One of my photos made the cover (front and back) of the June 2017 issue of Tokyo Weekender magazine.
I took this one on May 1st, 2016. My friend Andrzej and I were in Nakano on one of our many routine visits to the best used gear shop in Tokyo, Fujiya Camera. On our way back to the station, we noticed this lady ambling up the street towards us, so we positioned ourselves across from the long stretch of murals lining the railway and waited for her to walk into frame. I only took a couple of shots.
The first shot isn't as strong – her head is down and the brim of the hat casts a shadow over her face. In the second shot, she's looking up and forward and the light wraps perfectly around her face. I also love how she's standing straight up as if she's pausing to take in her surreal surroundings. I got lucky that she stopped right at the end of the rainbow. You can see one of the shots Andrzej took on his review of the Voigtlander 15mm lens he purchased that day.
I took it with my old Fujifilm X-E1 equipped with the Fujinon XF 27mm f/2.8 lens. The 27mm pancake is one of my favorite walk-around lenses. It's got a low profile, it's light and it's relatively fast, both in aperture and focusing speed. The 40mm full-frame equivalent focal length is not too wide and not too long, which can be tricky to get used to for people who tend to stick to one side of the spectrum or the other, but I've managed to capture some of my favorite photos with it, so it clearly suits me. I do wish it was weather-sealed and a little quieter to focus and with recent rumors of a redesigned lens coming out, I hope they add those features.
Past my photo on the cover, there's also an interview with me in the magazine, along with some of my street photos and images from my Signs of Japan series. The folks at Tokyo Weekender have been good to me along the way, and I'm thankful for the opportunities they've afforded me. If you're in the Tokyo area, pick up the magazine for free at one of many locations, otherwise I'm sure the feature will find its way online later in the month and I'll add a link.