In 2017, I met Manabu for the first time on a trip to Tokyo with my friends Micca and Ryan. Our meeting was brief, but over the years, he became more than just a friend; he became a mentor, an older brother, and someone whose quiet presence has shaped my life in ways I never expected. In December 2024, I stayed with Manabu at his home in Hatoyama, Japan. For six days, we lived simply, walking his dog Natty, sharing coffee and conversations, photographing whatever felt like should be frozen in time. This body of work and the photobook that it produced is a thank you. It is also a reflection on friendship, learning, and the passage of time. His name itself means “to study” or “to learn,” and in many ways, that is exactly what this book represents: what I have learned from him, about him, and about myself. The first edition is limited to 25 copies, each including a special edition print on Ilford Galerie Washi Torinoko Japanese photo paper. Manabu is now available on my webstore and via direct message through my Instagram. I hope to soon exhibit this work and see you there.
When I came up with the idea of this magazine back in February, it was to simply put something physical into the world that showcased a few of my friends’ photographic work. I had a bit more time on my hands when the virus first spiked in South Korea and I had just started working remotely from home. As a teacher who is typically one of the last people to leave the building during the school year in normal circumstances, I found great freedom in working from home and the breaks I took felt like they really disconnected me from my work. It felt like I finally had the time and the mental energy to embark on a new project.
Initially, I used that time to start sketching and brainstorming what this zine would be and look like. I wanted the timeline to be free of unnecessary extraneous hurdles and I wanted it to be achievable in what I thought would be a relatively short amount of time. Even at the start, I already wanted the project finished. However, I had a few non-negotiables in terms of a final product. It had to feel like a substantial final product. It had to be a product that the photographers involved would be proud of. Lastly, it had to be something that focused on and felt true to the work of all of those involved. It had to be done with integrity.
It had to feel like a substantial final product. It had to be a product that the photographers involved would be proud of. Lastly, it had to be something that focused on and felt true to the work of all of those involved. It had to be done with integrity.
As they say, anything that is worth doing, will take time. Not long after, I found myself engulfed in the process of tailoring the finer of details of which I swore I wouldn’t mull over when I first started the project. But I quickly began to realize that things that are worth doing will take time, and in that time, you should appreciate the journey just as much as and if not more than the destination.
I would like to thank Ryan for getting on board with me for this project. Working with your best friend can be a challenge, but it’s one of the most rewarding experiences throughout the creation of this zine. I appreciate the honesty and the challenges that come along with such a relationship. At times, working with someone who knows you so well can be extremely validating, but it also provides a necessary pause and outside perspective that is invaluable when making a final product that is being created with others’ work and is intended for a wider, diverse audience.
Whether they are visual or conceptual, this first issue is full of flaws. I would be very hesitant to call them mistakes, but rather a set of prompts that call for us to do better next time and to be more conscious of how and why we are making the decisions we do and improve accordingly. Alas, we are happy that this thing we have created is real and we are grateful that it has made it to your hands. I hope that while we have your attention, that this zine provides a space to appreciate the experiences and photographic work of others who carry a film camera to capture the world around them.
Details:
A4 Size
Cover: Luxury Rendezvous Ultra White 240g with Matte Coating
Pages: Luxury Rendezvous Ultra White 160g Matte
Perfect Bound
118 Pages
Photographers: Zhou HanShun, Roman Permiakov, Fred Mitchell, Ryan Berger, Kyle Horton, Letao Tao, Dylan Barnes, Michael Ivnitsky, Alexander Donalson, Victor Norgren
Ordering: You may pick up a copy at the following stockists or order your copy online now at www.overunder.dev/
These photos have been hanging up for the past few months at Cafe Hey and will soon be taken down. I just want to thank anyone who has walked by these photos and took a moment to enjoy them. Ryan and I enjoy nothing more than being able to display work and bring people together around the images we make. We make literally no money from the opening events we put on, we don’t sell prints; and this time we didn’t even bother to put our names next to our images.
With all that being said, we are going to sell prints of our images from the show and donate all profits to a charity of our choice. For any print sold, I will be doing my small part by directly donating to the Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School Victims Fund and any other of their officially affiliated campaigns. As an educator, this event and the movement forthcoming from the surviving students and families is more than close to my heart. So, please consider buying something or even just sharing this sale.
If you’re at all interested in purchasing, simply fill out the form below to get the ball rolling.
I have been meaning to get some sort of merchandise made while I start to plan my newest photo book which should see completion some time this fall, so I went out and got some stickers made. And after a few weeks of designing a few I was happy with and waiting for printing, they are finally here!
There are three unique designs in a 4.25″ x 2.75″ format that can be obtained in a set simply by clicking here.
I would love to see where you decide to stick them, so if they happen to fall somewhere on your social media accounts, simply hashtag #nowdeveloping and/or mention @now.developing on Instagram.
At the beginning of the year, I wrote out about forty New Year’s resolutions. Yeah. Forty, I know. I keep that list in my phone and I try my best to reread it everyday to remind myself of the goals that I have set forth for myself for this year.
One of those forty goals was to self publish a physical book of photographic work. Needless to say, I am proud to say that in less than three months I have completed that goal and it looks like that goal will form a new goal of having a showing of the body of work in the near future.
The short 20-page publication that I have published under the Now Developing name is aptly entitled twenty seven, twenty eight. The background of the work from the book itself reads as follows:
“These images were cerated between January and December 2016, a time frame that encapsulates my last six months of being twenty seven years old and the first six months of being twenty eight years old.
This work stands as a personal visual record and reflection of a time where unexpected, tragic, and transformative circumstances, both direct and indirect, made me become more aware of my interrelation with others through ambivalence, loss, and despondency.”
The timeframe that these images were taken come from one of the toughest and trying years I have experienced in my life. The work magnifies the hardships that me and others very close to me have encountered in the past year. This book serves as the closing of a chapter of my life and moving into a better mental and emotional place.
The amount of love and support I have gathered throughout the design and printing processes has really touched my heart and I could not have done it without the support of those people.
If you would like to obtain a copy of the book, you can now order one through my personal website here. I apologize for any long waits in shipping times, but please expect up to 10 days for shipping confirmation.
If you happen to pick up a copy, I want to sincerely give you my thanks. It is the raddest feeling to share my work with others and although this project is small, it means so much.
dylan barnes | blog 