Con ib to s
tr u r
Welcome to 3ft Left Magazine. Our name comes from a line in Douglas Adams’ unfinished novel The Salmon of Doubt
and the idea that such a minuscule change can be the difference between a picture to revere and one to discard.
“He was constantly reminded of how startlingly different a place the world was when viewed from a point only three feet to the left.”
We would like this magazine to become more than just a glimpse of the Japan seen in postcards. By sidestepping to the
left, we hope to offer a unique perspective on life in Japan. While emphasizing Japanese street photography, 3ft Left will not
be limited to any one style of photography. The contributors are free to fill their pages as they’d like.
3ft Left is publish bi-monthly and
we don’t want you to miss anything.
To receive new issues as soon as they
are released, sign up here.
We are starting with four photographers and one writer as regular contributors, or Residents as we’ll refer to them, and
plan to grow the team to ten by the end of 2015. We have Tokyo and Nagoya represented in this inaugural issue but aim to
gather contributors from more cities as we continue. We’d also like to publish bilingual issues once we recruit a translation
team, so don’t be surprised if you notice more and more Japanese along side the English text in future issues.
The seeds of this magazine were planted by Neil Gaiman’s 2012 commencement speech, and a manifesto on legacy
projects by Chris Guillebeau (he’s since written a similarly themed book, titled The Happiness of Pursuit). Our goal is to
“make good art” by sharing the intoxicating beauty found in the streets of Japan. We are flâneurs roaming, searching,
yearning to capture light and maybe even time itself. We hope you’ll join us on the journey and watch us grow along the way.
Sincerely,
Will Fitch (editor) & the whole 3ft Left team
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