A 17-day journey through the heart of Japan, capturing the quiet moments between the bustling streets of Tokyo and the ancient temples of Kyoto.
What?
Japan is a sensory overload in the best possible way. From the snow-covered streets of Sapporo to the pulsating energy of Tokyo and the quiet temples of Kyoto, this country offers motifs at every corner. However, with such a dense schedule, I found that capturing the essence of the trip required a high degree of selectivity.
17 days
length of the trip
168
pictures taken with my camera
12
final shots in the selection
How?
I had my Sony A7III with me constantly, but the packed schedule and the countless impressions meant that I often deliberately left the camera in the bag. When I did pull it out, it was usually with the 70–300mm lens. I consciously decided against wide-angle panoramas and instead focused on the details. Large focal lengths allow me to compress the layers and choose tight, clear crops that isolate the essential. From the 7.33 GB of data, only the images that perfectly embody this graphic rigour remained after a tough selection process.
Learnings.
Sometimes, less really is more. The fact that only 12 images survived the final edit after more than two weeks of travel felt like very little at first. However, looking back, it shows that the quality of perception is more important than the quantity on the memory card. Being in the moment and documenting things is much easier with a smartphone; I only reached for my camera when I felt I could capture something special.
