Pub Wall In Tokyo & New Quick Tip
Tokyo is, to quote the eminent philosopher Forrest Gump, “like a box of chocolates, you never know what you’re gonna get.” This is especially true for photographers. Wandering around Tokyo is akin to a treasure hunt. The city is full of unique scenes to photograph, tucked in places that could be easily overlooked, and may well have never been discovered by any camera before. You could be walking down a relatively uninteresting street, only to...
A Review of Polaroid Swing
For several months, I’ve been using a new app on my phone called Polaroid Swing. Almost every photographer out there knows the Polaroid brand. Actually, my first camera ever was a Polaroid – I won it in a Halloween costume contest in the 80s when I was around 3 years old. The company has always been about offering a unique way to photograph the world, most famously with their instantly printed photos which come straight...
Why I Love Mobile Photography
Most people assume that taking great photos requires lots of expensive gear and software. In fact, many go so far as to equate the two: upon seeing a beautiful photograph, the natural response is to say “you must have a nice camera!” While it’s true that equipment can be important in photography, it’s not true that you need expensive equipment to take great photos. The advent of mobile photography has proven this, I think, beyond...
Summer Fireworks 2016
This past weekend in my town here in Japan, my family was able to enjoy the annual summer fireworks festival. From the end of July through much of August, towns all across the country hold their own special fireworks displays, and people come out to watch them, often wearing traditional Japanese clothing. Being as popular as it is, it can get very crowded – there were at least tens of thousands of people line up...
Using Natural Framing In Photography
One of the most important aspects of good photography is framing, that is, where elements are placed within the image. It’s important to have a good balance so that the viewer’s eye has a natural place to go to when they see it. Thankfully, there are many cases where you don’t have to figure out how to frame the shot yourself – the design of the world around you has already done the job for...