I spent a whole day, on Wednesday working with one of my students, in my studio. He did 99.9% of the shooting. I just took a few shots at the end of each session. Mainly I was there to do … Continue reading
Shooting in the studio with Sai
Architecture: Repeated Patterns
Tokyo has some fabulous architecture and I like nothing more than walking around the city capturing the patterns and shapes. Back in 2016, a new building opened in Tokyo’s Ginza shopping district. The Tokyu Plaza Ginza immediately became by go-to … Continue reading
The Olde Worlde Charm of Ningyocho
The neighbourhood of Ningyocho in Tokyo’s Chuo-ku borough, is a place I visit often and it’s full of relaxed, olde worlde charm. Ningyocho is about 25mins on the train from where we live. It’s a charming old neighbourhood of small … Continue reading
In Praise of Clouds
I guess we’ve all been going out less, due to the Covid-19 pandemic. This has created challenges for me with my photography. In the early part of the pandemic, although we had no formal lockdown here in Japan, I was … Continue reading
What kind of winter will it be?
Friends in the weather business have recently been telling me that due to La Niña starting up again a little while ago, we could be in for a hard winter. I’ve experienced some great times here in Japan during winter. … Continue reading
Cinematic times at Yangon Station
In March of 2018, I spent almost two weeks in Myanmar, mostly in and around Yangon, as Unit Stills Photographer on a short film. The movie is a love story. The Japanese male lead, Hasegawa Hiroki, plays a guy working … Continue reading
Blue Friday
In all the years I’ve been visiting and living in Tokyo, one thing is constant: I’ve not yet become bored with the city. I can probably put some of this down to the fact that I’m an inquisitive photographer. So, … Continue reading
Re-energising this blog
It’s been a long time since I regularly updated this blog. That’s changing as of today. One of the main reasons I lapsed was that, for a long time, I’d been using Google Plus to cross-post pics to this blog. … Continue reading
Tokyo Skytree at Sunset
Yesterday looked like it might produce a lovely sunset and a views of Mount Fuji. The mountain never materialised but it was a beautiful sunset. I’d been out on Sunday, with some students, shooting the city with telephoto lenses. So … Continue reading
Walks with the camera: looking down
As a professional photographer, I constantly need to exercise my eyes to keep them fit for purpose. Some days I just go out and spend my time looking at the floor. My brain and eyes are like a radar set: … Continue reading
Revisiting good locations & the orange towel
Some places just keep drawing your back. Others end up being the sorts of places you just naturally gravitate back to or pass by now and then. The buildings near the bus depot between Shibuya and Ebisue are like that … Continue reading
Silhouettes in Asagaya
The big summer festival in Asagaya is one of those events in Tokyo that have me torn: do I go and brave the massive crowds? Or do I not go and then regret it? This year I went. Stuck around … Continue reading
Explaining how my eyes work
Part of the challenge of being a teacher of something is to pass on, in easy to understand terms, the things within your realm that are subconscious to you. Seeing, for instance. Why do I see the things I see, … Continue reading
Tohoku winter wonderland
At various times during the end of 2017 and through into January of last year, I was on a shoot for the JTB and Japan National Parks Authority. It gave me the chance to visit some truly breathtaking parts of … Continue reading
Evening falls in a Tokyo backstreet
The simple geometry and colour pairing in this quiet backstreet near Asakusabashi typifies why I like spending time with subjects like this. As a professional photographer who needs to deliver for whichever client comes through the door on a given … Continue reading
A wall that I love: Kinshicho
Kinshicho is a neighbourhood I first discovered about eight years ago. Recently, I’ve been walking there a lot. Tokyo has so many wonderful neighbourhoods to explore and because there are so many of them, one tends to explore them on … Continue reading
Last of the gingko: Shinagawa
Undoubtedly one of the great charms of Japan in autumn are