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May 11 2018 9 Comments

A small and atmospheric Tokyo bar

Back in February, I took two photos of the little bar below. The first shot I preferred in its natural hues, and the second one in more simple black and white. Both of them appealed, but an aversion to mixing monochrome and colour meant I didn’t want to post both, so after a fair bit of dithering the latter eventually won out. It’s here if you’d like to see it.

Searching for a different photo the other day, however, I came across the shots again, and as sightings of slightly sinister looking men in trilbies aren’t an everyday occurrence, it seemed a shame to leave that shadowy look left unseen.

small and shadowy Tokyo bar

Categorized: Food and Drink, Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Ron says

    5/11/2018 at 8:55 am

    This one is better, IMHO

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/11/2018 at 8:58 pm

      Interesting to hear. There are aspects of both I like, but the dark looks (in all senses) of this photo probably swing it for me too.

      Reply
  2. Harry says

    5/11/2018 at 2:03 pm

    Very cool. I like both, but maybe this one better? Drinking there would be so much fun!

    Reply
    • Steve says

      5/11/2018 at 7:49 pm

      I like both photos; they’re different enough that I don’t want to compare them and instead just want to take each one on its own. When I look at these bar photos my first reaction is that I’d like to drink there too but I think during the first drink I’d get a feeling I wasn’t really fitting in with what I presume are mostly locals.

      Reply
      • Lee says

        5/11/2018 at 9:03 pm

        Cheers to you both. Think you’d both be happy drinking somewhere like this too. Even if they are all locals, I’m convinced you’d be absolutely fine. Just the other day a friend and I were in a bar that was not only a very local place, but also one that had never had a foreign — or most certainly western — customer in all of its 30 years. There was surprise when we walked in for sure. Just like there often is. But after an initial burst of friendly questioning, things settled down to normal as they almost always do.

        Reply
  3. cdilla says

    5/11/2018 at 8:05 pm

    In isolation I would probably say the black and white one was the right choice, but seeing them together I think the other way.
    It’s odd how little movement from the cast there is aside from Mr Trilby (who has a rather Jokeresque smile trained on you) and the owner.
    I don’t know whether you have read, (or recently, watched) The City and The City, but in the black and white version Mr Trilby is definitely Breach, and he has his eye on you 🙂
    Thanks for posting them both, it is interesting to do the comparisons.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/11/2018 at 9:11 pm

      Funnily enough I just recently finished watching it. Hadn’t thought of that before, but now it’s hard to think of anybody/anything else!

      You are more than welcome. In all honestly I prefer the look of film, but one of the many advantages of digital is the option of comparing colour and monochrome versions of the same photo. It’s something I find fascinating, as the results can be so very different. Similarly fascinating are the opinions of other people too. Different ideas and insights that are both interesting and informative.

      Reply
  4. Bernadette Siobhán Loftus says

    5/11/2018 at 10:21 pm

    I’m so glad someone knows that that is a trilby and not a fedora.

    I’m much more fond of the black and white. The color gives it warmth, to be sure, but Mr. Trilby’s expression doesn’t have a whole lot of warmth. Having said that, they both have a lot of depth, and each is enticing in its own way. Very nice job!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      5/12/2018 at 7:39 am

      That’s about the limit of my hat knowledge!

      Thank you. Yeah, it’s his look in this photo that makes me slightly favour the black and white version. Seems better suited to monochrome.

      Reply

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