Losing My Shadow by Steven Ford

Issue 58

Recently someone asked me, "Why did you choose Tokyo?" I hadn't thought about it before, but I answered without hesitation, like I'd known all along: "I didn't choose Tokyo, Tokyo chose me."

My first trip, I was running from my myself and from uncertainty. The moment I landed, I caught a terrible cold and spent the week in a haze. I don't remember much, except that I hated the food, hated the weather, and was irritated that nobody would look me in the eye. Vowing to never return, I went home.

Six months later, I finally looked at the photos I'd shot and knew I that I had to go back. So I went, and I'd always return home thinking, "that's it, I'm done, time to move on to something else." But I kept getting drawn back.

Tokyo became my escape and my mirror. Here, I'm safe in the crowd, isolated without loneliness, collecting small reflections, reassurances that I'm not alone.

Steven Ford lives and works in Chicago, IL.
To view more of Steven's work, please visit his website.
Follow Steven on Twitter @fotoford

You can purchase a photograph by Steven Ford from the Fraction Editions.