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Oct 18 2017 10 Comments

Painting scenery behind Tokyo shutters

His surroundings may well be suburban and grey, but the scenery inside his head is thankfully much more inspiring.

an old man painting in Tokyo

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Denton says

    10/18/2017 at 1:27 pm

    Cool. Great framing as always! I like the idea of him painting from memory, but somehow it makes me kinda sad……

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/18/2017 at 7:47 pm

      Cheers! Yeah, I know what you mean. He got up after I took the shot, and he looked more than little unsteady on his feet, so maybe this is the nearest he gets to those views these days.

      Reply
  2. Coli says

    10/18/2017 at 9:54 pm

    Is he replicating the one that’s on the ground in front of him? Either way I’d like to see the finishing product.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/18/2017 at 10:12 pm

      Nah, it looked more like a waterfall scene, but clearly water and greenery are his thing.

      Thought about photographing him and the painting from a different angle, but he stood up just after I took this shot and spent an age examining it closely. Didn’t have the patience to wait in the end, or indeed the desire to interrupt him.

      Reply
  3. Matt says

    10/19/2017 at 7:21 am

    Lee, you still produce the finest bits of internet around! Thanks a lot for yet another beautiful picture with an even more beautiful story to it. I’ve said it almost 10 years ago and I’ll say it again, your website is my favorite part of the web. 🙂 Cheers!

    m.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/19/2017 at 10:02 am

      You are very welcome. And thank you for the incredibly kind words. Very nice to hear!

      Reply
    • cdilla says

      10/19/2017 at 5:16 pm

      I have to echo what Matt said. Over the past few years I’ve gone from occasionally visiting Tokyo Times when seeing the link on the (now dormant) pink tentacle site, to having it in my bookmarks Japan subsection, to having it on my favourite bookmarks page, to where it is today, on my personal portal page where it sits next to Google and the BBC news site.
      It was the Haikyo that originally caught my eye, but there is so much of Japan caught, crafted and eloquently displayed here – and at just the right pace. The photographs here require and deserve time to view and consider. Something that is lost in the waterfall of images many sites disgourge.

      And on this photograph, it reminds me of Gyoen Park where I could barely turn without falling over an easel or its venerable old owner sat on a six inch high stool. An amazingly popular passtime for the elderly it seems.

      Reply
      • Lee says

        10/19/2017 at 7:50 pm

        Honestly, that’s really good to hear. Photography is obviously something I love, but to know other people get so much out of the results really is lovely. To hear such positive words further boosts my confidence, and also provides a genuine sense of satisfaction. So thank you very much.

        Yes, it really is. It’s fairly common to see big groups camped out in places like parks and streams. Presumably art classes, but a lot of them are really very good.

        Reply
  4. GenjiG says

    10/21/2017 at 11:57 pm

    Totally agree with the others. Been following your site for years and you (almost 😉 ) never fail to achieve some emotional response. Great work. Keep it up and thank you!

    Reply
    • Lee says

      10/22/2017 at 1:27 pm

      Again, that’s really nice to hear. Thanks! And you are very welcome. It’s a genuine pleasure to know other people get something out of what I thoroughly enjoy doing.

      Reply

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