Over the course of this year, one goal I’ve had is to capture normal, everyday scenes of Japan. I love a great landscape or cityscape of course, but in a sense those are easy to photograph. It’s a lot harder to share the essence of a place; to really express in photographs the atmosphere or vibe you might experience when visiting a place. At the same time, I had no desire to do typical street photography. There’s plenty of it here for one, but also my goal isn’t to focus so much on what people are doing as much as the general sights you see walking around an average Japanese town. The reason I wanted to do this is that, as someone who has lived in Japan multiple times throughout my life, my experience is that I feel most nostalgic when I see those kinds of everyday scenes. The epic shots may inspire a person to visit the country, but these everyday photos draw out the nostalgia of being there.
This photo is one I took recently in my own town. This is a little meat shop here in Chiba Prefecture where I live. Although the kanji on the sign would suggest otherwise, it’s not actually in Narita, but my own town of Matsudo. I’ve seen this place many times, but just finally got a good night to grab a shot. And looking at it, I feel like it shares a small glimpse of what it’s like to be here, walking down the streets on a beautiful October evening.
Camera: Nikon D610
Lens: Nikon 16-35mm f/4 VR
Shot Info: f/5 | 1/30 sec | ISO160 | 35mm
