This photo was tricky to take, I had to set my camera at a very steep angle to the window pane of the Bunkyo Civic Centre's view deck, and had to battle tons of reflections coming from the lights on the corridor. So had to do some jiggery-pokery with a black t-shirt whilst operating the remote shutter and changing exposures, because I knew that I will be digitally blending those photos. Still, it was one of those views that I was after for some time, I am actually really happy with how it came out. Bunkyo Civic Centre's view deck is free of charge and during weekdays there is hardly anyone around, so I highly recommend this place. Enjoy the view!
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I went to the Bunkyo Civic Center in central Tokyo tonight to shoot a night panorama of Shinjuku with M.t Fuji in the background during sunset. Unfortunately, it was really cloudy and hazy, and Fuji was hidden. Still, I managed to capture a few panoramic cityscapes of Tokyo falling engulfed by darkness. I rounded the horizon on purpose, to add a bit more character to the photo, and make Tokyo appear huge, as if it was wrapping around the globe. Far there, those skyscrapers on the horizon, you can see Ikebukuro. More night shots tomorrow!
Buy fine art photo prints at my store on SmugMug. Tokyo can be very claustrophobic. The buildings are small and tightly placed, streets are narrow, in fact some of them are so narrow that only one car can barely pass through. Flats are tiny, cielings are low, and you just feel permanently sqeezed. Highways run sometimes so close to the buildings, that if one took a good leap i bet he could jump from his balcony onto the road with ease. Combine this with a population of a fair size country (c. 37 mln people lives in Greater Tokyo at the moment), the atmosphere of stress and rush, and you have got yourself pretty crazy place to live in. Tokyo, alluring and fascinating as it may seem, is not for everyone. I took this photo from the view deck of the Tokyo Metropolitan Buildings, and it is a telephoto zoom of this shot here.
I live really close to the Makuhari Messe International Convention Centre, I decided to pop out today to visit the NASA and JAXA (Japanese Space Exploration Agency) exhibition. The place is OK, lots of replicas, a few original items, but my main aim there was to shoot photos for my cyborg and android photoshop manipulation project. So I was focusing on space craft interiors, like the replica of Apollo 17 Command Module, and the KIBO experimental module (on the photo below). I snapped almost 700 photos of everything and anything, engine parts, electronic modules, etc. I think I have tons of stock photos for my upcoming cyber fun.
I think that the Fuji Television building is among one of the most often photographed structures of Tokyo. And for a good reason, it is a great playground for a photographer from a beginner to a pro. The structure is brilliant, lots of geometry going on there, pillars, angles, spheres and squares, and if that is not enough at night the whole building lights up like a Christmas tree. There are phenomenal staircases, escalators, you name it it's there. In addition, it is located in Odaiba, where you can capture amazing panoramas of Tokyo, and lots of other things.
Buy fine art photo prints at my store on SmugMug. I took those photos yesterday in Odaiba. I said photos as this panorama is a stich of 8 photographs. I actually thought it will take me much more time to put this all together, but I managed to finish it within 2 hours. With panoramas like this, you will run into several alignment issues, especially on the water and sky, so those details will require lots of attention and fixing. I had to pull several tricks to deal with them, including frequency separation, which is a pain when you work on the image of that size. The final full photo is almost 14,000 pixels wide and 6000 pixels tall. Prints of this photo will be available on my online store on SmugMug.
This UFO has landed in central Tokyo back in the '70s. TV has boeadcasted that it ran out of fuel, but we all well know that they stopped by to do some shopping in Akihabara. The flying saucer was converted and accommodated for purposes of the local tribes. The alien crew has vanished mysteriously, but the urban legend says that the extraterrestrials still live among the 37mln people in Tokyo. Initially, the area was sealed by the military, but once the research and investigations were done with, gradually a new district was built around it. Till today, strange small spheres of light are being spotted around the UFO during summer months. Japanese government has not offered any explanation yet, however, people believe that it is just heat playing on their minds.
No matter what day of the week, Tokyo is always packed with people. Winter, summer, rain, heat, day and night, no matter, there are people everywhere flowing back and forth in smaller and larger streams. Some places are more crazy than others, like Shibuya or Odaiba, etc. I snapped this photo on my way to capture that panorama of Tokyo with a Rainbow bridge, which you can see in the background. This photo is a blend of three different black and white photos, created from one exposure and mixed in photoshop.
Although Tokyo is not the most expensive city in the world anymore (and thank Buddha for that), Ginza is hands down the most pricey area of the metropolis. It is a land of Gucci, Chanel, and all other branded overpriced extravaganza for people with low self-esteem, who need to decorate themselves to feel more important and secure. Still, Ginza is a fantastic place for photographers, as regardless of the time of the day there is always something interesting to shoot, like ladies in kimono, a Buddhist monk, or interesting architecture like the one you can see on the photo below. This is a shot of the famous Ginza crossing at dusk. Incidentally, I have a realistic HDR tutorial on Youtube, split into two parts, here is a link to part 1. If you are into photo editing and HDR photoghraphy, you might find it interesting, enjoy!
Selected prints of my photos can be purchased at my store on SmugMug, here. I took this photo on the roof top of Mori Tower in roppongi Hills. It is possibly one of the best view decks in Tokyo, without glass windows blocking your view, and it offers a 360 degrees panorama. You cannot use tripods there, but small ones, like gorilla or a super clamp with an attachment like Manfrotto's magic arm, you should be fine. Mind you, make sure that you do not bring large backpacks or bags to the top, as you wont be allowed either. The views are spectacular, including sunsets over Mt. Fuji. The entrance fee is not small, 2000 yen for the top and lower decks (lower deck is behind the glass windows), but you can buy a yearly ticket for 5000 yen, and have unlimited access.
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Ponte Ryuurui (品天龍涙)
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