He encountered the daguerrotype in a search to trace photography back to its roots, and dedicated the time and effort necessary to master the complex technique behind it.
He has taken the daguerrotype on as his own personal medium, saying that he finds it "a reliable device for storing memory that is far better for recording and transmitting interactions with his subjects than modern photography."
The first of these events was the Daigo Fukuryū Maru fishing boat, a vessel that was affected by nuclear fallout from the US's thermonuclear weapon test at Bikini Atoll in 1954.
As more information about the blast was obtained, it was estimated that a total of over one hundred other fishing vessels were affected.2 Arai began to document what he could– mainly encounters with surviving crew members and the salvaged hull.
Originally commissioned by Artpace San Antonio, 49 Pumpkins is a short film that addressing a series of events following the bombing of Hiroshima.
His short description of the project in the bio reads "Daily daguerreotype practice and ambient sounds during exposures since 2011."
Photos from before the move to Instagram are still housed on Arai's website under a tab called "Daily D-type Project" .
As fitting for the description, the Daily Daguerrotype Project does not have a consistent choice of subject–– the subjects range from people, to flowers, to landscapes.
These projects include the “Interdisciplinary Studies of Radiation Effects on the Everyday Life of Victims” with the National Museum of Ethnology, and “Anima Philosophica: Nature, Disaster, and Animism in Japan” with the Institute for Research in Humanities, Kyoto University.