Generally, I really don't like having attention directed my way simply because of my hair color, eye color, or body. This sort of attention is unwarranted and based on superficial observation and objectifies me. There is one type of attention which I rather like and that's when I take a picture of something strange and the Japanese folks around me notice and look very carefully at what I'm taking a picture of. Considering the nature of this blog, I'm often taking pictures of things which are considered mundane. I like the fact that this puzzles people because I want them to wonder what a foreigner might find curious and ponder their own culture, if only for a moment. I also know from my Japanese friends on FaceBook that they find what I take pictures of of particular interest because of how it reflects their culture in a manner they have never conceived of before. I think seeing your own culture through very different eyes has been of great value for me, and I hope to provide a little of that value in return.
Interest in my picture taking sets off what I hope is a process of examining ones own culture and what may be a curiosity to others, and I'll miss the potential for setting off this mental dialog in folks.
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