Lying Down on the Job

Lying Down on the Job · 05:00 AM

I went to work just after midnight last night and arrived in Tokyo around 4 a.m. That left me with about 5 hours until the container yards opened up, so I hauled out my tripod and a couple of lenses and went walking around the docks looking for a chance to take some night shots.

Ignoring the "Keep Out" sign and walking behind the back of the sleeping security guard, I wandered down to the edge of the dock in Shinagawa hoping for a chance to shoot the gaudy and garish buildings across the water in the touristy Odaiba district.

It struck me that if I removed the center column from my tripod and splayed the legs to their widest position I should be able to get the large bollard into the foreground. Since my tripod will open up to put the camera only several inches off the ground I ended up having to lie flat on the ground in order to frame the shot. Focus was largely guesswork.

I have several others but won't have the time to process them for a couple of days.

Cosina MF 20/3.8

Just one more.....

A composite image of a traffic light showing all three colors lit at once.

DA70/2.4 Limited

vievetrick · 02-12-2008, 07:48 AM

I really like #1 only thing is I can not decide if I would clone out the yellow (I assume) railing on some sort on the left and the other thing on the right. Other then that very nice. Lucky you didn't get caught and hauled to jail

J.Scott · 02-12-2008, 01:38 PM

I like both shots Mike. I am in agreement that on the first one it would be a show-stopper if only without the distracting railing on the left and the orange thing on the right. Minor corrections at best. You have a unique opportunity to sneak around and capture some beautiful pictures. I have no doubt you could sweet talk your way out of a sticky situation.

On the second shot the left light has a distinctly blue cast to it. Maybe the traffic lights in Japan are really coloured like that - I am at your mercy for that. Nice composition all the same.

Mike Cash · 02-13-2008, 05:07 AM

The lights here really are that shade of blue. Linguistically, in most cases the Japanese traditionally did not distinguish between blue and green and what we call a "green" light is referred to as "blue" (ao) in Japanese, rather than with the word for "green" (midori).

I agree with the cropping comments. I would have preferred to work that out with better framing, but it was really dark out there. I know it doesn't look that way in the photo, but it took a 10 second exposure (ISO400 @ f8) to make it look that bright. The yellow thing on the right is a bit of curbing at the dock edge. I was only about 4 or 5 feet from the chilly waters of Tokyo Harbor. The railing on the left I will probably try to clone out.

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02-12-2008, 07:48 AM	#2
vievetrick Veteran Member Join Date: Sep 2006 Location: Easthampton - Massachusetts - USA Photos: Gallery Posts: 5,183	I really like #1 only thing is I can not decide if I would clone out the yellow (I assume) railing on some sort on the left and the other thing on the right. Other then that very nice. Lucky you didn't get caught and hauled to jail

02-12-2008, 01:38 PM	#3
J.Scott Inactive Account Join Date: Mar 2007 Photos: Gallery Posts: 3,675	I like both shots Mike. I am in agreement that on the first one it would be a show-stopper if only without the distracting railing on the left and the orange thing on the right. Minor corrections at best. You have a unique opportunity to sneak around and capture some beautiful pictures. I have no doubt you could sweet talk your way out of a sticky situation. On the second shot the left light has a distinctly blue cast to it. Maybe the traffic lights in Japan are really coloured like that - I am at your mercy for that. Nice composition all the same.

02-13-2008, 05:07 AM	#4
Mike Cash Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Japan Photos: Gallery Posts: 6,950 Original Poster	The lights here really are that shade of blue. Linguistically, in most cases the Japanese traditionally did not distinguish between blue and green and what we call a "green" light is referred to as "blue" (ao) in Japanese, rather than with the word for "green" (midori). I agree with the cropping comments. I would have preferred to work that out with better framing, but it was really dark out there. I know it doesn't look that way in the photo, but it took a 10 second exposure (ISO400 @ f8) to make it look that bright. The yellow thing on the right is a bit of curbing at the dock edge. I was only about 4 or 5 feet from the chilly waters of Tokyo Harbor. The railing on the left I will probably try to clone out.