Dear Editor,
[. . . ]
Unfortunately, Tokyo YY is not my first choice of Tokyo English reading material [. . .] By the way, what is with that Cover Girl audition? Must you ask bust, hip, waist size? Let's move into the new millennium a little more progressively!

Regards,
Elizabeth Ogiyama (via e-mail)

Dear Ms. Ogiyama,
Thank you for your thoughtful comments. I am very much in favor of the increasingly popular theory that on January 1, 2001, men and women will transform into cylindrically shaped objects from the neck down. This will be the great equalizer and a great political battle will be won. However, for at least another 14 months, we must (albeit reluctantly) deal with the fact that some people have more curves than others, and that different people have different levels of sensitivities.
The great Arturo Benedetti Michelangeli, for example, travels with two pianos and four technicians, yet he is known to cancel concerts whenever "the sound isn't right." At the other end of the scale are people who know of only two kinds of pianos: complete ones, and those with a few strings missing. And in-between there are lots of folks who appreciate good music.
As an in-between kind of photographer I purchase my film from specialty labs where they keep records of batch numbers and do sample testing of the film's sensitivity. After leaving the lab I use the shortest and fastest-possible route to my studio to put the film straight into a special refrigerator. I work with three cameras of three different formats (4x5, 120, and 35), and I keep changing between half a dozen lenses. I know that curved object will cast a curved shadow when given light of proper intensity and direction. For example, the cautious use of side light for this month's tj cover has created that dark right side of the face, thanks to the curvy nose of yokozuna Akebono.
Whether I shoot Playboy Playmates, do work for Vogue or Marie Claire, take photos of Miss Universe, or spend three to four hours per Tokyo YY cover girl at my studio, I like to be prepared. That includes having my film at the right temperature, but also knowing whether I am going to look at a flat chest (see #9 on page 15) or not. To the ordinary person, a dress size "7 to 9" may be sufficient information, but to an in-between kind of photographer, every fraction of a centimeter makes a heck of a difference — especially in the bust/waist/hip regions.

Stephan Hauser