Tokyo street photography

Hello again from Tokyo

The idea for this edition of the newsletter came about because of a new street photography book, NOW IS NOW TOKYO, which I am pleased to be a part of. It includes the work of 18 photographers, and is already out in Europe, with the US and Japan release dates set for the end of this month.

The book contains 10 of my photographs along with a short interview, and the process initially involved me choosing a 30 image long list. A set that was then whittled down to the requisite number. An always tricky process that I mercifully had no part in, and just like my zine (signed copy and print set available here), it was interesting to see what made the final selection, as well as how they were sequenced. A few were cropped too which is something I very rarely do.

Those decisions were then run by me, and thankfully I was more than happy with the results, so for a behind the scenes look as it were, I’ll show the images that didn’t make it, and then a selection of those that did. Plus for a bit of a break in-between, I’ll talk a little about the pushback I sometimes receive for talking such photos, along with my approach when going about making them.

The long list

Tokyo street photography rights and perceived wrongs

Tokyo is a truly wonderful city for photography. For starters there are so many different areas, allowing one to choose what kind of environment to experience on each and every outing. It’s also camera friendly, with very few restrictions on taking photos in public spaces.

Good locations alone aren’t enough though, as ultimately it’s the inhabitants that make a place genuinely interesting. One-time only moments and daily interactions that to my mind at least are the true essence of a city. Little human vignettes that I almost exclusively capture with a 35mm lens, which means I have to get fairly close to the people I photograph. In that respect what I’m doing is always clear and obvious. An aspect I feel is important, as whatever one’s opinion of taking candid pictures of strangers, doing so honestly and openly at least allows those in the frame to object if they want to.

Thankfully, very few subjects do complain, with the vast majority either oblivious or indifferent, and the few that do stop to say something are usually inquisitive rather than angry. Unexpected conversations that are almost always enjoyable. Informative too, with a good amount of my knowledge concerning old buildings, ownership etc. coming from such encounters.

That candid element, however, is something I quite often get a bit of flack for, with the majority of criticism found on Facebook for some reason — the lack of permission always a big issue, along with the regularly touted private nature of the Japanese. The latter is a rather sweeping generalisation it has to be said, but I do appreciate that the idea of not asking before pressing the shutter isn’t for everyone. Neither is actually taking such photos, but time and practice have made it a lot easier for me, as in the early days it really was quite intimidating.

Like many things in life, confidence is a big factor, and helping build that is something I often do on my Tokyo Photowalk Tours. Seeing a customer gradually find it easier to take unposed shots as the day goes on is always rewarding. Those initial steps are an often difficult hurdle to get over, but once tackled it makes the process a lot easier going forward.

All of which I could have probably summed up by saying people are inherently interesting, and to not photograph them seems far worse than any awkwardness or possible issues in regards privacy/permission. The results shown here hopefully prove that point, and with that rather long-winded ramble over, here are some of the photos that made the book.

The chosen ones

Printing is the end result for photography, so it’s always incredibly nice to see my work in newspapers and magazines, but books are a bit special to say the least, with hopefully more to come in the future.

And talking of which, along with my own book, I do sell prints, with a selection in my shop, but should you want a specific image, like any of those shown here for example, you can get in touch via my new custom print page.

A final little plug that wraps up another newsletter. Thanks as always for reading this far.

Speak to you in the next one.

Cheers

Lee