Theme: Telling stories in Travel and Documentary Photography
Tokyo’s shopping streets:
Okazu-yokocho

Learning to visit a location and quickly figure out the way to tell a story about that place is a key skill for the travel photographer.
We will be looking at how to turbocharge your ability to see the big picture and the details, to create a creative set of photos with a strong narrative flow.

About the location:
Okazu-yokocho survived the war and is still full of row houses and shops with signboards. Until about 30 years ago, the area was home to family-run factories.
There are a number of shops that sell prepared food to take the hassle out of eating. The owner of a shop selling stewed vegetables told me that it became commonly known as “Okazu Yokocho”. As the number of factories dwindled, the number of shops along this street decreased year by year. There were 100 shops in its heyday, but now there are fewer than 30. On the corner of the entrance near the shrine is a liquor store that has been operating for over 100 years with a large, fine wooden sign. A little further down the road is the Minatoya, which has been selling Japanese sweets since 1931. In summer, the neighborhood children gather at the house for shaved ice. Minatoya is currently being rebuilt and is not open.

What will be photographing?
Our aim here will be to capture something of the flavour of the area. It could be people, it could be the shop signs, a set of pictures that capture the kinds of things the shops are selling. Or, it could be smaller details: textures, colours, details of lettering and signage, details of the architecture.

We will also visit the nearby Torigoe Shrine and walk up towards Kuramae station to finish the workshop. Please also photograph this walk.

Gear?
If you’re interested in street photography (people and the streets themselves) maybe 35mm, 50mm or 85mm could be good. Or a zoom that covers these lengths. If details are what you like, maybe a longer lens or macro.

iPhone would also be ok.

This is not really about gear, it’s about learning to see the story – even somewhere you’ve never been before – and shoot a creative and informative set of photos in a short amount of time.