Beyond the Tamagawa: Neighbors chatting

Monday, November 09, 2009

Neighbors chatting

While I was taking this, an old lady came up to me and said in English, "Old house." Then, apparently exhausting her English---or her patience with it for the day---she asked in Japanese, "Do you know it's a tatami shop?"

I did, but I was happy that she asked. Older folks often come up to me and talk when I am taking photos, something that ain't so common on other occasions in Tokyo.

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When I was in high school, I found a photography book in the library about Japan. This was no ordinary Japan photo book as there was little in it that would would have been identified with the stereotypical Japan. As I recall, there were seascapes, landscapes, and other types of photos, but no temples, no shrines, no festivals, no geisha, and no shots of the intersection in front of Shibuya station. I was disappointed.

I wish I could recall the name of the book for I'd love to see it again. It comes close to my view of Japan. I don't think of the country or its people as weird, uniquely unique, Zen-like, or anything like that. It is a country, a people, and a culture that differs only by degree---when it does actually differ---from other countries. Just like every other country and culture on earth.

I no longer bother much with the typical "Wow, it's Japan" photos. I try to photograph things which for some reason interest me, or represent something to me, or perhaps I just like the colors, tones, shapes, or light. Perhaps disappointing for anyone looking for photos of Kinkokuji Shrine (though some are here), but those types are readily available anywhere. If nothing else, I will amuse myself with an expensive hobby.

(Since I am occasionally asked, I generally use Nikons: D300, D70s, or borrow my wife's D40. I occasionally use an old Olympus OM-1 for film, as well as Oly digicams, and a now sadly deceased Oly 35ED rangefinder.)