See Tokyo Through a New Lens with a Personalized Photography Tour
With a view to improve my eye for photos I decided to take part in a Photo Walk organized by Japanorama. A few emails later, the tour was arranged and I could see the route we would take on Google maps. While the Shinagawa-based company offers tailor-made walks, taking customers wherever they fancy, I was much more interested in the kind of locations that appeal to an experienced photographer, so I left the route up to Japanorama.
Our British guide, Alfie Goodrich, is a professional photographer and photography lecturer who has photographed a number or high profile people including members of the British Royal Family. He was the official photographer to The Duke of Cambridge on his official visit to Japan in 2015. Now a Hasselblad Ambassador, he sees his photography tours as a way of passing on a lifetime of experience behind the lens to the next generation.
I met my small group of fellow students in the arched underpass of Yurakucho Station and Alfie's decades of Tokyo local knowledge became apparent immediately. He recommended his favorite spots to shoot, as well as to eat, drink, or simply watch the world go by.
Our first stop took us away from the tides of tourists making their way to the Imperial Palace, to the Tokyo International Forum. Built in 1996 and designed by Uruguayan architect Rafael Viñoly, the building is soon going to be one of the venues for the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games.
As we ascended to the glassy heights of the building, its selection as a venue for the day's walk became clear. The noise of the city had faded away and glass and steel towered overhead. Lost in the space, I almost forgot why I was there until we were asked to show Alfie the cameras we would be using. Somewhat surprisingly, I was the only one with a digital SLR camera; others had smartphones or standard digital cameras. Alfie reminded us that taking a great photo is not about the quality of your equipment, but about finding your perspective.
As our group began to explore the upper level of the Tokyo International Forum and take our first tentative shots, Alfie asked to check my camera's set-up. Embarrassingly, I had to admit that even after many years of use I had never taken my camera off full auto mode. Whether for focus or aperture I had always left it to the camera to choose the best method. Within ten minutes of playing around and Alfie checking in on me, I could set up the camera. I couldn't believe that I had had the potential to do that all these years. Alfie also moved my camera into black and white mode so that I could focus on composition.
With our group now happily snapping away, Alfie showed us some of his favorite tricks to take truly memorable photos, including capturing reflections, using symmetry and thinking from different perspectives. Alfie's passion to capture Tokyo life really came through. We understood that the people milling beneath us each have a story to tell and that, using our cameras, we can choose what to capture and which story to tell. Even the building's famed statue of Ōta Dōkan, a samurai and the architect of Edo Castle (now the Imperial Palace), looked completely different depending on how we composed our photos.
We then walked the streets of Ginza capturing interesting slices of Tokyo life. Alfie occasionally stopped to shoot an interesting reflection we might not have spotted or to ask us what we would shoot from a particular scene. The process made us all reconsider how we looked at the city, especially when we reached our next destination: the rooftop gardens of Tokyu Plaza Ginza. From there, the streets of Ginza, the gardens of the Imperial Palace and countless gleaming skyscrapers competed for our attention.
As we reviewed our photos and received gentle feedback from Alfie, we realized just how different our photos were. Everyone had found something different that represented their own image of Tokyo and it was a pleasure to see all the photos, particularly Alfie's, which demonstrated his expert eye and the stories he can tell. It was a reminder of Tokyo's vibrancy, and it was well worth taking the time to look at the city once again. Going home on the train, watching the sights whizz by, all I could think of was, "That would make a good photo!".
For a one-on-one or small group, a half-day photo tour costs from 25,000 yen, and is open to anyone. Alfie says that most participants use their smartphones; GPS tagging allows everyone to track their own tour on their mobiles so they can replay or share the route they took.
Japanorama
Tokyo Photo Tours
http://www.alfiegoodrich.com/tokyo-photo-tours/
This article was written by Sam Saint James.
*This article was posted on the Life in Tokyo website operated by the Tokyo International Communication Committee on June 11, 2018.