About Me

I was born 5 July 1950 in San Antonio, Texas.

Before coming to Japan in 1990, I was a better than average photographer in Los Angeles; mostly actors' headshots.

Now, I'm a better than average English teacher in Takasaki, Japan.

As an English teacher/photo-enthusiast, when I'm not correcting my students' pronunciation and grammar, I like to spend hours and hours every week riding my bike through the streets and sleepy neighborhoods of Takasaki looking for art in ordinary places. I hope you'll enjoy what I've found so far.

In addition to the joy I have found through photography here in Japan, I have also found and been married to a wonderful Japanese woman for twenty-two years; and I look forward to many, many more happy, healthy years together with her in our cozy little apartment in Takasaki.

Thanks so much for visiting.

Tim Dressler

About the Work

As I say above, I am an American photo-enthusiast living in Takasaki, Japan. The city is surrounded by mountains, rivers and forests, but I find myself mostly taking photos of the places and things I see every day. As a result, I have come to look more deeply to find a kind of art within them; “the art in the ordinary.”

My hope is that after seeing the work, people will become more aware and appreciative of the artful potential and beauty of the everyday places and things around them.

About the Website Itself

What's so special?

On this website I want to show both the "art" and "location" photos.

OK, why?

Because the location photos show the ordinary, everyday places
where the art photos were taken.

Again, why?!

After seeing them, I hope people will be inspired to look around
for the unseen art in the things they see every day.

How does it work?

In the Gallery, when you click any photo, they are presented by fading in and out. First the art photo, then the location photo, then a final fade
back to the art photo.

Is this done anywhere else
in the world?

"Yes," thanks for asking, at my exhibitions. But instead of fading, we
place the location photo under the title card of the art photo.
(See the photo below)

Anything else?

That's about it. Below are more detailed explanations about the
features on the site, but you can always come back if you need to.
I hope you'll enjoy the site!

(Interesting Details)

About Slideshow

There are three types of slideshows:

"Quick View"
This slideshow is for those who want to see the images more quickly.
It moves you smoothly through all of the photos and then repeats.
During Quick View, you have the option
to "pause" and view the "location" photos.

"Gallery View"
This slideshow shows both the "art" image and the "location" image.

"Photo Groups"
These shows let you select groups of images that have similar themes.



During the shows, you have the option(s) to:
  1. pause
  2. resume
  3. continue
  4. see the location photos
  5. go back through the photos
  6. go forward through the photos
  7. close the slideshow.
These functions are presented and explained in the “Help Screen” that first appears when you click on the blue "Help" button in the upper right corner.

About Gallery

At anytime you can stop the fading process and:

  1. Deja-View: go back and forth, again and again, between the
    Art Photo and Location Photo by clicking their icons

  2. Onward: go to other Gallery photos with the right and left arrows

  3. Devil in the Details: read interesting details about the photos by clicking “Details”

  4. Buy It!: get information about buying that exact print by clicking “Store”

  5. Back to Kansas: return to the main Gallery by clicking anywhere on the webpage

About "Videos"

In the “Videos” link, you’ll find a 4 minute and 16 second YouTube video of one of our exhibitions. It was held in Takasaki, Japan at a cozy little gallery in the headquarters of an electronics store chain called, “Yamada Denki”. It’s just me walking through the gallery, hand holding the camera; but I was lucky enough to capture good examples of how people were interacting with the work. One final note, as the map at the end of the video indicates, all of these photos were taken in the city of Takasaki.

Buy?… Buy!

The highest praise you can give an artist is not, “How cool,” “How wonderful,” or even, “How amazing!”
It’s, “How much!”
You can find the answer below.

To find out all the details:

  1. If you are looking at a photo in Gallery, click “Store”.
    This will connect you to that exact image on the Imagekind website.
    or
  2. If you are on the Home page, click "Store” and this will connect you to my gallery on Imagekind and you can look through the photos until you see something you like!

Imagekind has many framing styles and options, but my favorite format is “Canvas” (it’s also the least expensive!) After choosing the size and style of print(s) and mailing options you want, you pay them and they’ll pay us.
E-z peesy! ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

If you would like more information about Imagekind, here is the link to their Wikipedia page or you can go directly to their site.

Blurb

Please! Judge this book by its cover!

Self publishing is the new black and Blurb is the new Gutenberg!
Click below to preview and/or buy a 60 page photo book containing
44 art photos plus location images.



Link to my Blurb 12”x12” | Link to my Blurb 7”x7”