STREET PORTRAITIST

A Day in The Life - Yoyogi

(This actually happened nearly a month ago, but I forgot to post it :o )

Left the house with no plan (as usual) and was heading towards the station when I saw this guy. I normally see him on the weekends on the side of the road.

I go up to him and say hi and he looks up to me and says hi back. Realizing he is gonna have to strain his neck looking up anytime he wants to say anything I decided to sit on the floor next to him.

I asked him about what he does and said that he sharpens knives and scissors. Depending on the type they take 15mins at earliest and costs 400yen and up depending on item.

I asked him how he got into it and he said that he had been doing this type of thing for 50 years. He is 80 now and used to work as a builder until he got too old and now does this.

He told me that I looked young and said that he thinks that I am 17 years old LOL…I laughed and said, “nah im 27 yo” :o

We talked about how what he was doing is rare and I have never seen anybody doing that in the streets before. He told me that he has been on TV and there are some posters of him nearby in the area.

He said that I can take his photo but that lots of people have already taken it so I wont be able to make money from it lol..

He tells me I should wait for a customer to bring him a knife before taking his photo and 10 seconds later someone comes.

I bought him a bottle of water and put it next to him and he told me to drink it. I lied and said I already have one and he reluctantly accepted it.

I took a few pis of him working and him looking at me and decided to move on out (a lot of people walking past staring etc).

I tried to leave him 500yen for taking his time but he said, “Im not a real model so I cant take your money”.

I put 500 yen on his box and he told me to take the money back and got a bit angry…

He pulled out his money box and showed it to saying he has his own money and he is gonna work hard and keep earning more.

I verbally nodded and said to myself, “damn straight”.

Jumped on the train and had to change to get the express, a girl with short hair got off the same doors as me.

Our eyes met and I said, “Yo” and she said, “Yo” back with a pronunciation that suggested that she might speak English.

I ask if she does and she says yes. I ask if she went abroad to learn and she says, “I learned in university. But I have traveled the world”.

She more or less had my full attention at that point. I asked her a bunch of questions about it:

She said that she made the trip by herself travelling to 9 countries for 39 days taking the train to travel around each country she arrived at. Morocco was her favorite country. I was impressed since she is young and doing something like that is definitely going against the grain (even more so because she is Japanese).

I told her that her hair is cool and she showed me pics of a model called Ota Rina who inspired her to cut it short. 

Her objective for today was to meet her friend who was gonna take pics of her because it was her birthday earlier that month.

I told her I was meeting my friend Alani to take pics and we ended up deciding to all just go hang together and take pics.

Got out from the station took a few shots of her with Porta 400 film. My light meter was telling me I could only shoot at a setting that I didnt want too (little light). So I set it up, looked through my camera and my cameras light meter was telling me there was more light and I could change the settings. I usually never look at the camera meter, I decided to become an optimist and trust the camera instead of the light meter and ended up owning myself. I was shooting iso 400 film, but my camera was set to iso 1000 for some reason (photos came out terrible hence why im using an old photo for her Astia) :( 

Meet her friend and she is cool, and could speak some English too. 

Asked her how they know each other and she says that they are uni friends both studying English and literature.

We go into the park and take a few pics and me her end up talking about white balance, shooting in RAW and a bunch of other camera setting related topics.

Later in the day while I was taking some test shots she ended up helping me out as an assistant. I needed to fix her friends scarf around her neck and her jacket and stuff but didnt wanna touch her. So I would put my hand up and say “Assisto!!” and she would like run over and help me out adjusting her friends clothes :D

While walking through the park we met this guy. We did the whole “hey you have a cool camera” thing and started talking to each other.

He was doing a cool project where he would take photos of people he meets and then get them to answer a question and write down a question for the next person.

Alani showed up at that point and wrote me the question, “What is you fave food from London” in which I replied, “Chinese food!!!”.

I then asked the question, “What music do you listen to, to lift your spirits” to the next person.

Hung around for a while shooting and chilling then started gravitating towards the exit and we saw this guy.

Did the whole cool camera thing and started talking to each other. He had like 3 cameras, a tripod on his waist a light meter that looked like a compass and some cool binocular thingies that tell you exactly how far away someone is from you so you dont have to look through the camera to focus.

He was from America and was in Japan shooting an assignment. Today was his day off so he was out shooting for fun.

Really cool dude, spoke to him about developing film and he told me to buy a Jobo tank and a water bath and try developing color film because it is easy (everybody says its hard).

He said he had been doing photography for 10 years and used to print and do a lot of darkroom stuff but hasnt recently. However, he said that he is looking to get back into it. He has shot for some big companies and stuff, so was cool how chilled and down to earth he was. You know how the whole photography scene is right?

He filled out the question paper and let the other guy take a photo of him for his project. We all then chilled for a bit and all took photos of each other.

Wished him a safe trip back, he went off in one direction and we all exited the park in the opposite direction. Before we all left I took a quick group pic:

The end. Wowzers I wonder how many people will actually read this all lol.

A Day in The Life - Odaiba

A couple of random pics and thoughts from a day out in Odaiba last week.

A list of all the photographers that came out that day :P (listed in order I met that day):

Mijonju - met at shinjuku yama platform 8:30ish

Imo - met at shinjuku yama platform 8:40ish (met via mijonju)

twocutedogs - met outside shimabashi stn at 9:40ish

Joanne - met inside shimbashi stn at about 1 minute after 9:40ish

Matthew - met at Odaiba at 11ish (met via Joanne)

Irwin - met 12ish at odaiba (he doesnt do mornings)

Objective of the day, shoot Large Format, Medium Format and just practice and experiment with a bunch of different films.

(Portra 400 pentax67)

Number 43 came down to hang and get some photos taken. I picked her up from the station at 10:50 and she said she needed to be back at the station for 11:40… Panic ensued… Ended up running around trying to take as many pics as possible in a short amount of time (a very good way to waste film and make mistakes :o) .

(Astiaaaaaaaaaaa pentax67, think the lab messed up this and one other shot, look at bottom left and right…)

We all went down to the beach front and with time running out I tried to take a large format shot of her. I kinda messed it up :p

One thing I need to do is take a bit more time to make sure the camera is in a 100% neutral position. Its easy to kinda think it is but the back or something is bent giving u some weird movement. I took the shot I tried to take LF with the pentax:

(Ektar pentax67)

One thing I learnt after shooting 5 rolls of color and trying to scan them all back in September is that scanners cant scan color.. (i use epson v700/gtx970) 

It seems like the scanner might get you the right colors in a few unique light situations, but other than that you have to go into some program and tweak temperature and tint to try and get the right color. Not even really sure if this is how Ektar is suppose to look lol…

After going into overtime (12ish) she had to leave. Met up with the rest of the gang on the beach front and saw Mijonju sitting down. I asked him to clasp his hands and tilt his head a bit and then took a LF shot of him.

(tmax 400 large format)

I was kinda hoping that at the F-stop and proximity the background would go blurry and the lines on the top right would disappear. Need to try figure out the DOF of my lens. I don’t want to burn sheets testing it and a chart full of numbers isnt really too intuitive (time to buy that Adam Ansels book) :o

Also, Im thinking that iso 400 is a pretty lame speed for the pentax. Too fast for daytime too slow for night time. Might just have to cave in and get a ND Filter. Thinking the ultimate setup might be to get a ton of iso 800 portra and a 3 stop filter and just switch from iso 100 (bright daytime) 800 (all other times). 

Later in the day I grabbed Imo and took a few shots of her. Here is one that I didnt post:

(Ektar pentax67)

During the last part of the day we were all chilling on a bridge as the sun was about to go. I decided to shoot Irwin with LF before the light completely went. I took a shot with tmax and then took a Polaroid after. Not sure how, but I managed to cut his foot off in the polaroid shot and everybody started calling me a noob etc .

The sun was literally on the horizon and was about to disappear in like 30 seconds or so, so I decided to try and take a redemption shot. Figuring I had like 20 or so seconds I started setting up the shot. All the people with me were doing their best to try and distract me by acting retarded etc, but I managed to own them all by getting a half decent shot given the circumstances it was taken in (clutch baby):

(Polaroid large format)

So yeah that’s it, was a fun day. Wasted a bit of film, but that’s just the way it goes.

One thing I learnt is that large format + medium format is too heavy to carry around all day. Need a suitcase type bag but not sure if I wanna drop 50,000 on one (my LF setup was only like 70,000ish, so buying a bag that much is a bit…)

Oh well…

Lastly, I’m gonna put up a few extra shots on my FB page. Normally I take a few photos of people I meet but only post one. Will start posting the alternatives there.

So check it out :p

http://www.facebook.com/streetportraitist

Peace!!

A Day in The Life (Large Format)

First off, just wanna say Merry Xmas to everybody. Hope you all have a great day and get lots of presents (I prefer money in envelopes ;p) .

So I bought a large format camera on Friday (Thanks to Mijonju and twocutedogs for helping me buy it) . The plan was to meet Mijonju on Saturday and go mess around with it.

Woke up early in the morning and went to buy food. On the way home I saw an old lady with a dog walk past me. I cleared my eyes and looked again and it was number FiftySeven. I ran up to her and said, “Hi”. She looked at me, and just kept on walking.

I was like, “Huh?” Walked up to her again and said, “Hi, do you remember me?” She looked at me again, said nothing and walked off. 

My head was spinning, I was like ahh damn she actually forgot that she even met me :(

About 10 seconds pass, I run down the road and catch up with her and come at a new angle. I call out her dogs name (Atomuu). She looks, smiles and says, “Oh you remembered his name?”. I said, “Yeah”  pulled out my phone and said, “Hey I took your photo the other day!”. She thanks me we talk for a few seconds and she walks off…

Get to Mijonjus spot and I pull out the tripod so we can setup the camera. An elderly guy sitting on a bench asks if we want him to take a photo of us. We end up striking a deal saying we take a photo of you then you can take a photo of us (was shooting polaroids for practice so not really high quality).

While I was setting up to take the photo this lady comes and sits down. She is 90 years old but walking around normally and looks in really good health. We took 3 shots of them. This one I took is slightly out of focus, we gave them one of the photos and I kept one for myself.

This is the one he took of us.

They leave and I see a good spot to take a photo of Mijonju. I take about 3 photos and they are either too light or too dark. This one is a bit on the dark side but actually works out well.

A lady walks by and is scoping out the camera and asks about it. We speak and I asked her if she wants a pic. She says she has no make up on and me and Mijonju both say at the same time “you dont need make up!”. I take her pic in the exact same spot as the one above and tell her she can have the polaroid. 

I notice a tattoo on her neck and ask her about it, she says she has plenty more. She says that she does hair and make up and if we ever need it to holla at her. I tell her I plan to do a lot of shooting next year and was actually looking for someone to do makeup. She says she is down to do freelance stuff and shows me some of the cool make up stuff she has done on her phone (she is good). I ask her if I can take one more photo of her and that ill scan them to keep a copy for myself and give her the polaroid after. She says yeah. I get her to stand in the alleyway and take this: 

We exchanged details (her name is Maity) and agreed to defo do something together sometime in the future (I better up my game lol). 

We decide to change spot because the light has changed. Its like 14:00 and a few hours have gone past but it seemed like only a few minutes.

Here are a few shots we took after:

So yeah, the plan is to practice a bit more with polaroids then hope to start shooting real film soon!

Anyway once again, Merry Xmas folks. Have a great day :) Have fun, be safe!

Street Portraitist - A Day In The Life

A few people have asked how I approach people or how often I get turned down when asking strangers for photos.

I thought I would do a quick write up of the past Saturday where I spent a few hours roaming around for photos.

I started the day of at Temple University studying with my study buddy Kenjer. A few minutes after we were done studying I decided to try and take a photo of him to experiment using window light. I flipped the lights off and used the light from the window on the right to light him.

Not a street portrait, but a good way to get warmed up before shooting.

As soon as I got out of the Uni I saw a guy staring at my camera, I slowed down to give him a chance to engage if he wanted to.

He asked me what I was doing and I explained my project. He told me he liked to shoot film (Ilford). I asked him for photo he said “sure”. He was wearing pink so I put him next to a black pillar and took his photo. He said I can use his photo for exhibitions or offline projects but he doesn’t want his face online. I told him I wouldnt put it online, gave him my card and moved on.

Got to Azabu Juban station and saw a few interesting people, but there was nothing interesting around, just clutter. A few steps on I spotted this nicely dressed chap. I went up to him and complimented him on his threads. I think he might have been Korean.

I asked him if he was going somewhere or if he dressed like that every day. He said he dressed like that every day. I thought to myself, damn I better up my fashion game :O

I asked if I can take his picture for my site and he said cool. The only useable things in that area were some metal poles. I asked him to lean back into them and look across at me.

Quite happy with how this came out. 

Moved on to Roppongi Hills. There was halloween event going on so it was filled with children so I swiftly moved on. Saw a lady walking next to me wearing a nice striped top. I dont normally stop people who are on the move unless I get some eye contact or they look out of this world and I need to defo get their pic. Simple reason being, people are less likely to say yes if they are on the move and you stop them. I spoke to her as we walked and she smiled and said she doesn’t think she looks nice enough to be in the photo. I smiled and let her go.

Went up to Roppongi hills saw a nice area with good light and nice colors, waited for a while hoping to catch someone wearing red or bright blue but they never came.

A few minutes later the light went and I moved on. Went down the escalator and saw a girl by a bike wearing red looking happy. 

I made eye contact and went up to her and introduced myself and said I liked the red she was wearing, her energy and I wanted to take a pic of her for my project.

She said sure but then confirmed that i wouldnt use it for anything bad/weird. I pulled out my phone and showed her my previous photos and she was convinced.

She told me that she made jewelry and then took off one of the her bracelets that were on her arm and put in on her head.

I put her next to a dark staircase with lines running up it, the sun on her side lighting her and got a bit of her purple bike in the frame too.

Jumped on the train to Hikarigaoka so I could walk through the park to go home. Saw some bikers and said hi and just chilled with them watching them do tricks for a while.

When one of them was taking a rest I asked him for a pic and he said yes. I had him stay in light because I felt the punchy light worked well with his complexion and hair color.

Looking back, should have maybe back lit him instead.

Moved on a bit more and saw a girl sitting by herself, she had a cool shawl on and a green skirt.

Sat next to her and told her I would like to take a photo, she asked me what I wanted to use it for. I feel that the best way around it is to show your work rather than explain it. If you show them your work and they like it they end up being more excited to take the photo which works out better.

She pulled a film camera out of her bag (an Olympus pen) and showed me some prints she had made. It put a smile on my face seeing someone shoot film and also since she used a 38mm which is my fav lens (35mm to be precise).

There was a lot of clutter and nothing too interesting around (parks) so I asked her to jump up on the stump of a tree, stand sideways on and look towards me.

I had two more shots left and I asked her if I could use it on her. I somehow completely missed the focus on the first one, but nailed the second one.

No more film in the camera walking back home and I see someone hidden away behind some trees. I poked my head around and said, ”hi”. She welcomes me and we start talking. She pulls out some banana cake she made and tells me to eat it and sit down.

I load up film and ask to take a shot. She is elderly and for some reason feels me taking a photo of her is a waste of film because she is old.

That kinda made me sad to hear that and was actually more persistent to take her photo since I know deep down she probably wanted me to. Also I made it clear to her that it wasn’t a waste and more an honor to take it.

After that initial shot we spoke some more and she was just generally talking about life, Japan and a few other things. As we spoke she took her glasses off and started getting kinda animated and emotional.

The light went and she said she had to go. I took one more photo of her and she told me she will be back at that same spot this time next week.

I told her I will come and bring her a print of one of the photos I took.

And thats the end. Catch me on twitter -> http://twitter.com/#!/mrportraitist