Tokyo Times

The on and off drizzle throughout the day wasn’t quite the weather I was hoping for. On the other hand, the wet roads and pavements, along with the pleasantly soft light, did make the varied colours of dated shops and urban flowers pop way more than they might have otherwise. A nice reminder, as I sometimes need one, that there’s not necessarily any bad weather when it comes to photography.

Most of my posts these days are small sets or series. They are generally a good way of trying to tell stories, as well as putting together connected themes or scenes. The latter in particular come about over time. Not really planned, but regularly photographing what genuinely appeals invariably results in photos that compliment each other.

That said, it doesn’t always work out that way, and these are some recent images taken when out on photowalks with clients, friends or long meanders alone. Urban encounters that for now at least don’t really fit with any others, so here they are as a simple document of urban Tokyo in spring.

There’s no shortage of old shop and restaurant fronts on Tokyo Times. For starters there are so many of them, and for me at least they are endlessly fascinating as they are fully intertwined with the lives of their owners — both past and present. Stories we will never know, but at the same that doesn’t stop us wondering what they may be. On top of that there’s also the very real danger that what is here one day, won’t be the next, so photographing them always feels like a must.

So with that said, here is a set of recent finds. Some in Tokyo, and others further afield. Most are still in use, but clearly one or two aren’t. All of them, however, offered something, or indeed someone, of interest.