Telling stories from the Tokyo metropolis 4
Noctopolis
Night street scenes around Tokyo... What I love capturing in my street photography is the subtle moments, not the grandiose—a hand gesture, a smile, a splash of light on an umbrella, a brief glimpse over the shoulder, even the playful harmony or colour and light.
As the last tendrils of daylight pull away over a dark horizon the black wings of night rush into the city, constellations of synthetic light span the urban expanse.
Melted light flows along glass in mad rivulets of colour. Synthesised beams of fluorescence creep along steel. The walls murmur with distant voices lost in darkness.
And now for some less cliché shots from the same location. When trying to shoot the view from these observation decks, the biggest challenge is the glass. But my approach to photography is to be like water, adapting to the situation. If I have glass, I sometimes seek the reflections rather than avoid them. The first three shots are examples of this, but I also threw in a few standard ones. I've succumbed to shooting the cliche. I think there's nothing wrong with that.
Mystic light guides the wanderer down shaded paths. Footprints muted by falling slow gently face, washed away by waves of time.
Cold winds send chills down dark streets. And yet a great warmth flows through the frozen air.
Wet neon sizzles in the dark sky as cold snow drenches the city.
What paths does the city choose for us? The metropolis beckons and mesmerises with colour and light, leading the eye into darkness and memory.
Waves of emerald light saturate the urban understory. A deep fluorescent haze rises into the night. Dreams emerge from veiled darkness.
Skyscrapers rise over the glowing streets of Kabukicho.
This is one of the best views of Tokyo, and I've shot it many times. I still don't feel I have a 'definitive' shot of this cityscape, though.
