Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged candid, crowds, Japan, monochrome, people, random, Shibuya, street, Tokyo on April 15, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Shibuya Street Spotlight” : Tokyo, 17th March 2012
Another shot from what must be one of the world’s busiest street crossings, in trendy Shibuya, which I must admit is not one of my favourite parts of Tokyo.
Shortly after taking this and quite a few other similar shots, I headed for the Apple store (the main reason I’d come), then quickly exited the crowds for more tranquil neighbourhoods…
You really should click here to see a larger version of this picture.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged candid, crossing, girl, Japan, monochrome, people, random, Shibuya, street, Tokyo on April 12, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Tokyo Crossing” : 17th March 2012
Shibuya is one of the busiest, most crowded parts of Tokyo, and nowhere in Shibuya is more crowded that the large crossing just in front of the station.
I don’t often photograph people, but taking heart from another guy clicking away on his Canon, I too positioned myself to catch the wave of everyday folk as they set off across the road.
I still feel slightly uneasy about doing this kind of work, and that’s probably why I’m not very good at it, but it makes a change from architecture and the abstract, right?
You can see a larger version of this photo by clicking here.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged candid, coast, couple, people, photography, sea, street, tourists on February 8, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Photographing the Photographer” : Lisbon, Portugal, 7th September 2011
More surreptitious underhand invasion of other peoples’ privacy from Portugal, and no, I’m not entirely sure where the apostrophe is supposed to go in the possessive plural of the word ‘people,’ but hey, I’m just a professional teacher of English, so what do I know.
Talking of things I don’t understand, the number of visitors to this blog went nuts the other day: for 6th February I got two hundred times the usual minute tally. Very nice, but it’s like the 72-second extra-terrestrial radio signal picked up by SETI on 15th August 1977 – an anomaly of possible major significance, but utterly inexplicable.
And no, I haven’t been drinking – why do you ask?
A larger version of this incredibly awesome image can be found here.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged candid, family, Lisbon, people, photo, photography, Portugal, river, tourists, trio on January 31, 2012 | Leave a Comment »
“Tourists in Action” : Lisbon, Portugal, 7th September 2011
Today I present you with a rarity – at least for me: a photo featuring human beings as the centre of attention.
I was walking along the river front (although it looks like an ocean) in Belem, Lisbon, enjoying the glorious summer weather and having already photographed the obligatory architectural delights to be found in that area, when I thought I’d try my hand at a little candid work on my fellow tourists.
This trio were just framed so beautifully against the bright concrete promenade, the turquoise water and the pale sky that I had to attempt a capture, and this is the result. It’s far from perfect technically – if you zoom in, you’ll see that these folks are all out of focus because I shot at a ridiculously slow shutter speed for some reason that escapes me – but I’m very pleased with it, nonetheless.
I still feel a bit uncomfortable doing this kind of shot, though…
A larger version of this picture can be found here.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged barefoot, candid, homeless, man, photo, photography, river, street scene on September 9, 2011 | 3 Comments »
Some people say that I hardly ever photograph humans (or any other living thing). They say, “Andy, why the cold hard lines, the harsh impersonal industrial minimalism?”
So here we are : I present, for you folks who are obviously not as chronically misanthropic as me, the obligatory ‘photo of a homeless bloke.’
I say ‘obligatory’ because I read somewhere that is a cliché to take pictures like this: almost as ‘hack’ as pictures of dogs, flowers and babies.
Tomorrow’s image will be of a baby hugging a dog with a flower in its mouth 
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged candid, comedy, Japan, men, park, photo, photography, Tokyo on September 4, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
Strolling through a large park in Tokyo one spring, and I chanced upon these two gentlemen, and I couldn’t resist taking the shot, even though I always feel kind of awkward in such situations, as if I’m invading someone else’s privacy.
But, while the comedy in this image comes from us wondering exactly what these two are doing in the bushes, appearances can be very deceptive.
They were actually part of a group having their picture taken from the front: I merely zoomed in from the back to isolate these two and create a more interesting story…
Aren’t I an evil bastard? 
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
Posted in Photo of the Day, tagged 'Nik Software', 'Silver Efex Pro', 18-200mm, black and white, candid, D7000, grumpy, image, Italy, monochrome, Nikon, photo, photography, portrait, sepia, street photography, Venice, zoom on June 8, 2011 | Leave a Comment »
I took this shot with the 18-200mm zoom on a foggy day in Venice last March. The weather wasn’t conducive to grand panoramas, so I thought I’d try a bit of sneaky street photography. Why is he annoyed? As I remember, he was waiting for his girlfriend, but who knows – it’s fun to imagine the scenario.
Originally this was a straight black and white shot from the Nikon D7000, but last night I downloaded the demo version of Nik Software’s Silver Efex Pro, and this is the result – a vast improvement…
A larger version of this picture can viewed here at my dedicated website and store, Andy Lightfoot Photography.
