Above left, Q. Sakamaki, left, and Jamie Wellford, Newsweek international photo editor, at the Dec. 9 launch party at Tribeca’s Bubble Lounge for Sakamaki’s new book of photographs, “War DNA.” Wellford called Sakamaki a “samurai” for his fearlessness. At right, Matt Metzgar of Umbrella House squat, far right, and others checked out Sakamaki’s book. “War DNA,” in both English and Japanese, includes the East Village lens man’s shots from seven deadly conflict zones: Kosovo, Haiti, Israel and the West Bank, Liberia, Afghanistan, Iraq and Sri Lanka.
After photographing war for years, Sakamaki is sadly resigned to the fact that there must be “a war gene,” hence the book’s title. Sakamaki’s photos have won numerous awards, including several from the New York Press Association for his work published in The Villager. The book is available at Kinokuniya bookstore on Sixth Ave. between 40th and 41st Sts. and on amazon.com.
