Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S at 1/750 sec, f/1.8, ISO 1600.
Back in Tokyo after spending the day down in Kamakura (discussed in this post) I had nothing on my agenda for the evening, so I went for a walk along the Sumida River. I mostly used my fast 85mm, in part because it had a deep lens hood and it was raining. Besides that handy attribute, it is a truly wonderful lens: fast, sharp, and compact. The bridges were all nicely lit and made colorful reflections off the water. The sky and water were inky black, so the results were graphic, high-contrast images like the one above.
This next image is one of my favorites from the night. When I saw the couple walking towards me—yes, it is a couple although the woman on the right is not easy to see—I was not going to miss the opportunity. Everything works well here: the lights, railing, and swooping arch all lead to the couple. This is an image that is so much better because of the rain: it just wouldn’t be the same without the wet pavement and, of course, the umbrella. The main thing I did in post-processing was lighten up the umbrella a touch.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S at 1/250 sec, f/1.8, ISO 500.
This image was taken with my anamorphic lens, which seems well-suited to this type of image. I lightened up the underside of the bridge a little in post-processing so that the structure is just visible, but I’m not totally convinced with the result. I feel like the blacks aren’t as black as other areas in the image and they really should be. I will need to play with it more.
Nikon Z8 with Sirui Saturn 50mm T2.9 FF Anamorphic at 1/90 sec, ISO 500.
There is no compromise of the blacks in this one:
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S at 1/350 sec, f/1.8, ISO 500.
This image shows the train crossing the bridge just before reaching Asakusa station, which is next to the river off the left side of the frame.
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S at 1/45 sec, f/1.8, ISO 500.
Just in case you didn’t think there was wildlife in Tokyo, this happens to be the purportedly rare and elusive Japanese night heron. When I first tried to identify it online, I initially assumed that it was the very common black-crowned night heron, but I cranked up the exposure a bunch in Lightroom and could tell by the markings that it was definitely a Japanese night heron. Despite being so small in the frame, my eye goes right to it in this image. (I will confess that I actually removed the bird in post-processing from the image at the top of this post because I thought it was distracting. Maybe it wouldn’t be if I didn’t also have this image in the same set.)
Nikon Z8 with Nikkor Z 85mm f/1.8 S at 1/1000 sec, f/1.8, ISO 1600.
There is apparently other wildlife in Tokyo, too. I found this sign a few days later next to a small park about a quarter-mile further up river:
They strive to make everything cute in Japan. Mamushi even sounds cute, perhaps until you know that it is a Japanese Pit Viper.
2 responses to “Sumida Reflections”
Congratulations on the heron photo. It works very well in the way you say. Indeed, once the heron is noticed, it is quite a challenge to look back at the whole image.
Belly Stretch: I see what you mean but I actually prefer it to the image that follows. Perhaps it is the sweep of the arch that is so impressive. Problem with darkening the structure could be creation of a rather large area of black and/or making the lights that cause the reflections look out of place. Hmmmm … only experimentation will tell.
Tokyo was a manifestly stimulating experience for you (and, subsequently, us). I look forward to looking back at your earlier posts in due course.
Really great!