tokyo

taking photographs in a foreign land

By Ken Verb

September 3^rd, 2017

IF YOU’VE NEVER BEEN TO JAPAN

Go. Go now. If you're white. Especially if you're a white American. You'll be treated with extreme politeness and courtesy, and you'll find that comforting and disturbing at the same time. You'll see things that seem odd to you, and you'll have some resentment toward them. You'll hate that the English proficiency is abysmal, but you'll have no problems communicating and finding your way around. Don't follow the Nigerians beckoning you into their bar - it's probably an extortion scam operated by the Yakuza. Eat everything. Have breakfast at 7-11 or Lawsons or Family Mart. Keep your camera with you and take lots of photographs.

If you're in japan for a week or less, stay in Tokyo. Or don't, I don't care. It's so big that you won't see it all in one trip anyway, so maybe take the bullet train to Osaka or Kyoto for a night. Or go to an onsen hot spring in the mountains. But Tokyo just never ends.

Tokyo Skyline from the Park Hyatt Hotel in Shinjuku

CONNECT

Why do we travel to distant lands? Sometimes travel is purposeful, or even obligatory. Business, pleasure, family, some combination of all three. We should strive to make a connection to the places and people we visit. When I visit Japan, I see my family. I meet new people. I seek to understand the Japanese culture, and eagerly try, but ultimately fail to speak the language.

On my last trip, in September 2016, I used my camera to connect to Tokyo. It makes me happy to look back at these photographs, but it also raises a concern. Gideon Lewis-Kraus wrote about the travel photographer's dilemma in his NY Times Magazine article:

His job is to create the ideal image against which the multitudes will inevitably find their own experiences wanting. The travel photographer is thereby caught in a bind. Either he is no better than the desultory tourist, or he is responsible for the fact that our experiences rarely resemble the advertisements or postcards.

The dilemma I faced is a balance between wanting to photograph the streets and needing to document the trip, ultimately changing the nature and purpose of our travel. The need comes from an obligation (real or perceived) to be the scribe; so that my friends and travel companions have a visual record that can be shared, liked, and commented on. As my skills using the camera improved, documenting the travel has become a different experience. Initially, I was just the guy with the camera. "Say Chee-zu". Boom, group photo. Selfies. Pictures of food. Pictures of a statue. More selfies. The self-satisfying "Look what they serve in business class!" photos. Most of the photos probably make no sense to anyone who wasn't there. I look back at the photos from my first trip in 2015, and man they are shitty. Like pre-photography 101 shitty. I didn't know how to use the camera. I didn't know how to frame a shot, and I didn't know what kind of satisfaction comes from making photographs. A few from my first trip in March 2015:

weird composition and the depth of field is too shallow

September 2016

The last time I went to Tokyo, I was more focused on street photography. Some of my favorite photos were taken when I was walking around solo, probably because I found it much easier to get in the zone and stay focused. When walking around with companions, there's an obligation to not disturb the herd. When you're solo, you can just wander to your hearts content. That's usually where my favorite photos were found. Below is a mixed set of solo and group street walking.

Sleeping one off, while a cartoon cat disapproves.

10 second exposure from our hotel room in Shinjuku

A very wide angle perspective of a worker on a very bouncy ladder. I love how the line from the iPhone extends through the ladder.

Patience

These three photos were taken from the Starbucks that overlooks the famous Shibuya crossing. This man was standing with a sign that read "FREE HUGS". I'm not sure if most Japanese people could read the sign, but hugging is for sure not a common gesture in Japan. The only hugs I saw him get were from western tourists.

just shoot the damn thing

Street photography is fun. But when travelling with friends, it comes at the cost of some time well spent together. It's hard for me to combine the street photographer mindset and the 'be present in the moment with your buddies' mindset. Sometimes it's nice to let your friends be the subject.

If you are lucky enough to be in the company of people you care about, why not let them be the subject?

A few of these shots were from the interior of the restaurant Narisawa. See the section below for more food pics!

Arkadiusz being a tourist in Shibuya crossing

Food and stuff

A mixed set of photos from across four separate meals at Narisawa. It is an absolutely superlative meal. Everything about this restaurant is just perfect.