Wide Angle Wednesday
Day 2 shooting with my Leica Summilux-M 21mm f/1.4. I think I got a couple of good shots today as I start to figure what looks good from this perspective. It is interesting shooting with a prime wide angle lens. I really like the 3D feeling in the images. This morning we were all woken up with a three strong earthquakes each ~5.3 or something. I stopped checking specifics to be honest.
I am sort of gauging the aftershocks in a couple of categories;
1. Did we just have an earthquake?
2. Great…another earthquake
3. ….Earthquake!!
This morning’s were #2s. I found a very interesting site today that shows visually the 731 earthquakes that have struck Japan since March 11th. Watch it HERE. Wait until the clock passes 2PM on the first day. The government of Tokyo announced today that the water supply contains twice the safe level of radioactive iodine for young children and advised that children under 1 should not drive tap water or food made from it. I heard there was some panic buying of bottled water. Interesting times…
Before we jump into the wide angle shots, I got an email from the Marina Bay Sands Hotel and Casino in Singapore that they choose one of my photos for their Sands Style Magazine ‘Photo of the Season’. You can check it out HERE. It is an HDR shot I took when I was at a meeting there in January. I am heading back there in the beginning of April and want to try a Leica version.
Good Morning Nakameguro…
I have a couple of choices of which station to get off at as my office building sits between Yoyogi station and Shinjuku Station. You can get caught waiting at this railroad crossing for 15 minutes sometimes if you catch it at the wrong time as all of the different lines make their way through Shinjuku Station. You can see my office in the background and my window on the 26th floor actually looks down onto this so I often watched the trapped ‘ants’ from above.
I keep forgetting that everyone is powered off to prevent the blackout and at first glance think ‘why is Starbucks closed?’
Rain clouds form over Shinjuku
People always think I am being sarcastic when I tell them to take the ‘Friendly Airport Limousine’…it’s actually the name.
I ran out at lunch to run an errand and bumped into these 5 lovely ladies who were kind enough to stop and pose for me ‘pee-zu chee-zu’.
I am always trying to figure out which side I should shoot McDonald’s from when I pass it. An issue no more thanks to my 21mm Summilux!
This is the 32 story building… I was on the 26th floor during the earthquake. This helps to see the perspective of how high exactly that is.
It is surprising to see Tokyo without all of the neon lighting it up.
This is Shinjuku, if you are not familiar with this area, everything in front of the skyscrapers is typically glowing from all of the neon but it blacken tonight to help avoid blackouts.
A business man wait under cover to stay warm from the freezing cold rain hitting Tokyo tonight.
Some more shots around Shinjuku Station.
I took these two as I got off the Yamanote Line in Shibuya. I like the expression on the train conductor’s face in the second one.
Q-Front in Shibuya is typically a tower of neon lighting the crossing below but tonight is also blacked out.
Looking forward to more shooting tomorrow!
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[...] Wide Angle Wednesday [...]
Looks amazing sad without all of the neons. Having seems tons of Shinjuku images but never where they were so grated out and shallow. It’s like the city list it’s life and stamina.
Thanks for the tips Leeanne and Dave.
I have taken a few pictures where I have tried doing it without being noticed – didn’t get great results as only had a 55mm lens on and I didn’t want to get too close. The majority of the time I have gone up and just asked somebody if I can take their picture – no posing – just acting the way they were before I came along.
Every single person I have asked so far has said yes. But it’s still a little unnerving. Even when say I am looking up the highstreet and want to take a picture of all the people walking towards me, standing there bluntly taking a picture of the highstreet – not focusing on anyone in particular, still feels very unnerving.
I am very new to photography in general, and even newer to street photography, so I guess the more you do it, the easier it will get.
Hi Dave, thanks for the daily update and the photos! They bring up my memory of Tokyo more than 2 years ago, when I was living in Akihabara. It does make it look different when the city is in electric saving. Hope the country recover from the catastrophe soon!
Ron glad it is bring back memories… We do have a curry rice shop so it might be the one you are thinking of.
LeeAnn/Andrew – I have shot in all three places and Japan is definitely easier and more accepting. That said, I find just letting people know you are going to take their picture goes a really long way to calming concerns. When I was in the UK I was watching some people doing street photography and a few were asking and a few were trying to shoot without letting people know and the ones that were asking or acknowledging the people seemed to have a lot more acceptance. I am fairly new to including people in my photos as I use to be pretty shy about it so if anyone else has more experience please chime in on tips, tricks, etc.
Stunning photos Dave! I just love the photo of your office building! I don’t blame you for keeping your coins stacked!! You really are doing a fantastic job with your photos and your blog!
Just wanted to respond to Andrew and the fact that people are looking at him like he’s some kind of weirdo…it happens in Massachusetts too! It’s very unnerving isn’t it!
Some absolutely amazing pictures, yet again. My two favourites is your office building in perspective, and the McDonalds shot. But in truth, all are beautiful shots.
On another note, I love the way nobody bats an eyelid when you are taking a picture of a crowd (like on the train, in the station). In the UK, when I stop to take a picture of something, it seems as if everybody is staring at me thinking im some kind of weirdo. I can see them looking through my lens.
Sometimes makes me nervous and deters me from stopping to take a photo.
Great shots. I’d love to have a wider lens but I’m going to wait until I replace my M8 with an M9.
I spent half of last November at the Hotel Shinjuku Sun Plaza, so your photos of the area bring back a lot of memories. I think I got curry rice at a shop in the bottom of your office building.
the marina bay sands hotel shot is divine!
glad to see that tokyo is normal already.
Your chronicle is awesome, serves so many purpose: compelling rangefinder, aftermath of Tokyo, actual everyday shots…especially views from a non-local resident etc. i don’t think local folks will take the time to shoot their hometown. The best part is i like to see M9 and lens in color rather than B&W most of the times