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Paul Crouse is a freelance photographer based in Kyoto, Japan. Born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan USA, Paul was a quiet child who liked to read the encyclopedia and build model airplanes. In school, he was bad at math but he loved looking at pictures and reading all about everything. In junior high school, he took a photography class run by the art teacher and he fell in love. Right then, he knew what he wanted to do with his life. In 1987, he
received a Bachelor of Arts - Journalism degree from the University
of Wisconsin-Madison, where he had worked as a photographer and
managing editor of The Daily Cardinal student newspaper.
Between working 60 hours a week, the newspaper, and his part-time
job at a camera shop, Paul occasionally went to class. He was a
solid "B" student. |
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| After a brief, but enlightening, stint as a concrete construction worker, Paul then worked for seven years as a photographer with The Grand Rapids Press newspaper in Michigan, USA. He took pictures of everything from "Death & Destruction" to "Kids & Dogs." (Using the technical terms here.) There he learned to drive fast and process film fast. After photographing his first motor vehicle fatality, he always wore his seat belt (and you should, too!) In 1995, looking for a life change, having become burnt-out by The Media scene, Paul sold his cameras to buy a plane ticket for Japan. Quickly, he found employment as an English teacher (surprise, surprise). Along the way, he met and fell in love with his wife, Shino. He continued to snap photos for himself, mainly of Japanese urban landscapes. The photo-bug never quite left Paul and in 2001 he decided to get back into the game. He began working on his portfolio and "scraping-off the rust" (so to speak). In 2002, he started TotemPhoto, his photography business. "I want to take cool pictures that your Mom can put up on the refrigerator, or that in twenty years your grandkids can look at and say 'Wow, Gramps, you had hair back then!'" says Paul. His day job is as an English instructor at the Kyoto YMCA. None of his students are allowed to say "I'm fine, thank you" in his classes. He lives near the old Imperial Palace in Kyoto with his wife, Shino. Oh
yes - Where does TotemPhoto come from? When Paul first
come to Japan, he told some students that his name was "Too
Tall Paul" (he is 6'5" or 197 cm tall). Well, they thought
he said "totem pole." His British friend Tanya Grassley
(who pronounces "Paul" like "pole" with her
London accent) thought this was endlessly funny. So, there you
have it.
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| Copyright©2002
Paul W. Crouse/TotemPhoto All rights reserved. |
