Sigh. Was the last time I blogged really 2 months ago? :(

Real life (and work) will do that to you, I suppose. I've actually taken quite a few photos over the past 8 weeks, but have been sitting on them since I haven't had time to process them. Perhaps now that I'm finally got a couple of days to myself over the winter break?

Well, best start working through the backlog now! A few weeks ago the lovely Satomi and I decided to get out of the city for a bit and headed over to Oyama-san in neighboring Kanagawa prefecture for some mountain air and a bit of autumn leaf peeping.

Turns out we were a little bit late for the autumn-leaf viewing part (though we did spy a few!) but we still had a grand old time. Nothing quite like hiking up a mountain and enjoying a picnic at the top to invigorate the spirit! And believe me when I say "hike" is the appropriate verb to use here - I don't think I've climbed this many stairs in many, many months - the next day my thighs were complaining whenever I so much as looked at them, let alone try to stand up or walk anywhere *laughs*

Not much else to say other than that, so enjoy the rest of the photos after the jump!

The lovely Tomoko in Daikanyama last week.

I really enjoy looking at "street snap" type fashion photography sites, such as this, this, this or of course the father of them all, this. And even though I imagine most people (judging from the comments) are reading these blogs for the fashion, for me, it's the people - and the moment frozen in time - that are the most interesting. I find myself wishing for more context - and would gladly trade the standard series of "bust, full body, accessory closeups" shots that usually pepper these posts - for a few words from the subject of the photograph themselves. (Some publications get closer, with commentary provided by the blog author, but that's still context filtered through the lens (so to speak) of the photographer, and subject to the biases inherent in that.)

The other thing that I notice about these sites - and this is certainly not a diss by any means - is that the photography is, for the most part, very much "snapshot" like. It may well be that this is intentional - these are "street snap" type of blogs - but yet I find that relative to my tastes, the photographs are too dark, the framing much too wide, the backgrounds too distracting, the subjects lost in all the visual noise and riot of colours, textures and general hubbub of everything occurring around them. So often I find myself looking at a photo on these sites and wondering - "what am I supposed to be looking at in this photo?"

Of course, that's not to say that every photo needs to be a super bright, tight up crop of a face of course. And I think that my preference in the style is informed in large part by my desire to have more emphasis placed on the person - and their story - rather than their fashion or accessories. Some might (rightfully) suggest that what I'm looking for would better be served by watching documentaries, or else reading Rolling Stone interviews photographed by Annie Leibovitz than internet street fashion blogs - and yet I find myself drawn both to the creative/artistic (hipster?) sensibilities that informs street fashion blogs and also to the fundamental notion of taking a camera, walking out on the street and taking impromptu-yet-semi-posed photographs of people who look interesting (and fashionable). I wonder to myself if it is possible to combine the two styles into one - preserve the subject matter and core principles of the street fashion blogs, but marry it to a slightly brighter, more focused style that places greater emphasis on the person and less on their clothing.

Along with this, one of the questions I've been trying to answer recently is whether it's possible to take a good photograph (or at least one in the style I prefer) - out on the street in under 7 seconds a shot. Well I mean, of course it is, but rather is it possible for me to do that, and to do it consistently? It's easy when you're in a studio, with external lighting, stable environment, and a host of assistants, but out on the street, with shifting conditions and lighting and an unpredictable background (and sometimes foreground!), it can get a lot trickier. From a technical standpoint, it means knowing your equipment inside and out, having a good assistant with a reflector, and most of all, knowing how to pose people who don't pose for a living.

I was assisting my photography senpai a few weeks ago with some portrait shoots of aspiring models at a modeling agency and was struck with the importance that being able to pose someone plays in the overall success (or failure) of a photograph. It sounds obvious of course, and we can all tell when someone looks awkward or natural in a photograph, but until you watch a professional (such as the head of the agency who was instructing the girls) pose - and tell someone how to pose - you can't really understand what an art it is. It's not enough to only know the basic ways in which people can look good in a photograph - it's also being able to effectively and quickly communicate that to the subject whilst keeping them at ease and entertained. It's a skill that any people photographer needs, and it's probably the most difficult thing of all when you're shooting people on the street who aren't use to posing - or being posed.

(More after the keep reading link below.)