@au8uststory's Tokyo Street Photography with Lomography Film

In 2021, we featured Japanese film photographer Kosuke and his street snaps of Tokyo where he was born and raised. Since then, he's been capturing more of the city with Lomography film stocks, namely the LomoChrome Metropolis, LomoChrome Purple, Lomography Color Negative and Earl Grey B&W ISO 100.

The Lomo LC-A+ is also one of his most favored cameras when roaming Tokyo's busy and ever-changing streets. Camera in hand, he documents the current life and rapid changes in the iconic capital through street signs, pedestrian lanes, overlapping images and more. In this interview we take a look at some of his photos taken with his favorite Lomography film stocks and get to know more about the photographer and city crawler himself.

Hi, Kosuke! Can you tell us a bit about yourself? How long have you been shooting film and what's your favorite thing about it?

Hello, I’m Kosuke. I was born and raised in Tokyo, and I still live here. I guess I started shooting film about five years ago. I think film has some kind of “magic” which turns photographs into something special, rather than me photographing something special. This is why I’m attracted to film photography.

How did you get into street photography in particular?

I’ve always liked to walk, listen to the sounds, observe the surroundings, and watch people go by. Because I always liked the sounds I hear on the streets, I started taking pictures.

Can you tell us about your Tokyo albums? How often do you shoot and how do you know when to click the shutter?

Tokyo especially is a place with a lot of changes. Some of the photos, which I took just a couple of years ago, show buildings that have been completely changed or even demolished.

What is most important to me is to have fun walking around the city instead of just taking pictures. In fact, I’m not always out there looking for something to photograph. This is completely unnecessary. As you keep walking and feel the vibe of the city, something will eventually catch your eyes. I just photograph things that catch my eyes.

What are the cameras and film stocks you use the most for your film photography?

The LC-A+ has been my partner since I started film photography. I don’t think it’s a perfect camera, but “magic” never happens without this camera. I also have a Pentax ME Super, which is a very compact SLR camera. Compactness is a key if you’re a street photographer and walk around a lot.

Each film has its unique characteristics. So I try to use many different kinds of films instead of sticking to one.

What's it like living in Tokyo? Is there a film photography community that you usually hang out with?

Tokyo is one of the most chaotic cities in the major cities around the globe. My hometown has changed a lot since I was a child. I believe Tokyo will never stop changing in both good and bad ways.

I don’t belong to any community, so I’m always by myself when I go out to take pictures. As I’m a moody person, I can’t decide where to go or what to do in advance. It’s not that I don’t like human interaction, but I just find it more comfortable being alone.

How's the experience shooting with Lomography film stocks? Do you have a favorite?

When I started shooting film, I took pictures with Earl Grey 100 and a Lomo LC-A+. Of all the black and white photos I’ve ever shot, nothing beats the photos I took with these.

My favorite Lomography films are Earl Grey B&W 100, LomoChrome Metropolis, and Lomography Color Negative 800.

What are the challenges you encounter being a film photographer in Tokyo?

I never really had any challenges being a street photographer in Tokyo, besides extremely expensive film prices, but I guess that’s a worldwide issue.

But, there’s one thing you should be careful about. It’s the heat and humidity in the summer! I was born and raised in Tokyo, but the summer in Tokyo these days has become unbearable. Especially the humidity is like a torture! So, if you plan to come here in the summertime, make sure you stay hydrated!

Any advice for tourists planning to shoot film in Tokyo's streets?

First, find an interesting place, and have fun exploring. Then, pick any direction and walk more for about an hour. If you like walking, spend more time walking around.

What makes Tokyo unique, especially in its central area, is the randomness and lack of unity of the streets. So, a little short walk will definitely get you a lot to see.

To feel Tokyo’s always-changing dynamism, you need to recognize individual places as “lines” or “planes” rather than visiting each place like “dots”. You might feel a little lazy and get on a train or bus to skip the travel time between places, but this won’t help you feel the dynamism at a maximum. Try walking or biking instead!

We thank Kosuke for sharing his images and stories with us! To get in touch, visit his LomoHome and Instagram page.

written by sylvann on 2023-04-19 #people #places #tokyo #street-photography #japan #lomo-lc-a #au8uststory