The Tokyo Forgeries Blog
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The Loss of Context: How Over-Cropping Can Misrepresent Street Scenes.
In the instant photography and social media age, the art of capturing street scenes has evolved immensely. With just a click, anyone can take a snapshot of their environment and share it with the world. However, this accessibility also brings a significant challenge: the tendency to over-crop images. While cropping can enhance a photo's composition or highlight particular details, over-cropping risks stripping away crucial context, ultimately misrepresenting the story behind the photograph.
I Love Tokyo
Tokyo is such a wonderful city! It’s clean, safe, easy to explore, and filled with fun experiences. I truly feel blessed to call this vibrant place my home, where I can spend my time capturing the beauty of one of the most fascinating cities on earth. Sharing those photos online brings me immense joy, but nothing compares to the excitement of taking you on a photo tour of Tokyo!
In Tokyo, Colour Is Best For Street Photography.
I love to shoot in black and white. I love it so much that I purchased a camera that only shoots in black and white. That camera is the Q2 Monochrom by Leica. That is how much I love black-and-white street photography. This blog is almost entirely in black and white. Why suggest Tokyo looks best in colour? I think that it does.
Is The 1:1 Aspect Ratio Best For Street Photography?
I frequently use the Leica Q2 Monochrom and Nikon Z9 cameras. They have a common aspect ratio of 24 x 36 mm (3:2), ideal for landscape and portrait photography, appealing to the human eye. This ratio resembles televisions, theatres, computer screens, and most printed materials. Since many designs favour this ratio, why opt for a 1:1 aspect ratio?
Shibuya Crossing: Why Street Photographers Hate It, Why I Love It.
I want a moment. That is what I shoot in street photography. It is what I shoot in all other genres of photography as well. I don’t consider what is popular, what has been done before, just the moment. It must be a fraction of time expressed in a nearly tangible format. I need to be able to taste, smell, almost touch, and feel it. I fail at this all the time.
Rediscover Street Photography in Shibuya
Twenty years and three kids later, losing the confident innocence I once shot in the streets of Shibuya with became too easy. So much that I didn’t even realize it was gone. I love to shoot in all genres, but I am especially fond of street photography. I practice it daily, even when I don’t have a camera. Complacency can creep into any man’s life if you let it. This idea is the concept behind my namesake, Tokyo Forgeries—a daily reminder to strive for originality.
Tokyo Changes, Shoot It Before You Lose It.
Tokyo Changes
Cities are living things in a constant state of change. Tokyo is one of the biggest and most vibrant cities in the world. Its changes come fast and without warning. That new favourite shooting spot you found can vanish into thin air before returning for a second shoot.
28mm Is The Best Focal Length For Street Photography!
Is 28mm the best street photography focal length? Many say it is. I one hundred percent agree! Except when I don’t. This exception is not a complicated one. I will explain further along. However, 28 mm is a complicated. It is not a wide angle nor a standard focal length such as 35 and 50mm. This one reason is precisely why I think street photographers love it. Wide angle enough to be wide but not so wide to distort reality. Also, it is not standard, unlike the historically favoured 35 mm and 50 mm focal lengths.
Street Photography Etiquette?
What is street photography etiquette? Is it practiced? When can it go over the line? Who decides that line? I aim to answer all these questions, not based on popular opinion, but on 20 years of street photography in Tokyo. Does that make me right? More correct than you? No. Etiquette is up to the individual.
Shooting For Eye Contact In Shibuya
Eye contact is paramount. It resonates with everyone; it doesn’t matter if you enjoy street photography or any other type of photography—we all grasp the impact of eye contact. Why is it so hard to capture it? For me, it is fear.
Fear of the unknown, to be more specific. How will they react to having their picture taken? When I show them, how will they respond to my rendering? All these thoughts, along with the calculations, mathematical and creative to take photographs, plow through my mind instantly—the click of the shutter button is merely the result of all that grey matter processing. If the math is correct, the sum will be a good image.
Working the Scene in Tokyo’s Shibuya
One of the first lessons learned as a new street photographer is to work the scene. That is, to move around the scene you are shooting for the best image to capture. I learned this lesson very early as I only had access to a single lens, a 50mm. I would love to claim artistic instinct, but in truth, I had no other choice.
A Beautiful Night of Street Photography in Shibuya
What constitutes a beautiful night of street photography is italicized below. Though it is written in the formal language required for another publication, the highlighted text provides insight into not only how to approach teaching street photography but also how I practice it.
The Joy of Sharing Street Photography.
Most of my day as a street photographer is spent scouting new locations rather than shooting them. I do this not by choice but through instinct. I spend just enough time exploring an area’s potential, capturing something I am happy with, and moving on. I have many favourite spots in Tokyo. I revisit them often but never consider any particular place to be mine. If anything, they belong to the city, and I have only carefully observed their potential.
The Best Focal Length For Street Photography Is?
What is the best focal length? 28mm-35mm-50mm-wider or longer? A leading question for some is undoubtedly meant to be the title of this article, but what is the correct answer? That answer is simple, yet complicated by the effort required to achieve simplicity. The (simple)correct answer is the one you have with you. You have mastered it or are on the way to mastering it. This focal length matches the vision in the heart.
2025 Content Strategy: Or How I Learned to Trust Myself
In preparing for (setting)my 2025 goals I came to the realization that my approach for writing and sharing my work should mirror the way I create my images. I feel it, then I set to make it. I dont oftetn follow a set plan, finding mediocre results when I do. MY whole cratinve self is wrapped in pre-visualization. Sometimes it comes well in advance, and some days it happens in the moment: this is happening here, this light, that contrast, this background, i want this, yes, this , wait, wait, click. That is my thought process in the simplest form when taking a picture. Things are happening and I see this as the best final result. With decades of practice there is no internal dialouge, just the final image in mind.
2025: Year of the Street Photography Book
It has been a goal of mine to write my own Tokyo street photography book. The task was more difficult than I had initially thought. The problem was that a different idea came out each time I sat down to write. By the end of the week of writing, several concepts were born. A brief for each and a link to a dedicated page for each are available below. It will take most of 2025 to produce these works. Likely encompassing the bulk of my creative output this year. I look forward to the challenge of creating multiple projects simultaneously and to the experiences derived from such a venture.
Street Photography Inspiration
Every art form possesses its masters, innovators, and underappreciated heroes. As artists, we derive inspiration, motivation, and a well-defined path from these distinguished figures. An extensive body of literature has been produced regarding the exemplary practitioners of street photography, encompassing top ten lists, distinguished black and white photography, and notable works in colour, among others. This essay seeks to examine the less overt yet equally significant sources of inspiration—elements that I routinely employ while capturing the streets of Tokyo.
Street Photography Silhouettes in Tokyo
I recognize that some perceive silhouettes as clichés associated with beginners or lazy street photographers. However, I've included silhouettes in my list of favourite street photography images. That said, I regard street photography silhouettes similarly to any technique: they're valuable to know, and mastering them can be even more beneficial because you never know when the ideal opportunity will arise on the streets.
Are Monochrome Cameras Necessary?
In photography, monochrome cameras stand out for their unique ability to capture images in shades of black and white, delivering striking contrast and depth. While many photographers opt for traditional colour cameras, the benefits of monochrome cameras cannot be overlooked.
The Definitive Guide: Motion in Your Street Photography
Incorporating motion into any genre of photography adds dynamic layers to the composition. A visual layer encourages viewers to engage more deeply with the image, while a psychological layer prompts them to reflect on its meaning. This is particularly relevant in street photography, which encompasses a wide range of visual styles, techniques, and subject matter.