Guest Author: Todd Korol
A highlight for me on a recent trip to Japan was a visit to the Imperial Palace, residence of the Emperor and Empress of Japan, in Tokyo.
Back in 2009 I was assigned by Reuters to photograph the state visit of their Highnesses on their trip to Canada. Needless to say on a recent trip to Japan I was excited to learn we were staying just blocks away so it was a great opportunity to visit their garden in Tokyo and see where they lived.
Tokyo’s Imperial Palace occupies 155 hectares in the heart of the city and their East Gardens are open to the public.
I was first inline on a warm fall day to walk across the bridge and start my visit to the gardens, my camera bag loaded with Kodak T-Max400 film and my trusty old Rolleiflex 3.5F camera.
I didn’t even make it past the ancient wooden doorway when I started taking photos of the incredible architecture. The old weathered wood I’m sure could tell some tales of great visitors to pass through it’s gate.
Exploring large cities can be challenging, the 30,000 steps a day, heat, humidity all take a toll on your daily explorations.
One of my golden rules is pack light, with just 10 rolls of 120mm film and one camera and lens I force myself to see within those frame lines.
Taking photos with one lens is a great exercise in seeing for photographers. It really forces me to search for the right angles, move my legs, walk two steps closer, a step to the left… I can have a bad habit of just standing in one spot and just zooming with a zoom lens.
The other advantage to using just a single lens is it really gives authorship to your photography. When you use a single lens or format, it is much easier to create a cohesive body of work.
I spent the entire morning in the gardens, slowly walking down the paths, photographing it’s ancient trees and stone walls, that was home to Edo Castle.
There was peacefulness and harmony in the gardens and I looked for photos that would convey that to the viewer.
Back at home in my darkroom I developed my film with Kodak T-Max developer, and finished the process by making contact sheets.
Working with film and going through the process of developing and making contact sheets really let’s you study the images. I feel that taking the time to really look at each image is an important step to growing as a photographer.
