Street Photography in Tokyo
Overlooking the Tokyo cityscape on a rainy spring day.
In my personal time I find that street photography has a pull that I can hardly find anywhere else. As many people have seen now, it can be exciting to vicariously explore cities and lives through the artistic lens of photographers in exotic locations. Tokyo is no different in that sense.
I’ve been doing street photography off and on over the years, these days though it’s been something that has sat on my mind on a more regular basis, particularly as a way to overcome barriers in my own approach, and reach new points of challenge and comfort. Street photography was initially quite intimidating for me. Good street photography, or as I like to define it for myself, requires being part of the scene, but not enough to take away from the subjects in their natural environment. That’s something I’ve been trying to foster in my approach.
As with any interest it’s something we have to regularly practice, make mistakes in, review, and set out again to go above and beyond our original approach and expectations. I’ve been successful in some regards, and not so much in others but at the end of the day I can look back and see the progress I’ve made over time, despite not being at the point I’d like to ultimately be sitting at. That’s I guess what makes it so enjoyable.
For now, street photography is an artistic endeavor that refines my skills as a photographer, but also helps me develop as a person and story teller. I’m making an effort to make it a regular part of my life here in Japan. I’ll be making more entries with my views and experiences in mind going forward. I hope it will be of interest and use to anyone taking the time to read these entries.
