Tips and tools for becoming a better photorapher
Having completed the 1,400km Shikoku Pilgrimage (四国遍路) earlier this year, writing a daily journal while on the trail, I have now collated 100 of my favourite images into a book which hopefully captures some of the essence of what makes Shikoku so special. Read more
Over the past month since I completed the Shikoku Pilgrimage I’ve been busy putting together a photo book chronicling the adventure and I’m pleased to announce that it’s almost complete! Read more
Recently I was asked how I manage to capture my adventures without getting overwhelmed and missing out on the present moment. Having lived abroad for over eight years in a state of long-term/slow travel I thought I’d share a few of the things I’ve learnt which help make this possible. Read more
As the saying goes, the best camera is the one that’s with you, and most of the time that’s my iPhone. Below are some shots I’ve taken over the past year of Tokyo’s seductive lights, proving my magpie instincts are very much still alive. Read more
In Japan young people officially become adults at 20 (二十歳 hatachi) and every year there’s a national holiday held on the second Monday of January known as Coming of Age Day (成人の日 Seijin no Hi). Celebrations are held at local government offices as well among friends and family with many wearing traditional kimono or hakama. Read more
King’s Road (英皇道) in Hong Kong is the major street which runs east-west along the northern shore of Hong Kong Island, extending all the way from Causeway Bay to Sai Wan Ho. If you visit HK you’ll likely end up travelling along the street at some point, whether it be by foot, bus or tram above ground or MTR underground. Read more
During my two years in Hong Kong I lived on the east side of Hong Kong Island in an apartment complex called Kornhill which lies within Quarry Bay. It wasn’t until shortly before I left in March this year that I discovered the area has an interesting history and I decided to take a closer look… Read more
Back in 2011 I wrote about Natsumi Hayashi, the Japanese girl who takes seemingly impossible photos of herself floating in various places around Tokyo, and then posted on her blog “yowayowa camera woman diary”. This week her first solo photographic exhibition opened at Spiral Garden in Aoyama and I went along to check it out.
Two of her new pieces have been blown up onto enormous 6x9m canvases. The photo above was taken in the Vietnamese factory of the clothing manufacturer who sponsored the exhibition. There were also some smaller prints hung along the wall of the spiral staircase.
In case you’re wondering how she takes these surreal shots, it basically involves a tripod, self timer and lots of jumping to get the right pose. I guess the deadpan expression also helps!
It’s great to see that her personal project has had so much success and will be interesting to see what she comes up with next.
While Harajuku and Shibuya are squarely aimed at the younger generations in Tokyo, it’s easy to forget that Japan has an ageing population with more than 20% of people being over the age of 65. So where do all these older folk go to shop? One popular place is Sugamo (巣鴨), otherwise known as “Grandma’s Harajuku”. Read more
