What a great evening it was to explore and people watch in downtown Tokyo. We headed to the Starbucks looking over Shibuya crossing. Strawberries and cream Frappuccino: yes, I recommend!

We waited a moment for some window seats to free up, and set up our cameras. I wish I’d been more prepared like Chrissy and brought a tripod, but I made do with the table.

I only took my Prime lens. My 50mm. I love this little lens. It was my cheapest purchase and I love the low lighting I can get. Everything looks so contrasting and vibrant. I use it a lot for changing lighting: dark shadow areas and bright lights.

We got there about 5:30 pm, which gave us plenty of light to catch all the pedestrians crossing. I love the slow shutter speeds showing the motion and direction of people walking. But, then there’s one or two individuals standing still, taking photos, and capturing the scene. These really stand out.

My goal was to capture some car lights streaking across the shot. I had these set on a long exposure of 1”3 and 2” (seconds). As the sun set, this became possible when cars turned their lights on.

The longer we sat there people watching, the more I’m convinced it’s the same people crossing each time. There cannot be that many people crossing every. Single. Time. There just cannot! They must be paid to keep crossing, and keep Tokyo’s reputation for having the busiest crosswalk! That’s my theory, anyway.

Happy travels,

Evelyn

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