Photographs from a small group of islands
Taking more photos in the rain is something I’m trying do more of. Or at the very least avoid less. And as June is rainy season in Tokyo, it seemed like the right time to try and capture more wet weather scenery, with these all taken on a couple of drizzly walks through familiar, and not quite so familiar neighbourhoods.
Shinjuku is a wonderful place for surprises. It has also provided me with two of my most complete sets of photos — the area in general and a few of its dingy alleyways. Time, persistence, and perhaps most of all, the city’s ability to regularly produce unique photo opportunities allowing me to gradually piece those series together.
On a recent visit, however, I was fortunate enough to witness an unexpected event of a much more traditional nature. A festival. One both in and outside a shrine. So these then are some of the people I saw.
A lot of my series involve the sights of a meandering walk, a collection of photos taken over a long period, or perhaps most of all, the simple documentation of time.
This set, however, is a bit different. In many ways it’s all of the above, but most of all it’s simply a number of images from the last month or so. Scenes that in many ways aren’t connected, but at the same time they are in regards the areas and themes they cover.
Photography has always been more than a job. It’s a passion. Well, an obsession really, making it a way of life rather than just a part of it.
Having said all that, it’s also an escape of sorts, as there’s a very real element of mindfulness about being out walking with a camera. Problems and worries recede, leaving only awareness of the light, environment and moments worth trying to capture.
The photos here then were taken on such a walk. A long meander that took in several north Tokyo neighbourhoods, along with a visit to a previously featured sweet shop run by a man who is now only 2 years shy of becoming a centenarian. A little place he still opens daily, just like he’s done for the last 77 years.
Shinjuku has been a happy hunting ground over the years, with some of my most complete photo series shot on the city’s wonderfully unpredictable streets — the recently posted alleyway set being the latest. Images that took a decade to put together.
It is though a part of the capital that keeps on giving, and wandering the area for just a few hours last week, I was reminded once again why I keep returning.
