Sunday, January 3, 2010

Favourite Pictures of 2009

My favourite picture each month, chosen for the image itself or for the subject matter. Also check out MTC:s review with his more scenic monthly take of the past year.

Mike Mistry

January. ATR research project final presentation at Miraikan hall in Tokyo. Mike Mistry, here, was one of the doctoral students at ATR. The following month I start on a new project at Kyoto university and NAIST.


Chocolate Tools

February. Ritsuko gives me these insanely cool tools made of chocolate. I spend a happy Sunday afternoon trying to shoot them, with this as the result.


Red light

March. I go playing with the Handy Box and try multiple exposures for low-light shooting. The results range from "interesting" to really good. This is the corner of Nagahori and Sakaisuji.


Sogo and Daimaru

April. Difficult month - I must have half a dozen real favourite pictures here. This is a rainy afternoon in Shinsaibashi, when the city is at its most city-like.


Salaryman

May. It's Golden Week, the weather is getting hot and most people are off work. This man is obviously not, though. I catch him on his lunch break and he happily adopts a suitably miserable expression when I ask to take his picture.


Butaman

June. Swine flu has broken out in the Kobe-Osaka area and people are worried about infection. Nankinmachi, the Kobe Chinatown, sees a huge drop in visitors as companies and schools cancel trips. Most stores are still open and gradually the visitor numbers edge back to normal again.


Day Off

July. Another month of favourites. Here's a couple of nightclub hosts and their dog loitering in the shade outside their apartment building in Shimanouchi.


Omiya

August. The owner of Omiya kushikatsu restaurant in Shinsaibashi. This kushikatsu place is a favourite of mine, but I don't get to come here so often. Ritsuko went to Sweden for a week while I stay behind to work. Cooking by yourself isn't all that fun so I take the opportunity to indulge.


Duck, revisited

September. The Huge, Friendly Duck appears in Okawa river near Nakanoshima for the first time. People are impressed, and the duck shows up for a repeat performance later this winter. It seems, now, that it will be a regular visitor on the Osaka waterways.


Fall

October. Meeting in Waco city, Saitama. Wet autumn weather, with that wonderful faint shimmering autumn light and the muted, distinct colors that tell you summer now is well and truly over.


Honmachi

November. The Honmachi building complex is swept by winter light during my morning commute.


Last Train Home

December. Last Shinkansen home to Osaka from Tokyo. Most passengers are weary business people that are half-asleep, slightly drunk or both.

3 comments:

  1. Excellent photographic skills my old friend. My favorite is the middle-aged bicycle man.

    And a happy new decade to you as well. Come by visit Falun if you're somewhere in the neighbourhood!

    /Patrik

    ReplyDelete
  2. That image is probably my favourite as well. Just goes to show - you take dozens of preplanned, carefully prepared pictures that all turn out to be duds, while a quick grab shot of an interesting-looking stranger turns out great.

    Happy New Year to you too!

    /Janne

    ReplyDelete
  3. Lovely street photography, inspires me to do more.

    ReplyDelete

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