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Jordan McChesney's picture

When I'm Not Shooting Nature, This is my Backup

Personally, I love being out in nature, just me and a waterfall, or lakes, or mountains. However, when I live, there isn't much nature to be found. That being said, what Tokyo lacks in nature it more than makes up for in cityscape and night photography opportunities.

I don't really have an eye for architecture, but Tokyo provides a lot of opportunities to try your hand at both it and cityscape shots. I've pretty much been trying to make this my back up to landscapes. The weather in Japan isn't super great most of the year, summer is cloudy, rainy, hot, and humid with upwards of 25 typhoons hitting per year. Meanwhile winter does provide stunning views of Mount Fuji, but often lacks any interest in the skies meaning sunsets and sunrises will usually leave something to be desired... also it almost never snows down here so everything is just cold and dead.

However, regardless of the weather, the cities of Tokyo and Yokohama always provide stunning buildings and cityscapes to photograph. This is my first try at a sort of "fine art" looking photo, but I will be totally honest, I still don't actually know what qualifies as a "fine art" look.

This long exposure photo was taken in Tokyo, and is one of the most, if not the most, photographed Pagoda in all of Japan. However, while millions and millions of people have snapped a photo of it with their phones, I don't think most stop to truly appreciate the amount of effort put into its construction, and the remarkable summery on display. A lot of people will tell you not to bother trying to photograph popular location, but instead encourage people to find new and interesting ways to photograph or present those locations.

As always any feedback and comments are welcome. Also, what is your back up style of photography? Have you found any new and interesting ways to photograph a popular location? Feel free to share your experiences, thoughts, and photos.

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5 Comments

how cool is japan? i definitely need to get over there one day. the architecture is amazing and the craftsmanship is astounding. nice shot Jordan

I feel so lucky to live here. Not only is the photography nice, but there's a used camera shop in Shinjuku that sells things for a fraction of their retail value because most people don't want "used" items. I've almost talked myself into upgrading my telephoto lens, haha. Retail price is over $2500, but they're selling them for $1300 in near mint condition!

I definitely recommend a visit to Japan. The weather can be frustrating, and I can't promise you'd get any 5 star images from just a 2 week trip, but it's just such a stunning place.

give me the name of that shop!!!! free shipping???

https://www.mapcamera.com/html/worldguide/english_page.html

Not sure about shipping overseas, but you can have a look, haha.

as long as its not broken when it gets here