Overgrown Tokyo and old school streets

Before the photography stuff, I’d just like to say thank you for the lovely messages I received after last month’s newsletter. Words that definitely helped me feel I’m on the right track in regards content and format. Really good to know.

Overgrown Tokyo

Early last month I put together a post of overgrown urban scenes. All of them from Tokyo. Wonderfully colourful frames that despite Japan’s love of concrete, are mercifully not that uncommon. You can see them here, and as a companion piece of sorts, below is a small series of similarly verdant finds from over the years.

These are also from the capital. Well, most of them are anyway, except the last photo, an abandoned train station in Hokkaido. Oh, and also the first one, although for the life of me I can’t remember its location. The only definite being it was taken in 2017.

Disappearing buildings — British edition

The photos below are also blessed with abundant greenery, as well as having a connection with the last newsletter, when I mentioned my attempts at being more zen in relation to disappearing old buildings.

They were taken a few summers ago in Greater Manchester where I grew up. Goodness knows how long the house and factory had been there, but countless decades for sure. And yet returning last month, I discovered they too have gone. Structures I now feel even more fortunate to have photographed.

Japan old school streets and winter landscape workshop

From the lush greens of summer, it’s a rather stark transition to the crisp blue skies and snow covered landscapes of Japan, as early next year, my good friend Giovanni and I will be conducting an 8 day workshop covering old, local Tokyo streets, stunning winter landscapes, plus more urban scenery at the end in the dated markets and gritty arcades of Osaka.

A unique experience offering two photographers, and two perspectives, with the emphasis on storytelling — the variety of what we’ll see and shoot providing a creativity-based Japan trip like no other.

The details are here should you be interested, and below are some of my street photos covering the urban locations we’ll visit, along with several of Giovanni’s landscapes from the countryside leg of the trip.

Which camera should I buy?

Lastly, and certainly related, is a question I often get asked by customers on my photowalk tours:

Which camera should I buy if I upgrade?

I use a Leica M which is definitely not for everyone. In fact it isn’t for most people. Something I may expand on in the future. But very briefly, it’s a camera that for me at least feels completely natural to use and hold. And in a time when all manufacturers are producing top quality kit, I genuinely believe that so long as the camera has the basic functions the user requires, then the small black box that feels good and right to hold is more than likely the right one to buy, as it’ll be the one that’ll provides the biggest daily incentive to go out and shoot.

All of which wraps up this August edition. Thanks for reading this far.

Cheers

Lee