Tag Archives | tokyo

Moon over Toyosu and the Canon PowerShot S95

By on November 13, 2011 in Photography

There was a lovely moon rise over Tokyo this evening and, usually, when that is the case, I drag out the beast and take shots like this; but, as I’ve got a cold and am feeling rather under the weather, I thought I’d test my little PowerShot S95 for a shot of the moon and the city.

As much as I love the little S95 for its f/2.0, its full manual functionality, and its RAW file option, point-and-shoots always disappoint for night shots and there’s one main reason: NOISE.

Before I go any further, I should add that there are many situations when I absolutely love noise in a shot (usually black and white and usually for added atmosphere), but, when shooting “standard” shots (like the one below), I have much less tolerance.

The shot below is ISO 1600 f/4 with no processing other than the RAW to jpg conversion. In this smaller size, the noise is not so noticeable; but, if you click on the image for the larger version, you’ll see what I’m talking about.

the noisy version

Of course, the easy solution is to just run the image through some noise reduction software. However, I assume that the majority of people who use point-and-shoots as their main camera would not own dedicated noise reduction software – it’s only an “easy solution” if you have the tools. Below is the same photo after running it through Imagenomic’s Noiseware Photoshop plugin (just the standard “night scene” setting).

the de-noised version

If you’re just sharing your photos digitally (Facebook, etc.) the noise is not such a problem, but, for me, because I’m used to using a DSLR with much better noise control, the noise always disappoints. I’m not giving up on the PowerShot S95 though: I really love it and I’m sure I can find some sweet spot in the settings that will make this less of an issue. It’s great to always have a small camera in my bag, night or day. I was walking over the Kachidoki bridge the other night and, remembering it was in my bag, stopped to take this shot:

Night fishing on the Sumida River

 

Comments { 7 }

Sumida Panorama

By on October 30, 2011 in iPhone, iPhone Photo Apps, japan, Travel

We were out for a stroll to Tsukiji market yesterday morning and, as I was crossing the Kachidoki Bridge, I decided to test out the AutoStitch Panorama app that has been sitting unused on my iPhone for months. I’m actually pretty impressed with the results (click on the image for a larger version):

The Sumida River taken from Kachidoki Bridge

 

This is a stitch of five separate shots, which the app processes pretty quickly. If you have not held the phone in exactly the same position, you can then crop off any excess space around the image that did not align.

The actual output is a large image, which you can see here (but it’s 3228 x 1372, so there’s scrolling involved). I cropped it down to 1800 x 765 for on-screen viewing, which is here (or, again, you can click the image above).

In the photo, Tsukiji market is on the right (where the yellow boat is) and, behind Tsukiji, that clump of buildings is the Shiodome area. So that you can visualize the location in the context of central Tokyo, this Google map shows where the shot was taken from (the little “A” marker):

Click on map for the actual Google version

I live about a 5-minute walk from the Sumida river and I love being so close to what is, in many ways, a vital element in the history of Tokyo. The whole city was originally built up around the Sumida and, if you’ve never walked along its banks from Chuo-ku to up to Taito-ku, you are missing a big chunk of what has shaped this city since two brothers dragged a statue of the Kannon out of the river 1,380 years ago:

On 18 March 628, two fishermen hauling their catch from the Sumida river found a golden image trapped in the nets. The Hinokuma brothers, credited with finding the statue of Kannon, goddess of mercy, are remembered in Asakusa Shrine, next to the present Asakusa Kannon temple, also known as Senso-ji. Built to house the statue and dedicated in 635, it is the oldest temple in Japan.
(excerpt from Tokyo: A Cultural History, by Stephen Mansfield – a great read on Tokyo)

At the very least, if you don’t want to walk the banks of the Sumida, you should definitely hop on the Suijo-Bus and cruise up the river from Hinode Pier to Asakusa (despite the name, it is not a “bus”, but, instead, a river boat that cruises up to Asakusa at least once an hour).

Comments { 0 }