Tokyo City Life

My Photo scholarship 2010 entry

Worldwide | Sunday, October 17, 2010 | flickr photos

These photos I have entered are the street photos I captured during my visit to Tokyo, Japan in June of 2010. I spent 6 days in Tokyo and got to gain a perspective into the life of Tokyo citizens whether they be a construction worker, taxi driver, student or businessman. It was intriguing to see how city people of Tokyo survive in a fast paced environment yet be able to remain extremely organised and disciplined. They are perfectionists. I have chosen these photos because they have stories behind them. When I captured these photos, I was able to reflect on how they all linked together.

Tokyo, is city with more than 13 million people which is very organised, clean and efficient. In visiting a highly dense city, I was determined to capture everything other than the tourist attractions. I visualised themes in my mind when I wanted to capture subjects whether it's about packaging, students, trains, mobile devices, etc. As I carefully think about a story, it all comes back to the people and how they live their lives.

Specifically about myself, with an engineering degree, I am now working in a manufacturing industry. Life in manufacturing for a large multi-national corporation is very competitive and fast-paced in the race to efficiency. In the search for a fulfilling addition to my life, I picked up photography as it helps me to relax and to search for unique perspectives. My love of traveling, tied to photography, isn't only about the vacation; rather, to me it's about connecting and understanding the other side. For the world to live in peace, people will have to understand and embrace others. I believe I can make this happen through photography.