(Translated from the original article on September 8, 2023)


This is ARA.

Taking pictures while strolling around the city is great, but sometimes by putting some "focus" on your shooting, you can become aware of subjects and compositions that you normally don't pay attention to.

In this article, I will present some street snapshots I took with a focus on the "red" color of the city.

Red is often used to attract people's attention, such as red traffic lights, rotating lights on emergency vehicles, advertisements for discount sales, and even the red lanterns of drinking establishments. Perhaps the human eye is designed to be sensitive to the color red.

However, it is difficult to focus on a specific color and take a snapshot in Tokyo, especially in the downtown areas of Shibuya and Shinjuku, because there are so many flashy advertisements and buildings in primary and fluorescent colors, not just red. In most cases, as in the two photos above, it is necessary to stay close to the subject and compose the image in order to crop out the area.

Panning shots can also be effective in capturing moving subjects. In this shot of a cart speeding through Shibuya Scramble Crossing, by intentionally blurring the background, you can limit the information in the field of view so that the structure of the cart's red body is naturally in focus.

This is a photo taken in Ginza. Compared to Shibuya and Shinjuku, the streetscape and store decorations have a much more chic atmosphere.

The small Italian car parked in front of an Italian restaurant. The red color was so striking that I waited patiently for someone to pass by and took a picture, knowing that I rarely see scenes like this.

These are just a few of the photos I have taken with the "focus on red".

Applying some rules to your photography leads to a strong awareness of "picking and choosing" the elements that make up the picture. In the process, I have so much fun going through the trial and error of how to take the picture and how to crop the subject.

(ARA)