7 Days in Tokyo

May 6, 2012 7:44 PM

Pascal Ken, after taking several trips to Japan between 2007 and 2011, took some beautiful, dreamlike infrared photos of Tokyo.
posted by reenum (14 comments total)

I prefer Fortran Ken.
posted by GavinR at 8:04 PM on May 6, 2012 [4 favorites]

This post was a good reminder of just how much an effect Instagram has had on my critical assessment of photography.
posted by anewnadir at 8:12 PM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

can someone explain what is happening in this shot of the girl walking in front of a subway train(?) ? the stripes and text look like they've been added in photoshop, but is there something else going on?
posted by raihan_ at 8:38 PM on May 6, 2012

Double exposure, I would imagine, raihan.
posted by a non e mouse at 8:54 PM on May 6, 2012 [2 favorites]

They're nice pictures, but I don't see any indication that they're infrared. Infrared wouldn't capture in color like this, for one thing, and there isn't the odd effect of certain objects being weirdly light or dark. Or am I mistaken?
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 9:24 PM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

Golden Turd? Check.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:28 PM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

BlackLeotardFront, I'd imagine these are taken with a standard consumer/pro digital camera with the infrared filter removed. That's why they're also capturing visible spectrum light. But that's just a guess.
posted by figurant at 9:28 PM on May 6, 2012

Also, gotta say, for someone who'd taken "several trips to Japan between 2007 and 2011", these photos don't indicate anything beyond an extremely typical and superficial view of the city. Really, no particular insight here, IMO.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:30 PM on May 6, 2012 [1 favorite]

can someone explain what is happening in this shot of the girl walking in front of a subway train(?) ? the stripes and text look like they've been added in photoshop, but is there something else going on?

Double exposure, I would imagine,

It's quite likely that it is not a double exposure, but rather a reflection from a train window, a train that the photographer is inside, or looking through. I've taken lots of shots like that, and it can sometimes be difficult to tell what's what and what's where.
posted by flapjax at midnite at 9:48 PM on May 6, 2012

There's colour infrared film, which this might be.

I think Kodak discontinued their colour infrared, but some fans bought up a bunch and froze it. And there might be some other source producing it.
posted by RobotHero at 9:57 PM on May 6, 2012

Whenever I see pictures taken of others on the train in Asian countries I feel vicariously uncomfortable.
posted by Winnemac at 10:03 PM on May 6, 2012

How come the pictures I took on acid didn't come out like that? At least, that's what I saw...
posted by Chuffy at 10:58 PM on May 6, 2012

Try searching on any instagram feed for #tokyo or #japan and you'll find tens of thousands of photos...per day...of this quality or better.
posted by jet_manifesto at 3:31 AM on May 7, 2012

The Japanse mob shot in infrared; now that would be something.
posted by rageagainsttherobots at 5:25 AM on May 7, 2012