Uchujin 2014 review

Crikey, are we here already? another year gone by?
It’s been a busy and fulfilling one, work wise one of my best ever.
Deep heartfelt thanks to all the new friends and colleagues I made and thanks to the Friday night crowd (you know who you are) for keeping me relatively sane in the face of all the facepalming maddness.
Let’s take a little look back shall we…………

January

246 Tokyo Shitty ©Uchujin-AdrianStorey_2014_02_01

There was the piece on the  punk shamisen player done with journo and hair bear bunch member Richard Smart, a conversation with Sean Bonner that got a little edgy and one of my favorite music videos that I’ve ever directed/shot/edited for Fleck ESC.

 

Feburary

281_Anti nuke "Tokyo" ©Uchujin-AdrianStorey_2014_02_22

The release of the Greenpeace films that were part of the “Fukushima:Don’t Forget” piece that I had shot and edited the previous month and drinking (the legend that is Matt Greenfield and amazing photographer Laura Liverani were in town – blame them:) took up almost all my time.

 

March

Green Man Dance © John Storey

Finally my 281_Anti nuke film was released on VICE Japan to coincide with the anniversary of the Fukushima disaster and I started my latest tattoo based on a “Green Man” design by my father.

 

April

818-666-HUGE - Uchujin in LA

My first visit to the “land of the free, the home of the brave”  – Shooting with amazing cameraman and lovely guy, Jonas Schonstein at NAB in Vegas for News Shooter then driving back together through Death Valley to LA where I hung out with (he needs no fancy introduction, if you know, you KNOW) Sean Bonner, another stupidly talented photographer and really one of the nicest, most generous people I know Patrick Ecclesine (stupidly fucking handsome too the bastard:) and one of the “top 50 most beautiful women in the world” Donna Feldman.
Also went to karaoke with Anri Okita, which was interesting.

 

May

Weird rabbit paste up in Shibuya ©Uchujin-AdrianStorey_2014_05_15

Directed/shot/edited a kickstarter video for Dave “Shoot Tokyo” Powell for his stunning “Shoot Tokyo” book that ended up getting insanely over funded, Directed/shot/edited a “bGiegie how to” video staring (that man AGAIN) Sean Bonner for my friends at Safecast who continue to do amazing work and my 281_Anti nuke film released the previous month started it’s summer long residency at the Pori Art Museum in Finland as part of the East Asian Frames exhibition.

 

June

Me and My Grandparents (mother's side)

My Dad sent me loads of old photos I’d never seen of our family which made me cry like a baby,  I was a guest lecturer at “Deciphering Japan” at Tokyo University of the Arts on my birthday, I started playing around with drones and I did a video production job for a BIG client with some billionaires that I’m not allowed to show you or talk about.

 

July

 

 

Did a modelling job for Regal Shoes (yes as a model NOT as a cameraman you cheeky lot), was refused entry to a bar in Kamakura because of my tattoos (go fuck yourself Japan), the video I shot last year for Cross My Heart Hope To Die was played at their first ever live show at Shepard Fairey’s Subliminal gallery in LA but I couldn’t go :( I did get listed above Will Wheaton on the list of collaborators which I’m sure will be the only time I appear on a list for anything with Wesley Crusher :) and I did a shoot about renewable energy for the German Government.

 

August

The Catalan finger ©Uchujin-AdrianStorey_2014_08_22

My Catalonian friends Lluis and Regina were in town and Lluis kindly visually explained to me why Catalan isn’t Spain (see above:) , I did a crazy shoot at Fuji Speedway for MacLaren cars but never got to ride in the amazing P1. Saw some interesting street art.

 

September

Went paragliding with the womens world champion which was really something special, I was shooting at Tokyo Game show with Ben McKelvey for the Australian TV show “Jetpack nation” and I went to a jazz bar with some dubious ornaments somewhere in the boondocks of Tokyo.

 

October

Did a photo shoot of the RUDEST sushi chef in the world for Jyllands Posten the largest Danish Newspaper with the fabulous journalist Thomas Davidsen, was playing around with after effects , put out my 2014 show reel. , bought a ridiculously hipster pair of jeans, had a dubiously named pint and just as October was over I flew to Sydney………

 

November

Sydney ©Uchujin-AdrianStorey_2014

Was in Australia visiting family for the first half of the month sightseeing and drinking from lunchtime onwards, took some photos of street art (unsurprisingly) , did a little shoot for a Tokyo based start-up while I was there and basically just fell head over heals in love with Sydney as the most liveable city I’ve ever been to. Got addicted to a mobile computer game that my brother is one of the top players out of 7 million in the world at! Went to see West Side Story at the Sydney Opera House with a live score by the Sydney Symphony Orchestra. The yen became the new peso and I watched as my savings became worth less and less outside Galapagos on a daily basis. I also went to Akita prefecture to direct and shoot a spot for a new Alcohol start up. Phew…….

 

December

what he said

Shooting for my new best mates Michael Fordham (of huckmagazine fame amongst other accomplishments) and Neil Siner (I thought I had a foul mouth:) from PostFuel (simply the best client in the world ever.period.) at the Mooneyes custom car and motorbike show in Yokohama and at Liberty walk Lamborghini customizer in Nagoya with the translation and fixing help of the inimitable Miss Sophie Knight and managing to fit in dinner with Peter “kink.com” Ackworth somewhere in there. Buying new shoes (not a big deal? you try having UK size 12 feet in Japan and buying shoes!), finishing off some edits and sending out invoices (oh invoices how do I love thee).

And that my friends is that.

Despite me thinking that 80% of humanity is a waste of oxygen and making sure they know it (I don’t mean anyone reading this, obviously:) – Happy Jesus’s birthday and Merry New Year to you and yours, be sure to swing by here again in the new year because big changes are afoot in Uchujin land…….

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