Photos by Derek Arnwine / Magnesium Photos
Text by Jim O’Connell / Magnesium Photos

Today, we’re featuring a set of photos by Magnesium photographer Derek Arnwine.
Derek’s been living in Tokyo for as long as anyone can remember. He lives in one of the suburbs outside Central Tokyo, in one of the places “where people actually live and work” around Tokyo and has for many years.

Derek is a talented photographer in all of the ways you’d expect, but with a twist; He knows how to operate his camera of course, knows how to compose a shot, but what sets him apart is the amazing effect he has upon his subjects—they all smile.

It’s not just the practiced smile that people summon when being photographed, but real, joyful smiles with a glint in their eyes. Derek brings out a sense of delight that is infectious. He doesn’t sneak his shots to capture candor or try to blend in, not that he could as a six-foot-one foreign man with a hearty laugh. He simply has a way with people.

Derek’s been shooting a project for some time that I’ve enjoyed watching develop, a project he calls “Gokurousama“.

The word may be a mouthful, but the meaning is simple, so simple that it’s too often forgotten these days—it means, basically, “I appreciate what you are doing. Thank you.” It’s what you say to the people who do their jobs, especially the times they might go out of their way, outside their job descriptions, to make their service a little bit more accommodating.

That’s what Derek captures with alacrity. Nowhere to be found are the stereotypes of slacking temp workers or overwrought salary men. He seeks out the people at work and captures the pride with which they go about it, be it train conductors, garbage truck drivers, locksmiths or the girls who serve his bagels and coffee. (He does seem to take particular delight in his bagels and coffee, or perhaps it’s the girls?)

There’s another thing worth noting about his work: He’s licensed it as Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial, which means that if you are working on a project that you won’t be making money from, such as your personal blog, you are welcome to use his work and even remix it into a new creation. Just don’t forget to credit him and perhaps offer your own gokurousama, in hopes that he keeps up the splendid work.

If you are interested in using these in a commercial work, these photos are a small selection from a much larger body of work that is all available for licensing. Please contact licensing@magnesiumphotos.com for more information.

Mr. Arnwine is also available for commissioned editorial, travel, corporate and portraiture photography.

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