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Dec 07 2016 11 Comments

The ghosts of Japanese gamblers past?

Studying form at a racecourse in Tokyo, this young man was sat all by himself, and yet at the same time he was also in the very visible presence of a long line of gamblers who have placed bets before him.

japanese gambler

Categorized: Photography

Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. LAObserver says

    12/7/2016 at 8:47 am

    Nice shot Lee. Wonderful composition of the drab room, the conservative salary man’s attire and the extremely colorful high tech displays.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      12/7/2016 at 5:45 pm

      Thank you. I had to impatiently wait for a few people to get out of the frame, but they eventually did, and luckily the seated salary man stayed where he was. Very glad I made the effort.

      Reply
  2. Squidpuppy says

    12/7/2016 at 3:36 pm

    Note to staff: clean walls.

    Another great story shot. Without your caption / explanation, the scene would inspire all kinds of fascinating questions – it’s both grotty and futuristic. Is this some kind of dystopia? Why is the guy sitting on the end? And so professionally attired? What’s all the complicated stuff on the monitors? Even with your caption / explanation, it still evokes all kinds of intriguing social commentary musings. Nice.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      12/7/2016 at 5:48 pm

      Thanks ever so much. Really pleased with the way this one came out. Much better than I expected to be honest. And even more pleased after hearing your thoughts on it.

      Have to thank my mate for pointing out the stains on the wall too. Hadn’t noticed them at first.

      Reply
  3. Denton says

    12/7/2016 at 4:14 pm

    I really like this. Very cool. You totally nailed the framing.. Fantastic! 🙂

    Reply
    • Lee says

      12/7/2016 at 5:50 pm

      Cheers! Very kind of you. Luckily it was set up nicely for me. Just a matter of standing in the correct spot. And waiting for other people to get out of the way!

      Reply
  4. cdilla says

    12/8/2016 at 11:28 pm

    It’s a futuristic waiting room. You sit on a transfer station, open the app, select your destination and with a barely audible “foop” you appear in a similarly drab transport station at your destination. The stain on the wall is the residue from the small part of your soul burned off each time you use it.
    This photograph would make an excellent paperback book cover for any number of story scenarios.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      12/9/2016 at 10:11 am

      Now that would be wonderful. Well, apart from the slowly disappearing soul of course. That latter aspect though really does make one look at those stains in a different way…

      Thanks. I wasn’t at all sure how it was going to come out, but I was really pleased with the result.

      Reply
  5. Dmitriy Aseev says

    12/15/2016 at 10:15 am

    Great composition. Took me some time to see the ghosts.

    Reply
    • Lee says

      12/15/2016 at 8:22 pm

      Thanks. To be honest, I didn’t see them at first. Took a friend to point them out. But once he had, I couldn’t see anything else. Just glad they came out in the resultant photograph.

      Reply
      • Dmitriy Aseev says

        12/16/2016 at 3:54 am

        Then a part of the credit goes to the friend.

        Reply

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