Kabukicho

Down on the corner, out in the street...

Bronica EC-TL, 50mm Nikkor (Wideangle)
Fuji Neopan 400 120-size film.
Flash.

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Comments

rafmad says:

nice one! you're brave. what happened to you afterwards?
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Fnarf says:

That guy in the goatee does NOT look like your new best friend.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

SheStrikesBack [deleted] says:

and they didn't mess with u for firing a flash at them?
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

I've gotten pretty good at not letting people know that I am taking their photo. This was a wide angle lens, so I was about two meters away from them. I walked up, stopped, focused, set the flash, took the shot and then walked between the two in the middle to go into the ramen shop. The whole time, I pretended not to notice these guys at all, so they probably thought they were doing a great job at being inconspicuous.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

bitmapr says:

very cool. good ramen place i assume if the yakuza hang around it... :)
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

healthy_ says:

dude fn fantastic.

when i eventually pass through japan i'll need to look you up to go out and shoot. fyi
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

takekazu says:

very cool. i never take it.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

gullevek says:

Yeah, you are a master of the Streephotography. I am so clumsy with that, that they would have either run away or beat me up already :)
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Captainvideo [deleted] says:

Flash in the face...a way to get 'han-goroshi'
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

tinobw [deleted] says:

very nice!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

migrant says:

good one
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

adelinee says:

looks very dangerous. great shot
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Connor Caraluzzi says:

medium format is beautifull
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Arkady Renko says:

I swear, street photography is 80% bravery, and you've got that in spades :) But I think you're right, if you pretend not to even see the actual subject of your shot, people assume you're not photographing them. Especially if you use wide angle so you aren't actually pointing the camera AT them.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Matt Watts says:

This is absolutely fantastic.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

montana boy in japan says:

Great shot Jim, I could have never taken it. Well done.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

lanegreene says:

The wide-angle tip is a great one. People don't tend to care when they don't have the lens pointed right at them or close. They don't know that you're working a wide where they're very much in the frame!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

lchenpics says:

good lesson on how not to get beat up while taking a photo of people you don't wanna mess with
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

ziggy fresh says:

Great, great scene.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

TommyOshima says:

Wonderful and Brave capture of those guys.
There are not much people who can really do it, especially that you had a powerful Flash there! Applause!
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Jim O'Connell says:

Thanks - Here is the camera I used:
Bronica

It's a wide lens, but this still involved going right up to them and pointing it right at them.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

benroberts says:

kudos.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Arkady Renko says:

That's bad-ass, going up to them with that rig :)
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

Jim O'Connell says:

[Comment deleted]

Sorry - please no comments with icons or images in them.
Posted 37 months ago. ( permalink )

keepthepic says:

Great streetphotography. Thanks for sharing.
Posted 35 months ago. ( permalink )

Sir Loin of Beef says:

Was it very noisy? I'd think the sound of the shutter firing would alert them.
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

Jim O'Connell says:

It's a very noisy shutter, plus I had a big flash pointed at them, so they were certainly aware. I pretended to just be taking a picture of something perhaps directly behind them, then continued to stare right through them after the shot.
Posted 34 months ago. ( permalink )

Modest and Jill says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Travel Photojournalism, and we'd love to have your photo added to the group.

Fantastic dark bw
Posted 31 months ago. ( permalink )

naugastyle says:

Very brave, I think the staring would have gotten me to stop. The little dude looks mean.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

justaninja says:

by the looks of the place it looks like they specialize in Tonkatsu ramen...? taste great but maybe a little dangerous.
Posted 28 months ago. ( permalink )

akimus says:

How brave you are!
fantastic!
Posted 25 months ago. ( permalink )

florent* says:

I really like this photo, plus, I think I really learn something about street photo with your explanation : " ... The whole time, I pretended not to notice these guys at all ..."
Posted 24 months ago. ( permalink )

✈ Sean Marc Lee 李荆山 / 李子仁  says:

i always thought photographers were really good ninjas... at least... the good ones. :)
Posted 20 months ago. ( permalink )

phamalamb says:

this is excellent. i've found that avoiding eye contact (or acting nonchalant) after pressing the shutter works well for me as well as for the subject, too.
Posted 16 months ago. ( permalink )

Omeyisland says:

Hello, did you know that "Zebro" picked YOU as one of their
12 Superstars of Flickr?
I'm the admin for the group called 12 Flickr Superstars, and we'd love to have this added to the group!

thank you
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

Eleni's World says:

Japanese mafiosos? Great pic with a 30s feel! Another great trick to not get noticed: use a non-real camera-looking! (like a Holga or the sorts)
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

tsienni says:

Hi, I'm an admin for a group called Humanistic, and we'd love to have this added to the group!
Posted 6 months ago. ( permalink )

JSM93 says:

Your lucky they didnt slice u with their katana lol
Posted 4 months ago. ( permalink )

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Taken on December 8, 2006
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Kabukicho

Comments

rafmad says:

Fnarf says:

SheStrikesBack [deleted] says:

Jim O'Connell says:

bitmapr says:

healthy_ says:

takekazu says:

gullevek says:

Captainvideo [deleted] says:

tinobw [deleted] says:

migrant says:

adelinee says:

Connor Caraluzzi says:

Arkady Renko says:

Matt Watts says:

montana boy in japan says:

lanegreene says:

lchenpics says:

ziggy fresh says:

TommyOshima says:

Jim O'Connell says:

benroberts says:

Arkady Renko says:

Jim O'Connell says:

keepthepic says:

Sir Loin of Beef says:

Jim O'Connell says:

Modest and Jill says:

naugastyle says:

justaninja says:

akimus says:

florent* says:

✈ Sean Marc Lee 李荆山 / 李子仁 says:

phamalamb says:

Omeyisland says:

Eleni's World says:

tsienni says:

JSM93 says:

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