I was recently in Kyoto for a week, shooting a big event for an American client. I got to meet Mariel Hemingway and shoot some pics of her, which is another story. But, on my day off I ventured out for a walk around a few of my fave quite neighbourhoods. And got a few snaps….
Kyoto can be amazing. Most of the time it is. But sometimes it just gets so full of people that it ceases to be relaxing. However, there are always a few quiet streets to find and after 16 years of visiting there, I’ve got a few favourites.
For my little walkaround this time, I set the camera to a 16×9 crop. I like seeing the world in that aspect ratio sometimes. With some music in my headphones, it all feels a little like a movie as I walk and shoot.
The textures and colour palette of Kyoto make for some lovely photo opportunities. Lately, for myself at least (away for what I shoot for work), photography has been all about shooting the mundane. It’s back to my roots and reminds me of my first week at art school, when my tutor decreed that for the first term we’d be shooting ‘no flowers, no people, nothing pretty…. just crap that other people walk past’.
Well, not all of these shots are crap but many of the subjects I’ve been shooting recently are perhaps a question of ‘finding beauty in the mundane’. It’s an exercise I do all the time with my students. It’s good for the eyes and for the brain. The same goes for me. It’s good exercise, keeps me fresh and maintains my sense of wonder about all of the world around me.
The rare little Autobianchi car I found was a bonus. Don’t see many of them anywhere now. Let alone in Japan.
So, here are a few shots from my day off in Kyoto; March 8th, 2018. Not a great day weather-wise but that never stopped me going out with the camera either….
All shot with the Fuji X100s in 16×9 mode and straight to JPEG:
