What makes Japan such an desired place for photography? I'm really trying to understand the hype around it. When I visited of course the size of Tokyo itself opens lots of opportunities but I quickly notice that it gets repetitive rather fast. All muh taxis look the same, the buildings have a pattern that repeats a lot. If you've seen a few shrines/temples.. in the end they all look the same. Even if you visit other prefectures you won't see much of a difference. Whenever I see camera vlogs or flickr uploads in Japan I now tend to skip because it's always the same. My current number one location would probably be Germany. Still safe enough to bring your camera with you, every state has it's own architectural style. Towns are usually a comfy mix between old medieval houses in the center with grim 60s bauhaus constructions that look really odd. Also home of Leica where this sort of everyday compact photography started. What do you think? What's your prefered location?
has a retro vibe, like a 90’s filter written all over it
I'm generalising, but their society values and prioritises "aestheticism" and beauty like few other places do. That mindset just naturally blends into pretty much every aspect of their life and environment.I'm not saying they don't have ugly shit, terrible places, bad people and other places around to world aren't beautiful too. My point is just when the baseline of their society values beauty at the level they do, then you see it pop up everywhere in a natural way. It's not hard to understand why so many people fall in love with the place. Kinda how people used to fall in love with Paris back in the day.It gets repetitive because of the amount of tourism they have. I saw a guy post a few photos from Taiwain on (dare I say) Reddit the other day saying something like "Is Taiwan the new Japan?" and everybody commenting on it went absolutely nuts about how racist that was to say and fuck white people and all that shit, when the guy clearly meant it was about photographer hot spots changing now that Japan has been overrun for a while. It was the most stereotypical comment section you've ever seen. It was almost like a caricature, but they were totally serious. I like the colours in the photo too, what's the source on that image?
>>4484406I kinda get what you are saying. I can't deny that they have a good sense of natural aesthetics. The way they treat and decorate with potted plants for example.Yeah, isn't the Reddit community also often very pro China? I read comments of something like "if Taiwan isn't part of China, then Okinawa should also be disconnected from Japan"Photo is from Adrien Sanguinetti. A french(?) that married a Japanese, living there and doing said photo vlogs.
>>4484424Yeah, I've been there a few times, but that was pre 2020. But I just noticed it everywhere. That natural awareness and presentation of beauty even in related to completely mundane things.I don't know, I haven't looked at Reddit enough to see if there's a big pro China sentiment. That thread was more "Don't you know the history between Taiwan and Japan you incensitive white bastard with exoticism fetish!" "I'm x-race and I think what you said is bad because of a,b and c!"The handful of comments that correctly explained what the photographer's point was all got thumbs down, minus points, bad karma or whatever that shit is called. I just had a look over there because I'm too old for 99% of the shit I see on this site, but it really is fucking ridiculous.Thanks, I'll check his stuff out. I know there are tons of other photographers getting the same look. I just really like the colours in that image.
>>4484375Your brain can immediate tell when a place has few niggers, and wants to live there. Usually it's because there isn't any rubbish on the floor.
>>4484375>What makes Japan such an desired place for photography?Nipphilics
>>4484375Kind of this >>4484455It feels like there's a sense of civic pride you don't really see in a lot of places; streets, houses shops are usually well kept, mainly because most people own the house/shop they occupy. Most street level businesses are sole traders, not chains, which gives them a less commercial more local feel, which is quaint if you're from the west.They have seasons, they have topography, they have a mix of new and old.People generally are too timid to interrupt a foreigner taking photos even if they wouldn't want you to.Also the dominance of any western currency, and the prevalence and affordability of public transport and alcohol, make any trip there fun, easy and pretty cheap.Just do it bro.
>>4484375Because it looks exotic. And they have a lot of LED lights, which looks cool.
I’d say a not inconsiderable amount of it is how safe Japan is. You can wander around taking pictures all day feeling 100% confident that you won’t be assaulted or that your camera won’t be stolen. That makes the process so much more enjoyable and relaxing
>>4484375the light is really special.i was on a train at about 5pm between nara and osaka and the light was legit anime tier. something special about the air and sun there; i meam there are no other islands nations at that lattitude to compare. maybe azoresthe hue is very warm while being crisp, can't describe it
>>4484573That's only in specific areas. My country has an area known for very special light too that attracted a lot of painters back in the day. The paintings and lighting was so popular it basically became a style/genre of painting in itself. But it's mostly just that one area that seems to get that sort of lighting, not the entire country.I do think what you're talking about could be what I see as them having four seasons, but every season seems exaggerated compared to most other places. That slight exaggeration makes for very scenic photos
Probably because it lets you take photos that look different to the photos you normally take. I don't think it's objectively better (or worse) than Western places.Case in point: Japanese people all want to visit Europe and take pictures there.
>>4484375DUDE cinematic film street japan photography cinematic. Overrated and overdone
Wow I wonder why the country that is the headquarters of Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Sony, and Olympus and is the global leader in used camera equipment sales is such a popular photography spot. I also wonder why foreigners would be interested in taking pictures of a place with well-preserved architecture and nature preserves, manicured gardens, clean streets, minimal crime, and non-confrontational citizens.It’s almost as if film and the chemistry surrounding it were optimized to take pictures of such scenes and monopolized the global film market as a result.Wouldn’t it also be wild if electronics being an integral part of Japan’s economy during the digital photography transition years certainly had nothing to do with the worldwide advertising campaigns that continue to this day.The cherry on top would be if tech bros with disposable income and no personality were to become interested in an elitist, gear-focused creative hobby and had $500 round-trip flights to Japan available to them.
>>4486072It's overdone, but it it does look nice
>>4486081>be Germany>OG country of camera headquarters>only Leica survived til now>taking photos in public is illegal if other people are captured>people get suspicious and into defence mode if you take out your DSLR>weather is grey most of times>towns are ugly, destroyed with 60s/70s communist blocks>nature is fully artificialsad
>>4486309Would have been great minus the weather had not the cursed United States interfered in ww2.
Asia liteExotic without being challenging. It's a safe place, everybody takes the same photos, nobody puts in the effort or research to find something else to shoot. Which is a shame because there is undoubtedly some interesting things to do there.
>>4486686I'd call Singapore Asia lite or a safe "My first trip to Asia" because everybody speaks and everything is written in English. It's also like a fusion of a lot of different Asian styles, so you can get a taste of different cultures very easily there. I absolutely loved it there, but obviously very different.I haven't been to Japan since 2018, but I found you still had to have some "adventure spirit" even in the very touristy areas because of language differences.Also, it may be different due to the level of tourism they're getting these days, but I found the whole "it's so overcrowded with tourists!" to be a bit of a weird statement. Because the touristy hot spot areas were still 90% Japanese people, 8% Chinese and 2% were the rest of us. I was even there during the cherry blossom season one time and it was the same deal.And you pretty much didn't see a single foreign tourist if you walked one or two streets away from the absolute mega hots spots. Seriously, you could be two streets away from Senso Ji in Asakusa and it'd be like you were in a different country. I found it HIGHLY exaggerated at the time, but it may be different now.I'm also generally tired of the whole anti-tourist sentiment. Especially when it's people who behave well.
It's the only place outside of the western world which is modern and highly developed while also having been so for a long time.China/Singapore/Korea might be more futuristic because it's newer but Japan is the only place that can mirror Europe and the USA in terms of having old wealth.
>>4486081I don't even work in a techbro company and like half my coworkers in the 25-40 age range have visited Japan or will visit Japan between 2023 and 2026.
>>4486692I'd call Singapore Asia lite Correct>so you can get a taste of different cultures very easily there. Incorrect, you can get a taste of great Indian food, but you certainly don't get a taste of India
>>4486941I know comparing Little India in Singapore to actual India is like comparing China Town in London to actual Chinese cities, but it's the closest I've been. And only getting that nice little snapshot without actually going to India is fine with me.I always tried to get some Indian food at all the hawkers I went to. It was fucking amazing. I loved being in Singapore.
>>4484375>What's your prefered location?Otaru, Hokkaido
>>4487722
>>4484375Germanbro who spent the last 8 years in Japan.It's that it looks exotic and has nice mountain ranges everywhere. I'm pretty bored of generic shrine #9762321, some ramen shop sign, etc. and much more excited about taking pictures during my trip back to Germany, because that's more exotic for me now. It just depends on what you're used to and most people are not used to Japan.Great place to be if you're into photo. You'll find a lot of elderly men taking macro shots of flowers and such. Very few prime lens shooters somehow.
>>4488047>Very few prime shootersI reckon it's because a lot of people only get to travel to places like that once or twice and want maximum versatility of a zoom lens so they don't miss out on shots. A prime is more "I'll go with my 24mm today" because you have time to just sort of do a wide angle day or a tele day. Not lugging around a ton of gear and taking in the sights is great if you have the time.
>>4488056Nah, sorry, I wasn't clear. I was talking about the old Japanese guys. They're always walking around with zoom lenses, taking pics of flowers, trains, etc. I rarely see tourists with cameras nowadays, because I don't hang out in their areas. Saw a guy with a Leica once though.
>>4488070Ah okI'm big into a lot of Japanese music and the latest fad I noticed when people shoot video at live shows is having a camera with zoom that they do these hyper in and out zooms, hyper moves to focus on different band members and sort of constantly tilting the camera from side to side in a wavy motion.It's just something I noticed with camera stuff there and I don't know where else to mention it. It's honestly really annoying how insanely hyper that camera motion/control is with the constant fucking turbo zoom in and out. It's crazy how fast something just becomes the "everybody does it" fad. Then play some generic turbo 300 bpm jrock (why does it always have to be so fast?) and the crowd says "HEY! HEY! HEY! HEY!" on every off beat during the intro after the singer has screamed some performatively passionate monologue for 2 minutes straight while hitting one chord on their guitar.Sorry for my rant, it's just something I noticed that's gotten really annoying to me regarding zoom lenses in Japan.
>>4488056It's funny, I use a 24mm every day for Architecture work, and I don't even like it all that much, i's just what works 95% of the time on interiors. But seeing any other shots taken with a 24 just makes me wish they were shot with an 18 or an 85+. Normal shots maketh my ass twitch. So I get stuck walking w an 85 on body, and then an 18mm, a tubby little bitch, in my pocket, which I never think to put on. Everything I do is wrong.
>>4488092If you're doing specific work, then using the right tools for the job is what's most important. But you can do whatever when it's not work related.I'm getting more into the frame of mind where I just pick one focal length for the day and then stick with it. I've been using zoom lenses for the last 15 years and fucking hated carrying that big ass camera and lens around.I got an x100vi recently with the two conversion lenses and I love how tiny and light it is. I just pick between the 26, 35 and 50 for the day and stick with it. Don't carry anything else with me. It's great. Yeah you're going to miss some shots from not having the versatility of a zoom, but having a camera that's so light around my neck that I don't even notice it massively outweighs the lack of versatility for me. It's a great and powerful little camera.I'm looking at some Nikon stuff too though that I might buy in February or something. Those 1,8 primes look great, light weight and very affordable. The 26 2,8 pancake looks very promising too. I prefer 26 over 24. It's a subtle difference, but I think 24 juuuuust has a little too much lens distortion where I find the 26 to be a cleaner look that's wide enough to justify it next to also having a 35 which is my sort of primary "scene" focal length.
>>4487722based, im spending a week in hokkaido in feb. can't wait
>>4488047i was at a park in tokyo and there was a big group of ojisans with GIANT lenses hanging out drinking tea and taking photos of birds. i wish i could have bros like them.
>>4488154>hokkaidois the most fun city name to say. Every time I say it, it comes out my mouth with all this extra pizazz, like a samurai in a 70s exploitation movie, with a big long gravelly Hhhhhhhoooo KAIDOOOOOO. I love it.
>>4488155Yeah, it's primarily two groups:a.) Retired bros with zoom lensesb.) Scrawny 20yo nerds with bigger zoom lenses taking pictures of trainsPretty sure you can easily get buddy buddy with the former if you speak the language. In my experience, old guys generally like chit-chatting with foreigners in all manner of situations.
