Photo Diary

Tokyo and photography, I love you even more.

Last weekend I attended the Eric Kim Street Photography 101 Workshop which was held here in Tokyo. It was probably two months ago when I read about the workshop through Eric Kim’s blog. I was a little hesitant to attend at first, cause of this whole street photography and Japanese culture just didn’t add well to me.

As many of you know, Japan is a very closed country. The whole privacy thing is such a big deal for them. I was a little worried taking pictures of strangers on the streets of Tokyo. After some thinking, I might try out something new and see the instructors point of view and the view of the people who were attending the workshop.

All I have to say is… those 3 days were just AWESOME.

My mind just went a complete 360 on photography and my understanding for photography got deeper. The workshop has the best and talented photographers I have ever met from all over the world.

We had the most talented instructors during the workshop as well.

Eric Kim, the photographer who pursued the workshop in Tokyo is very talented and can motivate people to learn. I got out of my system thanks to him. He mentioned that we can’t please everyone. Even Dalai Lama, a peace loving guy, has numerous death threats from haters. Just do what you want to do, If you love what you are doing, then just do it. When you meet Eric, you would really just feel his passion for street photography.

Alfie Goodrich, I knew Alfie through his site Japanorama. His method of taking images is just amazing. He was our group instructor during the 1st night and the 2nd day. I got see how he takes pictures and wow. He is invisible. You have no idea whether he took a shot already. He can give you advices and tips on what to do and what to look for. I would really love to learn more about his method. He does workshop/photo walk here in Tokyo and I can not wait to attend them. He probably knows more about Tokyo than me! The interesting alleys and towns, its what makes Tokyo beautiful.

Charlie Kirk aka two cute dogs, the famous or infamous Mr.Charlie Kirk! During the workshop I didn’t have the to chance to go on a photo walk with him in Tokyo. During some discussion at the workshop though, you will definitely feel the character he has and how it shows in his portfolio. Thanks to Charlie, he was able to explain the law about photography in public which enlightened me. I had a chance to go on a photo walk with him around Yurakucho/Shimbashi after the workshop…. he’s a ninja quick. really quick with a flash! He uses his charm as a weapon too!

Bellamy Hunt aka Japancamerahunter, if you want any rare cameras, you should contact him! check his flickr and you might want to purchase some cameras he has. Bellamy is also more of a discreet photographer. He captures the moment, and he doesn’t want to be part of that moment. His photos for me are graceful. It feels calm yet theres a certain element in this that tell me a story. We had the privilege to get a glimpse of his project and I believe any photographer should see it. Thanks to Bellamy, I learned to be a total perfectionist! Its all about the details. Be really strict to yourself and the images you like. Think really deep if its worth sharing.

and of the course, the new friend I met! You know you love photography when you make camera jokes and you all laugh about it. The passion these people have is just mind blowing. To be in a room filled with amazing instructors and photographers from all over the world was just an amazing experience worth keeping. Everyone had their own methods, and it was great to see them in action.

It was great that I was able to meet these people cause my passion for photography just went really up high after hanging out with them and we were also able to meet some new people on the streets of Tokyo. I wasn’t able to talk to some people longer but I would love to visit your country or you guys visit Japan again.

Many will still say that the some people I mentioned above doesn’t take pictures but invades the privacy of the subject. Well, the only thing I could say is… read the image. If not, you obviously do not understand how they view the world.

After the workshop, I just want to keep on learning skills and ideas about photography to further develop myself. Its not just using your camera like a gun and keep on shooting, its pre visualizing what moment you want to capture.

Thank you very much for this opportunity, amazing instructors and workshop buddies!It was an amazing experience to be part of this workshop, I definitely love Tokyo and Photography even more. Would love to see you guys really soon again!