to be honest. I'm used to shooting fast and don't have enough patients to painstakingly create the perfect image on those giant screens. But that didn't matter, I could tell this was a place I needed to be, as much as possible.

I threw myself into any work they would give me, updating the website, learning coding and about metadata, helping with the darkroom, assisting with framing, events and emails. In return I found a home and a family. I was allowed unlimited late night access while Yoshi visited his family in Japan. I was given my own key and made friends with another artist, Al, who shared my late night darkroom tendencies. We sang, we dance and printed into all hours of the night.

Yoshi taught me colour printing, introduced me to classic photography films and made me appreciate good Japaneses tea and classic mochi. One night we had shared a dinner of Indian food with a gentleman from the Ivory Coast who had to flee the country because rebels were going to kill him because he worked as a security job in the city. It was a fascinating time in my life and I am so proud to see how much Project Basho has grown over the past few years.

And that is what I think of whenever I look at that postcard, the wonder that is Project Basho and the amazing impact it had on my life.

If you're near Philadelphia stop into this hidden art gem, the 2011 Onward Show is on now until March 27.