fuji x100s

Photo of the Day - Friendly Faces

Japanese can be funny about having their photo taken. Oftentimes they object with a hand waving motion in front of their face, and yet other times they are very friendly and have no problem at all smiling for the camera. These girls were with a large group of young people in Naha celebrating Coming of Age Day this past January, and were happy to pose for me.

Okinawa, Japan. Fujifilm x100s, f/4.0, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600. Edited with Adobe Lightroom. 

Okinawa, Japan. Fujifilm x100s, f/4.0, 1/80 sec, ISO 1600. Edited with Adobe Lightroom. 

Thanks for stopping by today. Feel free to like, comment and share this post if you enjoy the photos. 😊 Also be sure to follow me on Instagram and Twitter @shootlighter to see more photos, and subscribe to my YouTube channel to see more videos.   

Tokyo Perspective

Tokyo Perspective

I am incredibly fortunate to live on a beautiful tropical island in the pacific. Yet I still go through phases where I can't seem to find anything to photograph, or at least anything I want to photograph. One great solution to this conundrum is to travel somewhere, somewhere out of your normal day-to-day surroundings, somewhere where suddenly everything feels different, fresh and exciting. For me, recently this somewhere was Tokyo, about 1000 miles and a 2 1/2 hour plane ride away. Now I've been to Tokyo many times, I even lived outside of Tokyo for many years back in the late eighties early nineties. Regardless of how many times I've been to Tokyo it always gets my creative juices flowing.

Streets of Tokyo 2

Streets of Tokyo 2

Part of my ongoing Tokyo street photography series shot with Fuji x-series cameras and an iPhone.

Sara - Student

Sara - Student

Meet Sara, a student from Okinawa, Japan. Thank you Sara for being a part of Project 1001 Faces. Click here to see more faces from the project. Click here if your interested in being a part of the project.

3 Tips for Great Street Photos

3 Tips for Great Street Photos

Street photography touches my love of photography like no other genre. It's difficult to explain why. Maybe it's the historical relevance of recording society, although I've never been a big history buff. Maybe it's the rawness or reality of the moment, or maybe it's just the voyeur in me, like all humans that are fascinated with observing others and their environment.

Streets of Tokyo with the Fuji x100s and iPhone 6 Plus

Streets of Tokyo with the Fuji x100s and iPhone 6 Plus

This is the follow up to my Tokyo Street post from a few weeks ago. Street photography is rapidly growing in popularity all over the world. While it's not a new genre of photography by any means, it's possibly the most accessible. Nothing records the gesture of the streets like street photography can. Small seemingly insignificant moments around us can be fascinating when viewed after the fact.

Everyday Okinawa with the Fuji TCLx100

Everyday Okinawa with the Fuji TCLx100

One of the things I miss most about living and working in the city is having to drive everywhere. I love cars, but as a photographer I am always seeing photos when I'm driving. I keep my camera within easy reach, usually in my bag, but it can be difficult, and dangerous trying to shoot and drive. Most of the time the only shots I can get are while waiting at an intersection, although occasionally I can grab a shot or two one handed from the window.

Nightfall in Chatan

Nightfall in Chatan

We finally got some decent weather yesterday after a week of rain, clouds and cold. I decided to head over to Chatan and walk around with my iPhone 6 and my Fuji x100s. Just for a change I've had the TCLx100 on for a couple weeks now. I love the 35 equivalent I get from my x100s, but sometimes it's just nice to shoot with a 50mm focal length. I never grow tired of how even the most mundane can look interesting in late afternoon light. I shot the next two images from my car. I see so many photos from my car, but usually can't stop or get to my camera in time.