Beyond the Tamagawa: December 2009

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Nice bike

I love these old buildings which seem to be disappearing from many parts of Tokyo---or maybe it's just from my area. I have taken so many photos of this building and the small noodle restaurant, Eh-Wan, that the cops at the nearby police box are becoming familiar with me.

Taken in Yukigayaotsuka, Tokyo.

Monday, December 07, 2009

Wha'cha doing?

Folks in Tokyo are not especially well-known for open friendliness toward strangers---especially when the stranger is non-Japanese.

However, sometimes when I am out with a camera, people who would normally never approach me will suddenly become very talkative. Usually they are older people, but occasionally even the munchkins can't resist:

"What are you doing?" he asked as he rushed over to the spot where I was taking photos.

"Taking pictures," I replied.

He watched me for a few seconds before running over to stare at the scene, apparently wondering what was so special about the bike that I'd be photographing it.

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.)