Photography

Very soon, if indeed it hasn’t done so already, the iPhone 4 will become the most popular camera on photo sharing site, Flickr. An achievement that is surprising in some ways, and yet not when one considers that it’s the only camera many people will always have on them. Perhaps just as importantly, it is also fun, versatile and capable of taking some fairly decent photographs.

And it’s those latter aspects in particular that personally attract me, meaning that I’ll often take photos with my phone even when I have my ‘proper’ camera with me. But different kinds of photos. Primarily places rather than people. Like this unusually retro-looking street for example.

Or a briefly resplendent river.

But mostly it’s buildings. From old ones.

To grim ones.

And even those with gorillas on them.

But at other times, when the iPhone is the only camera I have on me, it does a passable job of photographing people. Such as this baby left all alone at a barbecue.

A very relaxed old lady on a train.

And finally, Captain Jack Sparrow on his way home from what was presumably a busy day doing whatever it is pirates do.

These, and other pictures can be seen over at the aptly titled, Tokyo Times iPhone Photos. All of which are also posted on my Twitter account.

On the surface, Japan, despite its well documented, and now worsened, economic woes, still appears very wealthy; a place where lots of people continue to enjoy the rewards of those hard-working, bubble creating, businessmen and worker bees.

Dig a little deeper, however, and several very different layers of society can be seen, with a large number of those at the very bottom of the pile, in Tokyo at least, living in a part of the city once called Sanya, but which is now merely a section of Taito-ku. An area where incredibly grim-looking rooming houses abound, a large number of shops are boarded up — particularly in the wretched smelling shotengai — and those that are open for business have noticeably large stocks of instant noodles for sale.

Frequented by mostly day labourers, in what I believe is the biggest such district outside Osaka’s Kamagasaki, it’s hard to say what the population is, especially as it must be a very transient one, but what is for certain is that many of the men are of a certain age, and have a certain look.

Along with a life that appears to involve lots of wandering about.

Plus waiting, whether it be for work, washing or simply a way out.

Although as far as the latter is concerned, the opportunities must be very few and far between. The only real option for any kind of escape, at least when there’s a bit of money about, understandably coming through booze; bought and consumed where they are feasibly only a day or two away from — the street.