I've had the song "It's been a while" from Staind stuck in my head for a few months now. I love that song... December and January are fantastic months for viewing Mt Fuji from Tokyo. The sky is very clear, especially in the morning. I am usually at the office by 7:30AM and this is the view I can see straight out my window. It's great to have this beautiful view of Mt Fuji.

My friend Nathan was in town the other day so we got out and did a little shooting. I felt I haven't been able to get out and shoot enough in the past few months so it was nice to have some time to get out. I am now on vacation for 2 weeks and hoping to shoot a lot during my break. I need to back away from shooting a bit as I was settling in my new job. Now that I am settled I need to get back into the swing of shooting Tokyo.

I have so much to catch up on during my break. A lot of the little things build up when you have other priorities. I did all of the accounting for ShootTokyo yesterday. I have a lot to account for with the Kickstarter Project and a steady increase in web traffic, print, t-shirt and on-going book sales. I never sat down before and did a proper P&L for ShootTokyo. I was really surprised by all of the little hidden costs there are associated with running ShootTokyo; website hosting via MediaTemple, domain registrations, website performance upgrade, newsletter sending via MailChimp, social media management via HootSuite, film processing and development, additional equipment and all of the costs associated with the eCommerce aspects of ShootTokyo. I have always done what is right for ShootTokyo and my readers without a lot of consideration for the costs.

It is interesting to see it in a P&L view similar to how I would look at things and make decisions at work. People who don't run websites don't really understand the significant costs in running them. Something as simple as a newsletter costs me $600 a year in fees.

Today's Configuration: Leica M Monochrom with a Summilux 35mm f/1.4 and Summicron 28mm f/2.0

I needed to get my self back in the groove so I took the approach I lay out in my Setting the Stage post. It is a great way to build your confidence and help you get some good shots when you are first starting out with photography.

Ready for action...

The long lines for New Year Lottery Tickets are already starting. People will stand in line for hours for a chance to win. A chance to win what? Honestly I'm not sure. I hate lines. If there is a long time for something I'll just go somewhere else. In Tokyo you can always see huge lines around the latest fads; Krispy Kreme donuts, the newest Popcorn shop or the hottest Ramen place. I avoid all of them...

Police in Shuby are always stoping young kids and checking their IDs.

I find it funny that people have no problem interrupting their 'investigation' to ask for directions.

Meet Nathan...

Smokey work...

I loved how perfectly these 5 were spaced out...

The watcher...

I made a new video for my YouTube Channel talking a little about Street Photography Settings for beginners. I am going to start to do some additional videos about how I process my monocrhom images and other photography related topics. If those are of interest to you head over to my channel and subscribe.

Thanks for stopping by today...