Fuji x100s / x100f

Underground Commute

Underground Commute
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/4, 1/15s, ISO 1600

I remember spending a fair bit of time in the NYC subway shooting passers by at shutter speeds of around 1/10s or 1/15s. You get a lot of blurry shots, but when you manage to stay steady, you capture some of the motion. With a wider angle lens (a 28mm in this case) it’s a bit easier and I find that at 1/15s I can more or less consistently shoot a sharp shot. I liked those columns and the contrast produced by the black band of tiling, that’s why I chose this Tokyo underground spot.

Subway Reflection

Subway Reflection
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/2, 1/60s, ISO 1250

Compared to the Paris metro, the Tokyo metro is clean as a hospital. I wanted to capture all this white and thought that doing it in a mirror would be a little more original. I guess it would have been more effective at rush hour, maybe an idea for the next trip…

Tokyo Bar

Tokyo Bar
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/2, 1/40s, ISO 3200

In the narrow streets of Nakano, I stumbled upon this bar. The bottles, the lanterns, the woodwork, it all spoke to me of a Japan of yore (even though the bar is clearly not yet 2 years old…)

Nakano

Nakano
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/2.8, 1/20s, ISO 3200

I went down to Nakano to hunt for photography gear, and ended up walking around the labyrinth of narrow streets and just soaking in what felt (to me) like an older version of Tokyo.

Tokyo Underground

Tokyo Underground
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/16, 12s, ISO 200

In many ways, Tokyo is even more of a vertical city than Hong Kong where I live. Hong Kong mostly grew overground, which makes sense when you realise that most of the high-riser areas are on reclaimed land. Tokyo on the other hand seems to me as much underground as overground with multiple layers of commuting, shops and walkways superimposed. That means lots of colonnades and interestingly graphic things to shoot with a wide(ish) angle lens!

Full Protective Gear

Full Protective Gear
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/5.6, 1/250s, ISO 1600

Sometimes my « street portraits » just aim at depicting a cultural trait, or something that you see frequently in one place but not in others. In Hong Kong women protect themselves from the sunlight with hats or umbrellas, and men and women alike from the pollution with masks. The mask+hat combo may be over the top, but I’ll let you judge.

On a Break

On a Break
Fuji x100f, 35mm, f/5.6, 1/125s, ISO 3200

Tai Hang is still one of my favourite places to wander and take photos. The mix of bodyshops and small restaurants you find there is delightful. And you’re pretty much guaranteed to find interesting scenes to shoot.

Cross

Cross
Fuji x100f, 35mm, f/4, 1/250s, ISO 640

The benches in Victoria Park often host interesting people. Not sure what prompted me to shoot, but I like the attitude. Can you really check your phone with your arms crossed like that ?

Colourful

Colourful
Fuji x100f, 28mm, f/8, 1/250s, ISO 2500

I like capturing people in uniforms when shooting street. At first I was bothered that the face of the guy at the front is partially hidden, but now I think the trade off is the movement, which I really like.

Pretty Poodle

Pretty Poodle
Fuji x100f, 35mm, f/4, 1/250s, ISO 320

One thing you notice when you live in Hong Kong (and more generally in China, it was even more pronounced in Shanghai) is how much the Chinese love their dogs. There’s a special liking for small dogs (I suppose the topology of the city explains that in part) and so I’ve been trying to capture masters and dogs these last few weeks.