Tokyo - Where I truly discovered the Ricoh GR

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reniori

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I took a trip to Tokyo earlier this year. On that trip I shot almost exclusively with the GR and the optical viewfinder. I found that the GR is very popular in Tokyo, and street photography was a lot more accepted and less confrontational. Through that I gained the courage to follow the foot steps of other great GR users. Since it was my first time there, I felt both new and familiar things appearing in front of me constantly.

Through nonstop walking and wondering, I've created a series during these times. I used a combination of auto Hi-ISO, snap focus, on camera flash and shooting from the hip to make these images. It was very eye opening what a small camera can do, and for what it's worth, the camera is worth its weight in gold to me.

Take a look at the series here: http://haoyuanren.com/albums/tokyo-blues-1/ and let me know what you think. Thanks!
 
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Really nice series, good use of that camera!

Gabor - that must have been a strange period in Japan - i moved here that year but later in June when everything was mostly back to normal in Tokyo.

Ben
 
Thanks for the intro post, and the enthusiastic report about your Tokyo GR immersion, and the sequence of images that immerse us in your street-level experience. Clearly yu're using the camera in the proper spirit. Welcome from another GR lover.
 
very impressive series, congrats and thank you for sharing.

interesting that you used an optical viewfinder. I have been very tempted by the GR but have been thinking that for it's intended use it really should have a tilting LCD, but I still may prefer an VF anyway.
 
reniori said:
Ahhh I remember those gates. Across the street on the other side of West Shinjuku exit.
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That place exactly !

bence8810 said:
Really nice series, good use of that camera!

Gabor - that must have been a strange period in Japan - i moved here that year but later in June when everything was mostly back to normal in Tokyo.

Ben
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It was a strange period in Japan, especially the energy-saving measures converting the former bright illuminated areas like Shibuya and Shinjuku to ghost-town like dark places!
 
Some really nice photos in there!

Really enjoyed your site as well. not just the images, but also the layout & design. Clean and straight forward. Well done.
 
Great sets of photographs.
I went to the many other sets..
You have a specific style.
I find it some what heavy, but it's YOUR vision.
Well done!
So many amazing strange moments.
 
Wonderful series and a very impressive portfolio and website. I especially liked your portraiture series.

Welcome to the RFF! I'm hoping you share with us with more of your work.
 
This is a wonderful set of images.

The combination of your framing and the GRs high contrast works increadibly well.

Inspirational. I just got a GR and this makes me want to go out and shoot...

reniori said:
I took a trip to Tokyo earlier this year. On that trip I shot almost exclusively with the GR and the optical viewfinder. I found that the GR is very popular in Tokyo, and street photography was a lot more accepted and less confrontational. Through that I gained the courage to follow the foot steps of other great GR users. Since it was my first time there, I felt both new and familiar things appearing in front of me constantly.

Through nonstop walking and wondering, I've created a series during these times. I used a combination of auto Hi-ISO, snap focus, on camera flash and shooting from the hip to make these images. It was very eye opening what a small camera can do, and for what it's worth, the camera is worth its weight in gold to me.

Take a look at the series here: http://haoyuanren.com/albums/tokyo/ and let me know what you think. Thanks!
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I really enjoyed that series; I look forward to looking through your work in more detail when I get home from work.
Thank you very much for sharing the photos and the story.
 
beautiful body of work! i was thinking of leaving the GR for our Euro trip this summer but now I'm having doubts.

love the 28mm for tight crowded places and I also use a cheap 28mm OVF on it, turn off the screen and go for a walk.
 
I'll add my complements to this series -- very strong coherent set of images. I'm a fan of high contast B&W but this really fits the feel of the pictures, and not just a gimmick. These pictures all belong together, they 'fit' as a package. I also like the design of the website too.

You're pretty good at shooting from the hip.
 
Thank you everyone for the warm welcome, I am overwhelmed by the positive response. I actually have been posting outtakes daily from my trip, you can see them here at: www.instagram.com/haoyuanren

kuuan said:
very impressive series, congrats and thank you for sharing.

interesting that you used an optical viewfinder. I have been very tempted by the GR but have been thinking that for it's intended use it really should have a tilting LCD, but I still may prefer an VF anyway.
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I used the OVF because I was tired of getting the "exact". By using the OVF, I stopped obsessing over what's on the edge of the frame and what's outside of it. It was quite liberating, to dedicate the brain process used on that towards other things, like shooting.

jky said:
Really enjoyed your site as well. not just the images, but also the layout & design. Clean and straight forward. Well done.
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The service I use is Koken, I suggest everyone to check it out.

taemo said:
beautiful body of work! i was thinking of leaving the GR for our Euro trip this summer but now I'm having doubts.
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I think there is absolutely no reason to leave out the GR. It takes up minimal space and weighs very little. Bring 3 batteries, some cards and you're good to go. Funny thing is I have had my DSLR with me everyday inside a very very heavy bag, but the GR in the end is all I used.
 
Late here but wanted to say I really liked your portfolios and site. Great work. I'm not normally someone who likes such high contrast bw but you do this very well and I liked the feel of it very much. Loved your portrait of Taylor Schilling!

kind regards,
Lynn
Sydney
 
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