Wonderful gift.... Selected by SHOTS magazine - issue no. 123 Spring 2014

I found the SHOTS magazine Spring 2014 The City in my mail box, yesterday. I opened it without knowing anything about the issue and the first thing I saw was, my photograph (on page 24 and 25. the center of the magazine!) First I felt... "Am I inside The Twilight Zone?!" What the wonderful surprising gift?! Like I said, I really didn't know about this, at all!

To me, the series of the photographs are a significant turning point of my life. Very important evident. I'm so very happy to see the image in this special way...  I sent an email to the publisher to tell my gratitude. And I received a personal message, "I'm glad you liked your "surprise" (excerpt of the nice email) Wow! Really wonderful.... I certainly felt... spring has come! :)

Love,

Toko

http://tokoshiiki.com

Website Renewal 2014

I wanted to re-design my website for a long time, since it was not convertible to smart phones. (No one could open the galleries, before) I know many people see pages on their phones now. So, finally changed. Now anyone can open it on their tiny phones. But! I still think... bigger monitor is so much better to look at images. And also  I STILL THINK prints are better to absorb the messages from the images. (not easy to have the opportunity to show in the printed-format but really, I still think so!) Anyways... Here is the new born website (address is same) Get a cup of hot chocolate or coffee, and enjoy ;)    http://www.tokoshiiki.com/

Toko

International Photography Awards 2013 - 1st Place in People - Other category

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE:

2013 International Photography Awards Announces Winners of the Competition

Toko Shiiki was Awarded: 1st place in People - Other category for the winning entry "Time Traveler"

Winners Gallery: http://www.photoawards.com/en/Pages/Gallery/zoomwin.php?eid=8-61485-13&uid=39214&code=Other_P 

About Work:

At the conclusion of psycho-therapy, I decided to travel to Japan, to visit several locations from my childhood. During therapy, I had visited these places, in my mind, in order to find my own lost little self. When I would find "her" there, I would hold her hand, to live every "now" together. This therapy was beneficial, but, I kept wondering: "Are these places actually the dark places I remember? Shouldn't I witness those places now, in order to confirm that these stories belong to my past?" I decided to photograph my self in these environments, as evidence of my process.

About Winner:
Born in Japan Lived, Learned, and experienced in Tokyo most of her life and moved to Michigan, USA 2005. I have a passion for photography that tell a story. Many of my images are inspired by my life experiences. Now, I have been working on the "inner-life documentary" project, to visualize what I've experienced at this present time... I find photography to be a most effective way to express my view of the world (inside and outside.) No matter what my subject is, I want to create images that tell a story. But it is my hope that every time people see my photographs, they will feel encouraged to interpret the images in their own way. Art is my life power, and I am still finding ways to let it speak through me...

About IPA:
The 2013 International Photography Awards received nearly 15,000 submissions from 103 countries across the globe. IPA is a sister-effort of the Lucie Foundation, where the top three winners are announced at the annual Lucie Awards gala ceremony. The Foundation's mission is to honor master photographers, to discover new and emerging talent and to promote the appreciation of photography. Since 2003, IPA has had the privilege and opportunity to acknowledge and recognize contemporary photographers' accomplishments in this specialized and highly visible competition. Visit www.photoawards.com for more details.

Contact:
Toko Shiiki:
tokophoto@gmail.com
http://tokoshiiki.com

IPA Contact

Linda Dzhema
Director, International Photography Awards
linda@iawardsinc.com
 
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 Thank you very very very much for everyone who really supported me to do this project, from heart..... Thank you....

Toko

http://tokoshiiki.com