A Coin Laundry and Typology
Frames from the Field #3: A study of spaces and the familiar patterns of everyday laundromats.
I’ve been doing photography for about eight years now. Over that time, I’ve explored different genres — portraits, street photography, landscapes, and more. But as you might already know if you’ve been following my journey (thank you 🙇🏻♂️), these days I find myself drawn more and more to landscapes and small details in the place I’ve visited — scenes that feel still but are constantly shifting, like flowing water or the movement of light, or even small corners of the city.
A little over a year ago, while I was in the middle of this shift, I came across a photography concept called Typology. In short, Typology is about systematically documenting and categorizing a specific type of object, space, or structure. It’s a way of highlighting both the similarities and the subtle differences within a single theme.
At first, I started studying Typology out of pure curiosity, without any clear end goal in mind. I simply wanted to learn and see where it would take me. But as time went on, I found myself genuinely enjoying the process — and I’m quite happy with the results so far.
The Typology project I’ve been secretly (or maybe not? lol) working on is focused on something very close to everyday life here: Coin Laundry in Japan.
You know what’s really made me enjoy working on this study? A few reasons come to mind:
First, I chose to photograph these coin laundries at night. Each one usually has a different color of lighting, and I found that really fascinating — plus, shooting at night gives me some quiet time after finishing my full-time job.
Second, it’s simply interesting to observe how people behave while doing their laundry. There’s something very real and relatable about it.
Third, studying this has just been genuinely fun. From discovering brand-new, modern laundromats to stumbling upon old, worn-out machines — every place tells a slightly different story.
As for the final product? I’m still not entirely sure. Maybe an exhibition? I’ve been thinking about Jinny Street Gallery, where I could play around with how the photos are presented — using each display box creatively, not just for the prints but for decorating the space around them too. That could be a fun and different way to share the project. A photobook is another possibility, though I’m still a little undecided.
I have a lot more photos from this project, but for now, this is just a small glimpse.
Whenever the final form of this project comes to life, I hope you’ll be there to see it!
Thank you for reading! Let’s connect through some of my social media such as Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube!
And if you want to support me on my journey, you can buy me a coffee or buy my photobook! ❤️
I’ll see you again next time!
Cheers,
This is so good, Raufan! I'll be checking more of your posts soon. Stupid algo never shows me your posts, but I hope that by interacting with them, they start popping up. Cinestill 800T is my favorite color film and I love how the laundries look like with it.
So cool to give a name to this type of photography, I had no idea. Coin Laundry in Tokyo was something I loved coming across. Not to mention the two times I had to do laundry when I was there last, instead of wandering, I found myself hanging around there for the people and vibes.
Oddly enough, I’ve got a project underway that documents one particular thing as well, having a name for it has genuinely made my day. Thanks for sharing!!!