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- Yo, Look at These Zines (Photo Edition) - Vol.01
Yo, Look at These Zines (Photo Edition) - Vol.01
Got my hands on a few new zines, and yep — they’re too good not to share.
Yusuke Nagata
June 03, 2025
How many zines do you have?
If you’re thinking about making your own, I highly recommend starting by collecting other people’s zines. They’re full of ideas, styles, and inspiration that you might not have thought of on your own.
I’ve been picking up new zines pretty much every week lately—and in this issue, I wanna share some of my favorite recent photo zine finds. Here we go!
🚨 Almost Gone: Just 15 First Edition Copies Left
My latest zine, “404 CONTACT SHEETS – NUTS.TOKYO”, is almost sold out—only 15 of the original 100 copies remain. I’m beyond grateful for the response in just three weeks since release.
There will be a reprint at some point—but if you want the first edition, now’s the time. Once it’s gone, it’s gone.
With 116 pages, this is my biggest and most detailed zine to date. You’ll get a rare look into my shooting process through full contact sheets—how each moment was captured, and what I saw before picking the final shot.
Curious? Grab yours before it disappears. 👉 Get your copy here
Table of Contents
📚 Here Are the 4 Zines I Picked Up Recently
1. out west. by Branko
I recently did a zine swap with Branko @branko_35mm when he was in Tokyo, and this is the zine he gave me—out west.
It’s a collection of black-and-white 35mm film photos taken in Cheyenne, Wyoming. For me, it’s a city I knew nothing about, so flipping through the pages gave me a fascinating glimpse into what life looks like in a small American city today.
While we were talking, he mentioned how Tokyo feels like a city full of photo opportunities. But at the same time, it’s also saturated—so many photographers are here, always shooting, that the sense of novelty can sometimes feel diluted.
Still, seeing out west. reminded me of what photography is really about—showing us worlds we’ve never seen.
That’s what makes photography exciting. And to me, zines are one of the best formats to amplify that magic. They let us travel to unknown places through someone else’s eyes.
It was also such a nice surprise to find that the zine came with a 6x9 print! Thank you Branko!
Zine Details
Title: out west.
Photographer: Branko (IG: @branko_35mm）
84 pages
Printed on 115 GSM matte paper
Includes a video zine (And the idea of adding a video zine via QR code? Seriously cool!)
If you’re interested in grabbing a copy, definitely hit up Branko. Also, he recently started a newsletter—definitely check it out!
Branko’s Newsletter👉 visualstimulation.substack.com
2. A January in China by GARY ROTTER
This one is absolutely amazing.
I met Gary @iamgaryrotter two years ago, and we’ve caught up every time he’s visited Tokyo since. But I had no idea he made zines—so when he handed me this one as a gift the other day, I was genuinely surprised.
The zine is made up of photos from his time in China, and every single shot is incredible. Since it’s all in color, it really pulls you into the scenes—like you’re right there, seeing what Gary saw through his own eyes.
It’s a nearly A5-sized booklet, laid out in landscape format.
That design choice lets the horizontal photos take up a lot of space, so even in a compact zine, you get a full view of the details—it’s such a fun format to flip through.
When you’re making a zine, there’s always the dilemma: vertical or horizontal layout? What size?
But looking at a travel zine like this—where the photographer is documenting a place from an outside perspective—it actually makes a lot of sense to stick to horizontal images.
Vertical shots often highlight a clear subject, while horizontal ones allow more context to fill the frame, making them feel closer to how we naturally see things.
That extra context helps us feel the journey more, like we’re traveling alongside the photographer. At least, that’s how it felt to me—what do you think?
Thanks again, Gary, for this amazing zine!
Zine Details
Title: A January in China
Photographer: Gary Rotter (IG: @iamgaryrotter)
40 pages
Published in March 2025
When we met, Gary mentioned he wasn’t planning to sell this zine—but honestly, he should! If you’re interested, definitely reach out to him and let him know!
3. Tokyo Funk by Alexander Muñoz
Some of you might already have this one—it’s the latest zine by my buddy Alex @alexmunoz.foto!
When I first flipped through it, I was struck by the unusual colors.
No wonder—Alex used Fujifilm 100 and 400 film for this project and experimented with various home development times to create his own unique color palette.
He’s already moved back to Fukuoka, but the time we spent together in Tokyo was unforgettable.
Set in 2022—when the pandemic was still lingering in Japan and most people were wearing masks—this zine captures the stark contrast Alex felt between the energy of Tokyo’s daytime and nighttime scenes.
It’s a vibrant, powerful look into those shifting moods.
Zine Details
Title: Tokyo Funk
Photographer: Alexander Muñoz (IG: @alexmunoz.foto)
40 pages
Available now on his website.
Print sets are also on sale—and since his zines tend to sell out fast, you might wanna check it out ASAP!
4. EYE TO EYE by Sorami
Last but not least, I want to highlight the latest zine by Sorami @soranni__—someone we’ve introduced before at FAR EAST DARKROOM.
She made her first zine, confusing you, when she was just 18, and this is her second release. The cool thing about this one is that all the photos were taken during a single night in Shibuya.
I’ve always said that making a zine is like making a mixtape—what matters most is just making it. And this new work from Sorami is the perfect embodiment of that spirit.
Sure, it’s rough around the edges—but that rawness is exactly what gives it its zine-like charm.
Ever since I started this newsletter, people have been asking me how to make a zine. And my answer is always the same: it’s totally okay if your first one is rough or low quality. Just make it.
Once you create one, you start noticing things—maybe next time you’ll choose different paper, or bump up the resolution, or tweak the colors to print better. That learning process is only possible if you actually make something.
You don’t need to aim for perfection from the start—because it’s a zine.
Just like Sorami did, you can build a whole zine from one night’s worth of photos. What matters most is taking that first step. This zine is a great reminder of that.
Zine Details
Title: EYE TO EYE
Photographer: Sorami (IG: @soranni__)
40 pages
This zine isn’t available at FAR EAST DARKROOM (yet!), so if you want to get your hands on a copy right away, reach out to Sorami directly!
🎉 Announcement: I’m Hosting a Birthday Exhibition from June 12!
This year, I’ve been trying to create more chances to meet people—so I’ve been actively joining zine events and hosting exhibitions. And guess what? June is my birthday month!
By pure luck, I’ve been invited to hold a solo exhibition from June 12 (Fri) to June 14 (Sun) at Bar Shikatanaine in Shinjuku—starting on my actual birthday.
Since it’s at a bar, I want to keep things chill. I’ll be showing my work, of course, but I’ll also be running a 35mm slide projection session. That satisfying ka-chunk sound as the slides flip—it’s so good.
Let’s have drinks, talk photography, and celebrate my birthday together!
📅 Date: June 12 (Fri) – June 14 (Sun), 8PM–4AM
📍 Venue: Bar Shikatanaine (about a 10-minute walk from Shinjuku Station)
🗺️ Address: 3F, Kunihisa Bldg, 3-10-11 Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
💴 Entrance: ¥800 cover charge
That’s it for this week’s edition.
Thanks so much for reading all the way through—see you next week!
P.S. I also wrote a blog post about Planet of Zines, the zine event I recently took part in. Check it out if you’re curious!
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