Tokyo skyline
The biggest metropolis in the world captured in one image
The biggest metropolis in the world captured in one image
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Sep, 2020Views
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Awards
Fall Award 2020
Peer Award
Absolute Masterpiece
Superb Composition
Outstanding Creativity
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Behind The Lens
Location
I took this photo in central Tokyo, Japan. I'm a self-thought photographer, I love to travel around the world so the very first day I went to the roof of the hotel I where staying at. To get a feel of the downtown Tokyo atmosphere.Time
I have a great memory of the moment I took this photo. It was about 4 p.m. on a hot, 38 degrees Celcius summer day in late August last year. I love to travel around the world. I'm born in The Netherlands so it was the first time I traveled this far from home to Tokyo, Japan. I wanted to get a feeling about everyday life in the biggest metropolis in the world. So I knew I had to get up high to capture the true atmosphere of Tokyo without missing a single detail. I love to get creative and spontaneous within my work as a photographer. In that way, I can think purer about what I'm seeing in front of me. so I took my camera, went up to the upper floor of my hotel and this beauty was just sitting there waiting to be discovered.Lighting
I wanted to reveal every detail of the skyline so I went up to a higher place. In this way, I could get way more sunlight into the composition. I wanted the clouds to blend in perfectly with the concrete 'jungle' that is Tokyo. so it was essential to get that hard sunlight in as much as possible so that in the postproduction process, I just had to add a bit of contrast and luminance to find the sweet spot in blending the light without losing any detail.Equipment
This picture was shot freehand with a Canon EOS D700. I used the following settings: f/10?ISO 100?Shutter 1/250?Focal Length 24/1. I used a Canon EFS 18-55mm lens. The stabilizer on and on manual focus.Inspiration
I was intreated of the always moving yet so calming atmosphere of Tokyo. I wanted to capture this feeling in one single image. Even though I've never been to Japan before, I experienced a nostalgic feeling. It felt Jazzy, modern, peaceful, creative, and vintage all at the same time. It is important to me that my own view resonates with the viewer of the photo I took. I wanted to state clearly that this is modern Tokyo, so a big almost screaming Tokyo tower is the centerpiece of this photograph. The jazzy, creative feeling represents the buildings within this composition. Yet the clouds represent the peaceful site with lots of detail en attention of nature that's so deeply loved in Japanese culture. The vintage feeling i managed to get with just the right amount and the angle of sunlight.Editing
Although I wanted to work as pure as possible I added a fair amount of contrast and luminance in Lightroom because I wanted to get a vintage feel on my image. I added a slight RAW filter to get more shadows out without sacrificing the detail.In my camera bag
A Canon EOS D700: It's important to me to have a reliable camera although this is a midrange camera, it gets the job done and has a decent quality. A great pro of this camera is that I can see directly how the composition turns out while shooting. A gimbal camera slide for when I am filming or need a more creative angle. A steady portable tripod: essential. A Canon charging station: So I can shoot all day. 4 x Canon batteries. Lenses: Canon EFS 18-55mm lens, Canon EFS 55-250mm Macro lens, Opteka 16mm wide-angle lens. I think this covers a wide arrange of shots without traveling heavy. A roll of Ducktape: When traveling around the world it's essential for: marking, gopro, easy fix your tripod and even to waterproof your camera. A GoPro hero 4. A normal handheld gimbal: to make creative angles. A set of 8 128gig highspeed SD's: I keep my data safe in this way without carrying around a huge drive or laptop. Optional: A powerful laptop: It's great if you need to do postproduction on location. A fantareal Mic Lav.Feedback
You honestly don't need a lot of gear to shoot great photos. But you must have decent quality, to begin with. So get a camera that suits your desires and get to know your camera and the limits of it. Second, think about what you want to tell the public: What's your message?, What do you feel?. Once you have a concept you need to pick up your camera and just do it. Shoot the image. 10 times if you need to. try different angles and heights for your composition until you have the feeling it's right. I always remember if I feel something, Others will feel something. most importantly: only use post-production if you feel it is necessary. if it's missing something. you can't fix a bad picture in post-production.
