Cell Phone Paparazzi Photo

Photographer’s Note

Cell phones are popular world wide and none more so than Japan. They are an integral part of youth culture and are used to play video games and to take photos. Here many young Japanese scramble to take a photo. Check out the workshop to see what people were so excited about.

orme, zig, KevRyan has marked this note useful

Critiques | Translate

orme (6746) 2007-05-24 3:27

Very well captured, Peter. I also enjoy photographing photographers! I like the way you have managed to capture so many smiling faces. And having seen your workshop, I understand why. Good title.

Furachan (0) 2007-05-24 3:36

A great one-two today, Peter, both photos fine, and appropriate in their respective formats... You've really caught the flavor of these mass gatherings of which there are many (outside the all female theater in the Ginza for example).
Very nice work,
Francis

zig (2450) 2007-05-24 9:14

Haha, no one holds out a point & shoot camera, or the subject weren't worth troubling to do it? You caught the current trend in Japan, and youth culture here. Yea, we can do anything on mobile phones nowdays, why buy a camera or PC? Very nice angle to capture the crowd.

jinju (14265) 2007-05-25 4:48

Ive been thinking of this sort of situation but couldnt come across it yet in Seoul, now that you took it Ill pass:) Love the repetition of the phones...so many of them.

jinju in Jinju

designsoul (21394) 2007-05-25 12:50

OH, I guessed it will be some American stuff... lo and behold, it didn't take much to be right... :-(
Wonderful and comic work, I always keep wondering what it'd be like if a UFO fell on earth to see what on earth we are spending our times with... typing away on all these little gray rocks, putting those flat objects by our ears, in front of our eyes, clicking... and last but not least, carrying heavy big stone-like objects that we put in front of our faces and push parts of...
funny creatures we are!
Great catch!
sasa

calimex (1029) 2007-05-25 18:23

Hi Peter,
Your photo speaks volumes about aspects of Japanese culture that have evolved to become quite distinct. In this case, in a culture of photography, the photographers here all understand the need to get the "shot." They all have created an invisible line between them as a group and the subject, allowing ample space for the photo. No one is crowding the subject (although I'm sure there was also a line to protect the Bruce Willis look-a-like.

Tokyo and Japan in general is a wonderful place to visit and photograph!

Good capture.

Thanks for sharing,
José

markoci (3917) 2007-05-26 12:11

a great use of fill in flash here peter.. superb quality, sharpnes and colors, despite the low light... i kinda wish that the subject was somehow included... maybe wonder about a different pov too... perhaps if you were facing them... not sure... just a thought... a typical asian scene, well captured overall..

lotis (132) 2007-05-28 0:00

Hi Peter,
I can't believe so many people go crazy for such a poor look-a-like. But I guess that's Japan right? I've never seen so many cell phones in my life. Anyways, I like your compo alot. The half moon of people is good. I also like how you caught the buildings at the back. The light is pretty good. I think the baby blue cell phone on the far left is a bit distracting though. But nothing to bother me really.
Well done.

Best Wishes
Louis

vagabondtravels (6115) 2007-05-28 5:24

Hey Peter

Nice comp and documentary of the cell phone culture. It seems everyone has a cam with them all of the time. I like the cell phone just into the frame on the left and onto the line of people. Would have been great if "bruce" was included too. Anyhow well done.
Ben

CaptainJack (0) 2007-05-28 22:01

Hi Peter, nicely spotted amusing scene. Can recall how many of my youth years I spent hanging out at this place, in the age before cameras were on cell phones. :) I like how you captured this scene, leaving that empty space that draws the eye and makes you wonder what is on the right of this which is grabbing everyone's attention. Funny that its not the world's busiest Starbucks right there, that is not the star attraction here...

nwoehnl (120) 2007-05-28 22:19

Fun take, Peter, very typical scene indeed (nice add with the WS photo to deliver the solution to this fun puzzle). Looks like the photo was taken on the "Starbucks corner" of Shibuya crossing. Good use of the available light to render the scene in a natural look and feel, and the ultra-wide lens was an ideal fit for the situation, allowing you to fit in the diverse crowd of mobile phone photogs. The blue phone sticking in at the left makes a good way to start reading the scene. Greetings from Tokyo.

KevRyan (22422) 2007-05-29 7:12

What a fantastic photo for this cultural phenomena - the camera as ubiquitous as underpants!

....and it goes on - the digital democratisation of photography - really well captured with only minor flash intrusions - which in this setting kind of enhance the feel of the image anyway.

best wishes Kev