Project X: Leica, Tokyo, Pictures, November

Taken with Panasonic LX-3. 1/30th sec F2.8 @ ISO 400. Ikebukuro Shopping District, Tokyo.

I'm finally going to Tokyo! I've confirmed all my dates and appointments for my upcoming trip in November, and Leica Canada has generously offered to loan me a camera for the month while I'm there. Because of this, I thought it would be fun to do a special photo project on my blog with Leica. I won't say which camera I'm taking with me, but if you go to my Instagram account, you'll see which one it is.

Upcoming Trip: Bigheadtaco Back in Tokyo!

Checking out apartments in Tokyo with my wife. Taken in 2010 with Panasonic LX-3. 1/320th sec F/2.8 @ ISO125 24mm wide equiv. Scene Mode: Pinhole

It's been a while since I've been in Tokyo. Between 2008 and 2010, I had been back to Japan 7 times: for vacation, for work, for family obligations. But since 2010, I haven't been back, again for different reasons and obligations. An opportunity has recently come up where I'll be 'stuck' in Tokyo for a few weeks, so I thought I would make the best of it. With my wife tagging along to keep an eye on me, I think I'll have a few moments a day to take pictures.

What cameras am I going to bring with me? I haven't decided yet, but I'm going to see if some of my contacts will loan me a camera for a month so I could do an in-depth review in Tokyo...my dream? Leica M Monochrom with a 28mm. Or how about a Fuji X-Pro 1 with the 14mm? Ricoh GR? I'll let you know once I figure out what I'm going to bring, or what I can borrow for the trip. One thing is for sure, I'm not dragging my DSLR kit. More on this point later. For now, let's just say I wanna travel light and compact. 

More information coming up in a few days. I'll be finished my Fuji X-20 vs Ricoh GRD4 soon, and also my Leica M Type 240 with Minolta M Rokkor lenses review. Keep checking back for more pictures and reviews. Thanks for viewing.

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Retail Store Ideas that are Too Specialized?

I'm walking around in one of the most rapidly developing areas of downtown Vancouver, the DTES. This spot is traditionally the poorest neighbourhood of Vancouver (actually, it's the poorest in all of Canada), but many new businesses have opened up here to much success. Many food joints such as Acme Cafe, Save on Meats, and Cartems have successfully maintained a good balance with the neighbourhood, as well attracting new people who would usually not venture into this part of town.

When I saw the above "coming soon" business, I thought to myself, I don't see it doing well here. Poor neighbourhood, not a lot of money, and a very specialized group of people who shop for lingerie, and on top of that, plus size men only. I was also wondering what the window display would look like. Would it be tasteful, or just plain tacky? Where would they get plus-size men's mannequins? I checked up on it a few months later, scared to see what would be on display, and this is what I saw....

Quicksilver: The Real Life of Bike Couriers

Meet George. He's from Leeds, England so he has a super cool accent...well, it is to us plain English speakers.  When I asked him if he loves his job, he gave me a smile. Of course he loves his job. Then I asked him if he's seen the 80's movie Quicksilver starring Kevin Bacon, and again it's a smile and another yes. It's kind of a cult classic among bike riders, but especially bike couriers.

However, unlike Kevin Bacon's character, most of these guys aren't ex-millionaire stockbrokers who decided to take a break and ride bikes for a living. But like the movie, they do this job not to make a whole lot of money, but because they love the thrill of riding and they like the lifestyle...

A Red Guitar, Graffiti Alley and No Home

I was walking through graffiti alley looking for anything new since my last visit and I ran into James. Originally from Winnipeg, he hitched a ride on a freight train to Vancouver hoping to find work and a place to live. Unfortunately he found neither. I asked him if he could play me a tune, and he sloppily obliged with a one-handed riff.

Hanging out with his guitar and his cd player, he told me he just became homeless. Smelling strongly of alcohol, he asked if he could get some change to buy food. I told him I have a policy of buying something to eat instead of handing out money so he happily agreed. In fact, he stood up and started to dance...

Well Dressed People Stand Out of a Crowd

Ok, I guess I kinda cheated by colour-isolating this well dressed older gentleman, but I was just trying to make my point even clearer. This dapper grandpa really stood out of the crowd while waiting for his bus on Hastings Street.

I'll give him 100 points for his suit, 20 points for his sweater, 40 for his slim wallet, another 50 for his hat and shades, and a bonus 100 points for his cool, calm countenance and dignified posture...minus 20 for his shoes and another minus 50 for his roller-bag.  Overall, 240 points. That's a solid 220 points above everyone else around him put together!!

This only proves you don't have to be rich or young to dress well in public. You just have to care enough and take the time to put yourself together. That's it. Thank you sir!!

Animals and Public Trust: Mounted Police

I was walking through Chinatown looking for anything interesting to shoot and what did I see?  I saw horses. Yes, the mounted police were hanging out in an alley just off of Main and Hastings, the heart of the DTES. This is in fact the poorest neighborhood in Canada, and probably the most crime-ridden. At first, I thought the police were questioning a suspect in the alley, but as I walked closer, I realized that they were conversing...about horses!!

As I took pictures, at least a dozen people, residents of this poor area, who usually shy away from the police, were actually approaching them willingly and interacting with the boys in blue (and their trusty horses). They were no longer the symbol of the heavy hand of the law. They are immediately transformed into cool guys with horses!

I spoke with Constable Conrad Van Dyk of the VPD Mounted Unit and he agreed how the horses added a dimension to their presence that is immediate and profound. He said when the police patrol this neighborhood on horseback, they automatically become the star attraction. People who would normally never approach them come up and strike up a conversation. It's a rare site to see animals in this neighborhood, and even rarer to see horses!!

Life Imitates Art: Back Alley Loiterer

I was walking along my usual picture-taking route, checking out the alley ways for recent graffiti updates. I've noticed that there are always people standing inside the doorways along alleys for some reason. They don't look like delivery guys, nor do they look like employees or drug dealers. They just seem to be hanging out for no reason. Anyways, I found this fresh graffiti and decided to try and make the shot interesting by incorporating the two guys hanging out next to it. 

Store Review: Fortknight Men's Boutique

Guitars, fountain pens, shoe polish, pocket squares, shaving and drinking paraphernalia, handmade bags, wine barrels. What do they all have in common? They can all be found at Fortknight Men's Boutique in Gastown. Okay, maybe the wine barrels aren't for sale (or are they?) but everything else you can find here, and more.

Walking past his store window and looking in, I just had to go inside and see what this place was all about. I asked Tyler, as a retailer, how can he tie together all these seemingly dis-connected products and sell them under a single roof?  Sell a PRS guitar with a bottle of Taylor of Old Bond Street shaving cream? How about a made in  Austria decanter with a nice beeswax shoe polish from Paris? A Jet City guitar amp with a Graf von Fabre-Castell fountain pen? What was his retail theme? His answer was simple...

ABC 123. Keeping Graffiti Within the Lines!

I was walking down Main and Hastings the other day and came across this old abandoned storefront. I couldn't help but notice the unique 'presentation' of the graffiti on the window. Since the security bars are in the way, these guys had to write within the space. It kinda defeats the purpose of graffiti doesn't it? They're trying to be all rebellious and anti-establishment, but had to keep nice and straight, orderly, evenly spaced, and within the literal lines! Ha ha...maybe they should practice their ABC's next time!

Off-Road Unicycle? BC Wheel? No Space?

When I saw this I was literally laughing while I took the picture...then I was scratching my head...what situation would bring about this result? It looks like an off-road vehicle spare tire right? Why would this person need to take this off and lock it up and store it on a bike rack?  It's fully inflated, so the full-sized spare is still good. Hmm... 

iPod Poster on an iBoard on Granville St

Walking up Granville Street in Vancouver, i noticed the new public iBoards, or information- advertising boards all along the sidewalk. What do i see? An iPod advertising on the iBoard. As i was taking the picture in the pouring rain, people were wondering what was so amusing... seriously?!? You don't get it? iBoard? iPod? iRonic? Ok, it's not ironic. iNcorrect. iT's a CoiNciDence!

Lululemon's The Lab: Voyeuristic Future

If you've walked down W.Broadway at Cambie, you probably noticed this unusual "factory" in this very expensive retail space: The Lab by Lululemon. If you look at the first image, you would assume this was a factory in Asia...or at least a factory in a factory part of town. Instead, I'm shooting through a retail window in a higher end retail space. West Broadway and Cambie is not cheap real estate. You can tell by the neon lighting on the sidewalk to know this isn't the factory district of Vancouver. 

Check out the link to see what its all about, but I thought it was a pretty unusual use of high end retail; but a very cool concept of sharing factory and retail space to sell custom clothing. It reminds me of what restaurants are doing with their open kitchen design, but with clothing!! 

P.S. I had to wait around a while before there was no one walking across my picture. There's a bus stop right in front, and often people are lined up almost right to the window...

Dream Job= Shift.Urban Cargo Delivery

A few posts back I spoke with Aaron at Whole Foods who was wearing a Charlie Noble Global Delivery hoodie. I thought it was a real company deliverying food on bikes, but it wasn't...although the hoodie was cool. Yesterday I was walking through Gastown and look what was driving past me: Urban Cargo Delivery. What do they do? They deliver Bites on Bikes!!

Old Building Infested by Moss-Like Posters

Have you noticed the moment a building is abandoned or ready for demolition, advertising posters immediately appear? In nature, moss, fungus, mold signifies of an abandoned or neglected building or structure.  In the city however, advertisers appear to move quicker and is a better indicator of a building not in use (you can see the moss slowly trying to catch up by working its way along the bottom and along the trim...) These old buildings are used as frames for  these glitzy new posters, breathing new life and function to these soon-to-be discarded structures. It is this juxtaposition that captures my attention...

289 Abbott Street or Alley in Vancouver?

As I walked through Gastown in Vancouver, I blinked and almost missed 289 Abbott Street. I assumed the difference between a street and an alley is that on a street, you could get two cars to pass, but you can't with an alley (I know there's more to it than that, but you know what I'm saying...).  On this street, you can barely get two people to pass without walking sideways, and on top of that, they line it with plants in huge buckets. Is that to reduce unwanted traffic?!  If I was the business at the end of this street, I would use huge 6' vertical letters running all the way up the wall so customers could find me. If this is the street, I'm afraid to go around back and look at its alley!!

PS. Cool clock, top left...but too bad it's not working!!

Charlie Noble Delivery at Whole Foods?

While grocery shopping, this employee walked past me wearing his black Whole Foods apron and matching Charlie Noble Global Delivery hoodie on. I asked him when did Whole Foods start a bike delivery service and who's this Charlie Noble dude?  

Try Looking Up and Shoot Buildings!!

Walking downtown, I love shooting up at buildings. I love manipulating my view point by pointing my camera straight up while walking from one corner of the intersection to the next, trying to create the best angle. Shooting upwards is great because you rarely have any obstructions: people, cars, trees, wires, etc. You also get to play with perspective, easily changing the entire image by just tilting your camera this way or that...shooting horizontally, it's alot harder to do this!!

Birks at Granville and Hastings in Vancouver

As I get off my bus and connect to my train, I always walk past this beautiful old building at the corner of Hastings and Granville in Vancouver.  I like this building specifically because it's on a corner, and I love the size...it's a baby building! So cute! With its majestic pillars and tall windows, you would think this building would encompass the entire block!

Kitsilano Public Notice Board Gone Wild!!

 
In theory, the design of this public notice board is very functional: it's 4 sided, and each side is double-sided. However, since it's outdoor and public, I assume nobody monitors or needs permission to post. You can see the results. Madness!! You can't really read or find anything in this chaos. In some spots, it looks like the bottom posting has 6 others postings overlapping and/or on top of it!! Standing in front of it, I was overwhelmed...nothing stood out... it's amusing to look at, and makes for a great photograph, but if I had something to post, I wouldn't post it here!!