Life in Japan - Pictures galore !! Arcades, Temples, Rainy days, etc

Starbucks (Night) by gaijin_punch, on Flickr


Three in a Row by gaijin_punch, on Flickr


Bright Lights by gaijin_punch, on Flickr


Dual Umbrellas by gaijin_punch, on Flickr

 

Green man by martindesu, on Flickr


One of the best portraits EVER by martindesu, on Flickr


Bridge by martindesu, on Flickr


Picturesque by martindesu, on Flickr


Jiyugaoka by martindesu, on Flickr


Green and yellow by martindesu, on Flickr


Mr. Bean by martindesu, on Flickr


Driving by martindesu, on Flickr


Shibuya Crossing by martindesu, on Flickr

 

I did see that one as well, but the price is a bit out of my budget. Looks like a stunning lens though, especially after doing some reading up on it. Still not ballsy enough to go without zoom on a lens, but I'm still very much a newbie!!

Have considered giving fixed lenses a go though - the Sigma 30mm F1.4 is reasonably priced and sounds like a nice entry solution. I thought the low f-stop would be handy for indoor shots and a good learning lens. Not sure if 30mm is too tight for indoors though... will have to have a play with my current lens and lock it at 30mm and see how I go! What do you use for fixed shots these days?

@Martin: Some stunning shots mate - I have to wonder what angle you were hanging on for the bridge shot though!

 

Lovely shots as always guys.

As is tradition I took a few night shots while drinking last night and one this morning when I woke up in the car. well, I saythis morning but it was more like afternoon at 11 am.


It's made of lego- by Yakum01975, on Flickr


stary lights by Yakum01975, on Flickr

I was woke up by heavy rain battering down on the car's roof


Morning rain by Yakum01975, on Flickr

 

I had the 30mm Sigma lens. It's not bad from what I remember, but Sigma's can be rather hit or miss. That's an APS-C only lens, in case you're thinking of going full frame some time. But yeah, it will be a nice break in to wide aperture lenses. It might be too tight for some shots though, as you said.

I'm truly inspired!

 

Dang all of you guys really take amazing pictures , they make me want to visit Japan more and more everytime I view this thread! Thanks for sharing them.

 

As a project I should walk around town and take photos of what's on display at photo studios. There's one in Azabujuuban where in the window there's collection of photos of an infant -- naked, and his dick fully exposed in several of them. So wrong. :/

 

Yeah, truly inspired to vomit :encouragement: I honestly believe all involved with that photo thought it was a genuine beautiful picture. To me it looks like a sickly piss take :witless:

 

Awesome, will keep that in mind when looking at primes. Can't remember if I asked, but what is your wandering around lens you're currently using? I have a feeling it'll be way out of my league, but it's always good to learn about these things!

 

He's using an RX1 which is a 35mm fixed-lens camera. If you're on APS-C, then a 24mm camera gives the same perspective (which is what 99% of my most recent photos have been using).

Thanks for all the nice comments chaps. I remember when I lived in the UK, I craved photos of Japan. I do probably post more on my blog, but try to keep up to date on here too.

 

Indeed, my walk around lens is on my RX1 (which is fixed). However, for some 6 months (or maybe a year now?) before that I've been walking around w/a Zeiss 35mm F2, which is essentially the same thing for all intents and purposes. No autofocus, although ironically I'm far better at focusing than the RX1's auto focus. The top two photos of my top-most post on this page are w/ the Zeiss 35/2, the bottom two with the RX1.

I have since lifted a film camera and am mainly using that, but that's only been for a week or so. I have pussied out on taking it to the desert this year as it's a nice one, and was quite costly, so I'm going to break in some cheap-ish old film cameras. Also trying to find film to suit those conditions (really need ISO50, if not 25), and a lot of it is expired, so most of my summer is going to be spent fucking around w/ 2-3 film camera from the 60's, and some film that's expired between the late 90's and now.

 

TBH GP, I think you should buy an M9. It's totally suited to your shooting style, manual focus included. I also find manual focussing a breeze.

 

Manual focus is indeed easy but every now and then the automatic can be very handy apart from doing long distance shots.

 

For a moment there I thought you were talking about guns... goes to show I know nothing about cameras... or guns...

 

If I got anything I'd wait for the Leica M(10). The M9's high ISO is laughable at best, topping out at 1600 being barely usable, and will require heavy de-noising. Apparently this is b/c it uses a CCD sensor and not CMOS. The M-Monochrome can shoot at 3200 no sweat, and since it's a monochrome sensor, any noise it does produce looks like film grain anyway. Obviously nobody knows what the next iteration will hold, but apparently Leica realizes it had to up it's ISO game for the low-light crowd.

I won't lie. It has crossed my mind to get one... I just need to find the justification. If the FF NEX comes out next year as people are saying, it might negate that need . Just gotta see... also gotta see if I have an extra $7000 lying around for a camera body. :/

Handy indeed, if you can trust it. Honestly my two current digital bodies (5d2, RX1) both have very lacking auto-focus systems. My style have evolved around that weakness.

 

The GH2 with the right lens is actually very fast with auto focus with a very high rate of success. Partly because this body is also designed with video in mind which needs quality auto focus. If you use the touch to shoot feature (touching the screen) the auto focus is pretty flawless unless you are trying to go for a distant shot. But yeah, if you have the time then manual is always the best option.

 

GP the M-monochrome is bloody amazing. It's a fine-wine of a camera. I would imagine using it would evoke more emotion that firing off 10fps on a 5dmkiii


Rainy Season has started by martindesu, on Flickr


Showers by martindesu, on Flickr

 

Depends on how you use it. There's a guy in a camera forum I frequent that does some pretty amazing street stuff with it. I could actually shoot the same style he does w/ my 5D2... it negates the shallow depth of field though, which I like. Thing is, the lens is what - $3,000? If you rate that at a 10, you could get a Zeiss for $1000 (maybe $700) which is ranked at about 9.2 or so.

Anyway, strapped as a mofo right now. Let's see how the next two bonus cycles turn out. You can't even get the things yet anyway.

 

I work in academia, so there's no monetary bonus for me. Anyway, the M-monochrome is great. I mean, all these different cameras... but unless you have an idea, or a vision, when you shoot, it doesn't really matter. I see utter garbage from people owning 645D, or Leica, or anything. I see amazing photos from point-and-shoots... and even phones(!). You could shoot the same style with a 5Dmkii, but I know which I'd rather carry around all day. That's the charm of these smaller cameras. Money no factor, I would have a room of gear... maybe. I'd only take one out at a time... it'd be interesting to see which camera I went for most.

 

That is generally how I do it (the true discipline is choosing which lens you go for) but the beauty of the RX1 is you can always shove it up your ass before you go and have it be your fall back. You also don't want to get stuck somewhere w/ film only... unless you got tons of rolls.

I have reason to believe my Zeiss lens is front focusing... but, these came out okay I guess.


Kamakura Beach 10 by gaijin_punch, on Flickr


Kamakura Beach 19 by gaijin_punch, on Flickr


Kamakura Beach 14 by gaijin_punch, on Flickr