Downtown Yokosuka
Saturday night, I made plans to get up the next morning before dawn to head to Kamakura to take some early morning pictures. It didn't turn out so well. I woke up on Sunday morning with a lump in my throat, likely from the same sickness that plagued Nicki and Josh the previous week. So instead, I got up and took care of Josh in the morning so that Nicki could sleep in and hopefully kick the nasty virus out of her system. It must have worked... she's been feeling much better this week. Just in time to take care of me now that I've got it.
Anyway, I was bummed out pretty much all of Sunday, because I didn't get to use the 85mm f/1.2 lens that Jeff let me borrow all last week while he was in Singapore. So after a long day with a viral lump in my throat and no-picture-taking anxiety in my brain, I told Nicki that I was heading downtown in Yokosuka to take some pictures. I haven't taken many pictures at night yet with the new camera, so I figured it would be a great way to learn having a really high-speed 85mm prime lens with me to help teach me.
Here's some of my faves from the photo excursion:
Looking down at "Blue Street" from Chuo Station Overpass
Young Couple Enjoying the Evening
Japenglish Sign (who can turn down cold beer and hot chicks?)
Shaggy Dog and Shirts
Lonely Man Statue on Bench
Woman with Cane
This Guy is Cooler than the Rest of Us
(by 1.6 degrees)
If you are familiar with photography, you may notice that I shot some of these with a wide-angle lens. As much as I enjoyed using the borrowed 85mm, I decided to switch up and use my 10-22mm as well, since downtowns tend to have big buildings and wide-angle lenses work best around big things. But I really loved shooting with the 85mm and Jeff may eventually receive a ransom note because I may have to add his lens to my collection!
The rest of my pics from the night are in the Gallery, dated 09/28/2006. Enjoy!
Anyway, I was bummed out pretty much all of Sunday, because I didn't get to use the 85mm f/1.2 lens that Jeff let me borrow all last week while he was in Singapore. So after a long day with a viral lump in my throat and no-picture-taking anxiety in my brain, I told Nicki that I was heading downtown in Yokosuka to take some pictures. I haven't taken many pictures at night yet with the new camera, so I figured it would be a great way to learn having a really high-speed 85mm prime lens with me to help teach me.
Here's some of my faves from the photo excursion:
Looking down at "Blue Street" from Chuo Station Overpass
Young Couple Enjoying the Evening
Japenglish Sign (who can turn down cold beer and hot chicks?)
Shaggy Dog and Shirts
Lonely Man Statue on Bench
Woman with Cane
This Guy is Cooler than the Rest of Us(by 1.6 degrees)
If you are familiar with photography, you may notice that I shot some of these with a wide-angle lens. As much as I enjoyed using the borrowed 85mm, I decided to switch up and use my 10-22mm as well, since downtowns tend to have big buildings and wide-angle lenses work best around big things. But I really loved shooting with the 85mm and Jeff may eventually receive a ransom note because I may have to add his lens to my collection!
The rest of my pics from the night are in the Gallery, dated 09/28/2006. Enjoy!
posted by Unknown | 8:03 PM
8 Comments:
Your photos are wonderful. I wish I knew how to use a camera. I've always wanted to take a photography class. You are great at it.
I loved Lonely Man Statue....your shots all capture this area so amazingly well!
Have you noticed that Lonely Man Statue is kind of oddly proportioned? I remember Rich sitting next to him one time noticing this metal guy has gorilla arms and really big hands.
Rich used to do Shipmate Patrol next to the New Blue Sky place, and he's right over my shoulder at the moment telling me something really funny about it. He used to patrol outside and yell "Hot Beer, Cold Chicks!" and the little asian ladies would tell him "nooooooo! Thass notright! It's COLD Beer, Hot Chicks!"
Rey, Rich's story is pretty funny about that place. What cracks me up about that sign is that if the "sing song" and "have ball" items were swapped, it would look at a quick glance to say "Hot Chicks Have Ball"... almost like a transvestite dive bar.
:)
Hi Mike!
I don't know a darn thing about the lenses you use, but I sure do enjoy your pictures! Funny, to me it looks a little like China Town in San Francisco (I know, different language!!!) Anyway, keep taking those pictures! Are there any Harvest Festivals coming up?
Love,
Laura
Hey Laura,
Not sure if there are any festivals coming up out here. I should check into it because I've wanted to shoot more pictures the past few days and it's been rainy.
-Mike
I love these pictures. These capture Japan the way you will remember and long for! Take more!!
I loved the candid nature of your photos!
This is the best part for me. Sure the "tourist" sites are fine, but the ones of everyday (and night) life on the streets with people just being people are the richest ones for us!
What's the attitude towards the American taking photos in Japan? Are people rude, shy, friendly or just ignore you? I'm asking because I've always been self-conscious taking photos other than those with family and friends and "non-human" subjects--and that's just here in the States!
Please keep them coming!
--Claus, Lavie and Alvis.
Hey Claus and family,
I've found that most Japanese people don't seem to mind me taking pictures, but I do sometimes get funny looks when I aim the camera towards faces of strangers. Part of it, I think, is because my camera (Rebel XT) is larger than a point-and-shoot and they may think that I might be trying to get a shot to publish somewhere. Also, I think that Japanese people tend to want to pose for pictures (with the peace sign and a friendly smile), so it is difficult to get candid shots with my large camera. But all in all, lots of Japanese people ask for pictures with Josh because he's a cute gaijin kid, so I think they are alright when I shoot pictures of their kids and say that they are kawaii (cute).
But you may notice, a lot of my candid shots are of people's backs. I do that to avoid some of the issues I mention above, and also because I too am a bit self-conscious about taking pictures of strangers who may be worried about why I am taking their picture.
-Mike
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