Shooting in Japan - Part 1
I got my first Leica, a beautiful chrome M4, on the 26th of December 2011 in Osaka, Japan, from a shop that was called Matsumoto Camera. It was quite difficult finding the place, which was near the Umeda area, as the general public were only aware of Matsumoto Kiyoshi, a drug store. We walked in circles in the cold (the wind was crazy) and eventually found the spot via some desperate sense of direction. We had no WiFi/GPS during those days and had to rely on maps that I saved on my phone earlier.
Once we got there, I had to choose between a re-painted Black M2 that was so beautiful but had a rough winding mechanism or a mint, smooth Chrome M4. I had done my research and knew that the M4 was the camera for me, but that M2 really tempted me with its looks. Eventually I chose the M4, knowing that it was the one I was looking for and shamelessly asked my dad to buy it.
At that time I was heavily influenced by Tommy Oshima’s work on Flickr and had brought along some slide films along to use with a Nikon FM2. I used to be able to buy expired slide films like Velvia, Provia, Sensia, Astia, Ektachromes, Tungsten films, at half the retail price (roughly $4-6) from a small shop that has since closed down.
Of course one of the first rolls of film that went in the M4 was a Velvia 100 and this photo at Fushimi Inari Taisha was one of the first photo that I took. It wasn't so crowded with tourists then and I was able to take my time. It’s not an amazing picture or anything interesting. It just has a unique significance to me.
To be honest, I was still new at photography during that time and probably did not deserve to use a Leica. Still probably don't deserve to use one but who gives a damn right? Photography is something that makes me excited and I am going to use whatever I want. How many people are actually able to say that they are worthy of using a Leica. You can’t. Well unless your name is mentioned along people like Henri Cartier Bresson, Nick Ut, Joel Meyerowitz or Garry Winogrand.
Over the years, I will bring the M4 with me every time I go back to Japan. Needless to say, it is no longer in a mint condition. I am planning for a trip there this Autumn and will definitely bring the M4. Somehow I just feel more relaxed shooting in Japan. Its something special that I don’t get anywhere else.
Tommy Oshima’s work is still something that I look at from time to time even though he does not post much nowadays. Kai W from digitalrev did an interview with him in 2010, and well... I am still glad that the post is still there. As my favourite photo of his is.
