International Saturdays – Page 3

Intl Saturdays 23: The Shibuya couple

January 5, 2013August 26, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged Daily Life, hairstyles, International Saturdays, Shibuya, shibuya crossing, street photography, street portraitLeave a comment

Shibuya is a shopping and entertainment district in Tokyo. It is also referred to as the Times Square of Japan, a title which i absolutely do not like as i feel it is not fair to compare the two. Yeah i get kinda peeved at such trivialization of places.

When in Tokyo, you just have to see the Shibuya Crossing (will put up pictures and video of that in the future). It is quite famous and anyone who has seen Lost in Translation will have seen the controlled chaos that is this insane crossing.

I found the place to be a treasure trove for people spotting, like the squares in European cities that i had read about. Came across this well-dressed couple who were probably handing out pamphlets. I really liked how one-half of the dude’s hair colour matched with the coat that his girl was wearing. Notice how she is standing straight, another Japanese culture i had covered previously on this blog.

Take Care,
Ciao

Intl Saturdays 22: PUNX

December 29, 2012Posted in UncategorizedTagged Daily Life, Harajuku, International Saturdays, Japan, Japanese punk, punk, street photography, street portrait, TokyoLeave a comment

Take Care,
Ciao

Intl Saturdays 21: The Harajuku Boy

December 22, 2012August 26, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged Daily Life, Harajuku, International Saturdays, Japan, markets, street photography, street portrait, Tokyo3 Comments

Take Care,
Ciao

Intl Saturdays 20: The Otaku Edition

December 15, 2012August 26, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged Akihabara, culture, Daily Life, gamers, International Saturdays, Japan, Japanese culture, nerds, otaku, street photography, Tokyo2 Comments

After getting overwhelmed at the Akihabara mall which houses anything and everything you can think of in terms of electronic gadgets, i exited through a gate which gave me this sight. Now being a tech scribe, i know what it is to be obsessed with a game and all that, but in my case at least, it’s limited to when i am sitting in front of a system at home (or office, Yes gaming is a part of the office culture and not frowned upon). Generally my type of gaming is in isolation. My office pals do indulge in LAN gaming with Quake, Tribes Ascend, Counter Strike, but i’ve realised that i am not really great at these games. I am more of the Max Payne, Hitman, Mafia third-person shooter type of gamers.

Bottomline: Gaming is not really mainstream here.

Here though i was fascinated to see the obsessive gaming at a group level. These nerds, popularly called Otakus can be found all over Japan. At Akihabara in particular, it just makes sense for these gamers to gather and try out the latest games that they have just purchased. I did notice a lot of old-style GameBoys in the crowd. (This is one thing i fell in love with about Japan: a respect and loyal following of everything retro, whether it’s old-world gaming pads or film photography. You just know that these cultures will never die in the Land of the Rising Sun.)

Even while all of them were engrossed in their game, they still had the sensibility to leave enough space on the pavement for passersby. You can’t help but smile:)

Take Care,
Ciao

Intl Saturdays 18: Old Bangkok fish market

December 1, 2012August 26, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged Bangkok, Daily Life, fish market, International Saturdays, Old Bangkok, Old world, streetLeave a comment

Take Care,
Ciao

Intl Saturdays 16: Juxtaposition in Tokyo

November 17, 2012August 26, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged BW photography, contrast juxtaposition, Daily Life, Imperial palace, International Saturdays, Japan, Japanese culture, Old world, street, Tokyo, urban spaces, urbanscapesLeave a comment

Barring the Imperial Palace, there are very few places left in Tokyo which are reminiscent of an old era. (Let’s add the Yakotori alley to that list (will put up its picture some other day)). Most of old Tokyo was wiped out during the WWII. What you get to see in Tokyo now are structures which are not older than say 40-50 years (at least in the major part of Tokyo AFAIK).

Although Japan still has the King and the Queen, they are just that in name. They do not have any say in political matters as such. They still live in a palace, which is in the middle of Tokyo surrounded by lovely open spaces and greenery. I just loved the sound while walking on the pebbly, gravel-ly path that lead upto the Imperial palace gates.

This is the only frame where i could manage to capture the contrast of the old against the new (one of my favourite things whenever i am in any city. There is just something about the era gone past. The Golden Age syndrome some call it, of which i am a surefire victim).

Take Care,
Ciao

Intl Saturdays 13 : Layered terrace

October 27, 2012August 26, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged architechture photogaphy, Bangkok, cloudy skies, International Saturdays, repitition, terraces5 Comments

Came across this building while walking around Bangkok. The layered terrace is what caught my eye. Thanks to a cloudy sky, there was the perfect backdrop for this building.
Take Care,
Ciao

Intl Saturdays 12: The Temple Guard

October 19, 2012August 26, 2018Posted in UncategorizedTagged BW photography, International Saturdays, mythology, Old Bangkok, Temple complex, temple guard, Thailand, wat phraw kaew1 Comment

While walking through the temples or Wats around Old Bangkok, you will come across a lot of these fierce looking temple guardians. I do not remember much about the significance of these figures, but i could definitely relate them to the Chinese warrior figures i had seen in the past. (Sorry, but this Thailand trip is a blur right now, except for some photographs that i have. Next time, if i get a chance to go there, i will be more thorough with my research;)

Take Care,
Ciao