It's been a long time since I've produced a solid book that can be called a masterpiece, and to be honest, I didn't want to see a solid book for a while.
However, when I returned to Bangkok, I found myself searching for new ideas as usual, even though there were no plans for my next work.
I am disappointed in my continued poverty.
For photographers, photography is their asset, so they tend to take pictures whenever they can.
However, this does not mean that he shoots only in one direction without discipline.
First, priority is given to new breeds and beautiful individuals with new colors.

Next, select an individual that is unlikely to be popular with the general public, but that you would like to keep as a record.
When creating a book, readers would get bored with just looking at beautiful, popular fish, so I include photos of unique fish here and there as accents.
When I stay in Bangkok, my daily routine is to go to the Sunday market called Chatuchak several times a week to check on betta fish and other fish and creatures.
Normally, the heat would ease up after Songkran, the Thai New Year water festival, in April, but this year it's still extremely hot even in May.
In fact, the afternoon sun is murderously hot.
If the concrete were exposed to the sun, it would make me dizzy.
The area where many of Chatuchak's betta shops are concentrated is like a collection of barracks, so it feels even hotter.

Currently, there is a plan to demolish the old Chatuchak building and move it to an air-conditioned building.
Construction has begun on the building behind Chatuchak's Pet Area, where construction has been halted for several years, and I've been hearing a lot about plans to move there.
From the customer's perspective, it would be great if they didn't have to sweat in the heat while selecting fish.
However, that is only if the high rent doesn't catch the fish!
That said, I also have a fondness for this old and dirty area that I have been in for nearly 30 years.
It's not enough just to make everything beautiful and new, but in a sense, this beautiful landscape that has been around since ancient times can be considered a cultural heritage.
This labyrinth-like, dirty and complex row of shops can be said to be part of Chatuchak's charm.
I wonder if this obscene market attracts foreign tourists?
Is this kind of thinking already outdated?
Is it impossible to go against the flow of the times?

In Japan, the name of the era has changed, and the era has become Reiwa.
In Thailand as well, the coronation ceremony of the new king has ended and a new era has begun.
How will the Thai betta market change in the future?

Although the front swing has become long, what I would like to introduce this time is Nimobeta's W tail.
Currently, in Chatuchak, there are no new varieties to replace Nemo and Candy, so Nemo betta is everywhere.
As expected, I took a lot of pictures of Nemo for this production, so I'm getting a little tired of Nemo myself.
Nemo's Giant has also appeared, but it's still far from a standard price, so it probably won't be on the Japanese market very often.

There are some Nemo half moons, but they are not yet perfected, and I rarely come across one that I really want to photograph.
In the midst of all this, finally, or rather belatedly, a highly complete Nemobeta W-tail has appeared at a relatively reasonable price. The body color is Nemo or Candy, and if you select the W tail, the body shape will be perfect.
Although I wrote that they are reasonably priced, they are several times the price of regular Nemo, so adults cannot buy 10 Nemo at once. When purchasing, carefully check the body color and body shape before choosing a model. What is important in this case is combativeness.

An individual that does not fight with the neighboring fish even if the partition is removed in a shop aquarium is a pass as a model.

Individuals that do not spread their fins when photographed are not suitable as models, no matter how beautiful they are.
As I was selecting fish in the extremely hot shop, feeling like a nuisance to the other customers, my eyes suddenly caught my eye.
At one point, his eyes appeared red.
When I looked at the fish again, I noticed that its eyes were no longer red.
However, when I looked in the opposite direction and checked my eyes, they were red.
It had odd eyes, which are common among Koi bettas and Nimo bettas, with both eyes having different colors.
Most males with red eyes have poor eyesight and have little fighting ability, but this odd-eyed individual has normal vision in one eye, and is able to flare with other males.
Therefore, shooting is relatively easy.
Of course, it goes without saying that the individual was immediately purchased as a model.

If it were a business, we would select and purchase the most beautiful specimens that would sell best, but as photographers, we select models for purposes such as producing books.
To this end, we avoid individuals with similar color patterns as much as possible, and select models with a focus on variety in color patterns.
This is probably a big difference from just being a maniac.
Based on this perspective, I chose Nemo Betta W Tail, which I will be introducing in this column.
Through the accumulation of these daily efforts, a book that introduces many variety shows is created.