LomoTokyo
Well, it's been awhile since I was last here....
Anyway, finally got the Holga films scanned from our trip to Tokyo mid-december-ish. So thought I'd share a few. Only problem with going on holiday at that time of year? On returning my favoured photo-lab was shut for the holidays, hence the long delay.
For those not familiar with the Holga camera: it's a cheap (mine was AU$30 brand new), plastic lens camera using 120 format film. If you're used to using a DSLR with all the bells and whistles, using a Holga and "shooting with the force" (ie. guessing everything) is a whole bunch of fun. In fact, shooting film is just more fun in general.
Photos taken with a Holga 120N on Velvia 100 for colour and Kodak T-MAX100 for b/w.
More photos are on flickr, along with a bunch of digital images from the same trip.
First day in Tokyo we were still finding our feet and getting lost. Actually I think we spent a lot of time getting lost... because it's the best way to explore places.
Laputa robot at the Ghibli Museum... the only the we pre-booked. It was well worth the money, highly reccomended. Technically photos aren't allowed in the museum itself, but the staff didn't seem to mind the cameras coming out around this bronze statue.
The surrounding Mitaka area near Ghibli is beautiful and peaceful as well. We decided to sit down and rest our well walked feet in the parkland surrounding the Ghibli complex. Ate Pocky and listened to Air (as in the French electro outfit)... perfect.
Bright, sunny winter days meant that the Holga could be set to "N" (Normal) shutter rather than "B" (Bulb)... so at least some photos weren't shaky.
Ginza backstreets. I'd forgotten one of the great joys of winter in the high-lattitudes: "morning/evening" sunlight, for most of the day.
Shibuya crossing, I think... bright spark here obviously forgot to advance the film. Personally though I like the effect.
Random pedestrian crossing in Shinjuku... about a four second exposure I think. Wound up buying a lot of clothes from Taka-Q just near here. Seems Japanese sizings fit me better than Australian ones.
Honestly, Shinjuku was probably our favorite district of Tokyo that we visited. Yes, that includes Akihabra.
Random bicycle. I loved the Japanese approach to cycling, where it's transport rather than like it is here were everyone apparently needs to spend the entire cycle trip doing warp-factor-nine.
Cool pictures :3
I really like those lighty ones at night ^^ and the one on the stairs, really nice effects!
Cheers mate. Yeah, the Holga's cheapo lens does tend to handle long-exposure night shots interestingly.
Love the retro feel of these pics. Hope you post some more.
Thanks mate. Sadly, bar the ones on flickr that's about all I shot (culled a few out that were of the same scene though). I started the trip trying to conserve film as I've no idea where to buy 120 format rolls in Tokyo. Then at the end of the trip I'd shot nowhere near as much as I'd planned on ^^;
your photos brought tears to my eyes -I would use my old 120 film cameras but don't have the facility for processing film and printing photos. DSLR users don't know what they are missing. Thanks :D
reminded of Brassai's Paris night photos - had to come back for a second look !! :)
"DSLR users don't know what they are missing." Truth truly spoken.
In or seriousness though: DSLRs have their place, and I still prefer DSLR for doing figure shots (ie. situations where I want to take lots of images with minute changes). However, for street and just getting "feel" into an image film beats digital hands down... and I still find film more enjoyable to shoot.
Can you get 120 rolls developed by mail order where you are? It's a bit more expensive but I know the photo lab I go to does mailorder processing.
And many cheers for the compliment mate... though I've got a long way to go before I can even hold a candle to Brassai =P
checked your other posts - you definitely have an "old school" style Atget, Brassai, real "street" aesthetic your digital stuff is outstanding as well.
Love the double exposure image. Gives it a very ethereal look. That's the one bad thing about digital.. it's a lot harder to do double exposures on purpose. Photoshop to the rescue though...
no double exposure me lad, slow shutter speed :D
Actually, that one of Shibuya crossing is a double exposure, one from the overpass of Shibuya station and the other from street level, both about 4 sec long. It was however an accident. Normally I would take a shot and then advance the film so I could whip the camera out and shoot again quickly. However this time we were in a bit of a hurry (were meeting two girls we'd met on the plane for dinner) so I forgot to wind the film on ^^;
Still, "happy accidents" are part of the fun of shooting with the Holga.
Yeah, but doing it in photoshop isn't quite as much fun as running it twice on the same bit of film =P
Cheers much mate.