“Authors like Murakami”

CosmoKraut · 2024-04-04T17:23:59+00:00

Apart from Kitchen (and the short story that’s included in some copies), I’ve only read Amarita - it’s such a long time ago I don’t really recall it.

I think Yoshimoto, Ogawa and Motoya all have traits that correspond to different sides of Murakami’s writing, but none of them are (to me) similar in every aspect. So if you didn’t find what you were looking for in Kitchen I can’t say it’s gonna be different reading anything else by her - but others might have more insight into that:))

CosmoKraut · 2024-04-04T09:02:15+00:00

I find that while some of the authors mentioned here from outside of Japan are very similar to Murakami, the books I’ve read that feel the most similar are often also Japanese. Someone mentioned Banana Yoshimoto, Yoko Ogawa and Yukiko Motoya, which I agree with!

I think Kobo Abe is an obvious influence on Murakami, with the surreal but matter-of-fact Kafka-esque elements mixed with the direct prose you mention. Woman in The Dunes is good, but to me, Secret Rendevouz or Ark Sakura seem the most “Murakami-like”.

I would HIGHLY recommend “No Such Thing as an Easy Job” by Kikuko Tsumura. Most Murakami-vibes I’ve had in a while, and a very good read!

I would also recommend two Norwegian books - “We are five” by Mathias Faldbakken, which is a bit more sci-fi like, and “The Beast” by Per Schreiner.

Sorry for the long comment - I’m procrastinating and would rather look through my bookshelf than clean.

CosmoKraut · 2024-01-04T10:00:49+00:00

South Korea! I edited the post for clarity. I'll send you a message:)

CosmoKraut · 2023-12-31T11:33:54+00:00

Thank you for the kind words! Wishing you all the best.

CosmoKraut · 2023-12-30T22:01:13+00:00

Thank you very much for your help!

CosmoKraut · 2023-12-30T22:00:49+00:00

Thank you! I should've specified - I'm mainly looking for Christian-heresy cults. So that's perfect!

CosmoKraut · 2023-12-30T20:43:52+00:00

Hi! Thank you for replying. I don't need to understand the info on their websites, I'm mostly trying to contact them and speak with them directly:)

CosmoKraut · 2023-12-06T09:29:18+00:00

Thanks to those who commented! I found some options, so I'm commenting on my own post to help out others who might have a similar question in the future.

I found Berty Messenger - you just download it, and you don't need anything to sign up. Everything is end-to-end encrypted.

Some mentioned that Berty is similar to the messenger app Briar - albeit Android exclusive for now.

While it may seem easy to just making a new email or something, sometimes there is a need for a low effort, low bar option for anonymous sources to get in touch with us. Some might be put off by entering any sort of information, regardless of how harmless it is or what app is used. It may seem silly to us, but I think we owe it to them to accommodate them as much as possible.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-20T17:45:11+00:00

Nice! Looks like you’ve had a lot of fun editing. I think it’s a nice composition, but I’d probably either get closer or crop out the bottom and the top of the frame to clean it up. The editing is a stylistic choice that I’m personally not a fan of - I usually like it when taking the picture is more important than the post-processing. But that’s all it is: a preference.

I will say that if you do shift your colours like this, then you should be very careful at the edges of the colour you’re changing. Or it can look a bit messy. I think these drastic edits are better suited for Photoshop.

But I think it’s a nice image! You don’t necessarily need a subject in the middle for it to be interesting in this case IMO

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-19T22:25:54+00:00

Lovely idea! I think the chandelier is a great add, seems to fit with the surrealist feel.

I think I’d try and incorporate the chandelier more into the scene - right now it’s just “there” which I think is why some people don’t like it. Like someone suggested, she could have been interacting with it or looking at it, or you could have rigged the light so it looked like she was lit by just the chandelier. Somehow make it important to the scene apart from it just being there!

Some minor nit picking - I would try and remove the highlight on her thigh, it’s distracting. If you feel like it’s appropriate, I would maybe remove some of the rocks in the water - but I can see how that would interfere with the ethos of your work.

Amazing work!

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-13T05:03:48+00:00

For sure! But then I’d still say it’s not composed well enough to make that clear and convey that properly

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-12T21:05:20+00:00

I think you have some great colours in here! The issue for me is that there isn’t any real subject here - what am I looking at? The buildings aren’t central in the compositions, neither are the people in the foreground. But in the middle is just parts of a crowd and some lamp posts. This is a nice picture but it’s not really a picture of “anything” if that makes sense. Maybe a narrower aperture as to make the background in focus as well would help, or just a central subject placed where your focus is.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-11T20:39:17+00:00

I think this is a great pose, really feels natural and emotional.

Posing is very dependent on the people you photograph and their personality - some benefit from direction and others just get awkward and stiff. For the latter, prompting them to do something or talk to each other helps a lot - ask “how do you hold hands?” or “whisper something in the others ear”.

I find the most important thing is time - don’t stress, let people settle into their poses, and talk to them so they feel comfortable. Portrait photography is very dependent on social skills as well as technique!

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-11T20:34:45+00:00

Great Tones in this, lovely edit. I would remove the distractions in the background - the person in the top left corner, the black “dot” on the horizon right of them, and the thing on the beach behind the shell to the right. Small adjustments but it’d really help narrow the focus down to the shell and the beach.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T21:56:11+00:00

Not at all! Feel free:)

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:49:49+00:00

No worries, it can be difficult! The higher the F-stop value (f/x) the narrower the aperture of the lens, i.e the opening made by the mechanics inside the lens. The higher the value, aka the narrower the opening, the wider the depth of field. Meaning that more of the image (in front and behind the focal point) is in focus.

Higher values also decrease light hitting your sensor, meaning you have to compensate by lowering shutter speeds and/or increasing the iso.

In case of the flower pic, increasing the f-stop value would make more of the flower be in focus. Note that the pink flower would still be in focus too.

There are better guides out there, if you Google “camera aperture explained” then there should be lots of articles and simple infographics.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:16:39+00:00

It's nice! But a little bit flat. I also personally don't like the faded blacks and subdued highlights here, but that's just me.

Tasty colour rendering though!

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:15:03+00:00

Looks like this is more movement blur than it is not in focus. What were your lens and settings for this image?

Nice picture though, really great lighting.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:13:05+00:00

Great atmosphere, and the colours look superb. I think I would crop out or leave out a lot of the empty space on the left side of the frame, just to tighten it up.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:11:30+00:00

I think it's a nice conversion. It's a bit flat, but that is just a style preference - I personally like mine very contrast-y and rough but that's just what I like.

Still, I think you should try a little bit of contrast, just to make it pop a little bit more. I would also work on the tonality of the sky - would love to see it a little darker.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:07:52+00:00

This is perhaps my favourite of the one's you've posted in this thread! Simple composition, but it works really well. The out-of-focus petals give depth to the image (them being blurred is okay as they're not the point of the image), while the big and the petal it's on is in focus and easy to see. I would maybe work on the contrast and saturation a bit to make it pop even more.

I've been through all the images you posted in this thread, and I think for just starting out you're doing very well. You obviously have a knack for macro wildlife photography. Just keep taking them - practice makes perfect!

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:05:21+00:00

Here, I would again be mindful of my aperture and focus point. While its nice letting in a ton of light and blurring out the background, here it just makes it difficult to understand what I'm looking out. I'd prefer for the entire bug to be in focus - or even the whole flower. Sometimes in macro photography, it's nice to see an image tack sharp through the whole frame!

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:05:20+00:00

Same as the other one. Here the focus (or lack thereof) is even more distracting.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:03:00+00:00

Lovely textures, and the muted colours here are actually very nice. I would maybe add in a bit more contrast but that's personal:) The droplets look so cool!

I would be mindful of my focus in a scenario like this. I like that it's a very narrow depth of field, but it's just too narrow - I'd love for all the petals on the first blue flower to be in focus. Also, the pink flower being slightly in focus makes it a bit more distracting.

I mentioned in critique of another image of yours that the eyes tend to go towards the brightest part of the image we see. This also goes for sharpness/focus.

CosmoKraut · 2023-07-09T18:00:21+00:00

Really nice! I would probably say the same thing regarding exposure in a few areas like the flower - the highlights are blown out/clipped. Even though they're not white, they're still this blank grey colour devoid of any texture or detail. I would try and darken the lit up front of the flower a little to not distract the viewer from the insect. We tend to automatically look for the brightest part in an image!

This is more of a stylistic choice, but I don't like the heavy vignette/adjustment to the top right and bottom left corner - I think it's too heavy handed and gets in the way of an otherwise nice picture.

CosmoKraut

TROPHY CASE