My best 2020 images. Part II: Japan photography

/ Japan, Photography Tips / By

Happy new year! 2021 is finally here, and with the new year, it is time to do a recap of what 2020 meant for me at a professional level. It has been incredibly challenging to create content continuously. The uncertainty of the lockdown, quarantines and mobility restrictions made it almost impossible to travel. This year, unlike the previous ones, I only did one big trip. But more on that later. This is aniolvisuals’ 2020 Japan photography recap.

During the whole month of December, I run a daily Instagram poll (@aniolvisuals), where I asked my followers to vote between two different photos, eventually obtaining my audience favourite shot (listed in this series). From a photographic point of view, though, there are other photos that I enjoyed taking and that I would like to share.

Due to the nature of this year, instead of doing a monthly recap, I will organize the shots depending on where I took them. Thus, I divided this section into 2 parts. This is the second part, with my 6 favourite shots of Japan. Already available the first part, where I share the 5 best photos I took in Spain during 2020. For each of them, I will share some interesting technical and composition aspects, together with the photo story. They are not listed in any specific order, feel free to comment your favourite one!

This is the second part of my 2020 best images!

Check the first part, featuring Spanish locations here!

Table Of Contents
  1. This is the second part of my 2020 best images!
  2. Discover the best night Tokyo photography spots!
  3. How to express motion with photography
  4. Visiting the Mt. Fuji area?
  5. Recreate this image with the Matsumoto Castle photography guide!
  6. Looking for more hidden Japan photography spots?

1 Taxis in Shinjuku, Tokyo

I went to Tokyo looking for this image. I had seen photos like this one on Instagram, and I wanted to take my own version of this photo.

Fortunately, it wasn’t the first time I was taking a panning photo. Otherwise, it would have been unlikely to get this image. The first time I tried to get a panning photo of a moving car, I took over 1000 photos, and only 3 were worth it. In this case, with less than 100 images, I got around 25 sharp images.

Waiting for the lights to turn on in Tokyo is an experience I strongly recommend. I knew I needed the blue hour, neon lights and a bit of luck to take this image.

Discover the best night Tokyo photography spots!

Tokyo tower, skytree and free viewpoints. Available here!

Once Tokyo began to shine, I found the exact spot from where I wanted to take the photo. It had some positive and negative things. The main reason why I chose it was the background. The problem though, was that cars were not only coming from left to right but also from right to left, and I had to play with the traffic lights.

This image has a clear main element of interest, the taxi, but it has some other composition elements. The zebra crossing lines are moving in the same direction than the taxi. This helps to isolate the target on the frame. Of course, the blurred lights are what makes this image special, giving a sense of motion.

How to express motion with photography

Water, clouds and moving taxis! More information here!

It was an easy edit, as the raw material was already what I looked for. I played with the curves, gave some strength to the neons, and isolated the taxi from the scene with radial filters.

The only special thing I added was the taxi lights. Although they were turned on, it wasn’t noticeable on the raw image. With a couple of radial filters, it was easy to create this effect.

2 Chureito Pagoda, Fujiyoshida

This was a very challenging photo. Not because of the light conditions (although a nicer sunset would have been great), but for the restrictions of the location. Unfortunately, it is forbidden to use a tripod at the Chureito Pagoda. Thus, everything photo I took there was shooted handheld.

It is hard to be creative from this location. It is such a small viewpoint and the trees (not visible here), don’t make things easy. Yet, it is relatively simple to get this photo (if you know how to get the sun rays effect). However, I was very lucky, and Mount fuji was visible during the whole time I was there. One of the benefits of visiting Japan during February!

Needless to say that the main photographic elements are the Chureito Pagoda in the foreground and Mount Fuji in the background. The sun has also a degree of importance, although I think it unbalances the image. The only thing I would change from this image would be to take it during sunrise instead of sunset. The light would come from the left side, illuminating the pagoda and Fujisan, instead of getting the light from behind.

No major editing changes were made, besides some color correction, curves, and the basic editing flow I have.

Chureito pagoda sunset
Chureito Pagoda, Fujjiyoshida. Japan 2020 photography

3 Kawaguchi Lake, Yamanashi prefecture

Shooting Mount Fuji was an unforgettable experience. In fact, as you can see, in two of my favourite images of the year it is one of the main elements.

The weather predicted strong winds and I wasn’t sure about how to proceed that morning. I knew I wanted to get the reflection of the Mt Fuji on the lake. If you follow me on Instagram (if you don’t, @aniolvisuals), you know I love reflections.

On my previous days in the area, despite getting some incredible shots I had not seen the Mt Fuji reflected on the Kawaguchi lake yet.

It was freezing, but I took a bike and ride to this spot that I had already scouted the day before. Once I got there, I was very excited to see that the reflection was finally visible. Yet, I thought that something was missing. Then some animal moved and created a bit of movement in the water. I liked how it looked like and started throwing small rocks until I got the effect exactly how and where I wanted it.

One of the things I like the most about this photo is that it is possible to see the bottom of the lake. This was achieved using a polarizer, a filter that can be very helpful in some situations (such as this one).

Given that I wanted to get the waves on the foreground, I did not shoot the image in long exposure. Although I tried it, the reflection wasn’t stable enough, and it looked way better with a fast shutter speed.

No major changes were done in the editing process. The main change was adding some radial filters on Lightroom, to create the golden hour vibe to the image.

Visiting the Mt. Fuji area?

Discover the best things to do and see by the Kawaguchi lake! More information here

4 Matsumoto Castle, Nagano

One of the benefits of visiting Japan during 2020 was that most photography locations were quite empty. This was not supposed to be an issue at Matsumoto. Although it is a touristic place, it is not as known or frequented by visitors as other cities like Kyoto, Osaka or Tokyo.

Two of my favourite images from Japan were taken with seconds of difference by this castle. Just a bunch of photographers were there for sunset and I secured my spot by getting there quite early.

I had seen some images with this perspective, instead of the classical one of the castle with the red bridge in the frame. Thus, after taking the classical shot, I changed my location and got this image.

Needless to say, this image has lots of editing (curves and radial filters mainly). However, I loved the vibe and the memories I created in this city, so this is one of my favourite images from 2020.

Recreate this image with the Matsumoto Castle photography guide!

Find out the exact location and how I took this image. Click here!

Matsumoto castle sunset reflection
Matsumoto Castle, Nagano. Japan 2020 photography

5 Tokyo Tower, Tokyo

I previously said that visiting Japan during the 2020 pandemic for photography was beneficial because there were fewer people. However, when shooting a hectic city like Tokyo, when there are no people in the streets, cars rushing… it makes taking urban shots more difficult. Despite this, the streets were still busy, just not as much as I expected.

Scouting allows preparing for the locations one wants to visit. Thus, I already knew the exact spot from where this photo had to be taken. It was very satisfying to get there, mount the tripod, shot and get the photo I was looking for. Although I like travelling without a fixed itinerary, I also try to scout for locations very carefully, as there is nothing more annoying than visiting a place and later on realising you missed a good image.

When shooting light trails, it is always a good idea to shoot more than one image. For example, in this case, there was a bus passing next to me, thus the light that goes from the top right to the centre of the image. Moreover, the traffic lights can be quite annoying, as cars stop and ruin your image.

Due to the number of neon lights and signs all around Japan, I decided to take the photo slightly underexposed. Later on, during the processing, I could save some information on the white cube next to the Tokyo Tower. I also decided not to remove distracting elements like the signs, although removing them would make the scene easier to navigate.

Tokyo tower photography by aniolvisuals best 2020 photo locations
Tokyo tower and light trails. Japan 2020 photography

6 Shirahige shrine, Shiga

When I travel, I always try to visit some unknown spots. This is one of the places that I enjoyed the most visiting in Japan, and I was completely alone while shooting it.

The most well-known floating torii in the world is the one that can be found at Miyajima Island. However, during 2020 this torii was under restoration. Thus, I had to look for another option. When I stumbled with this place, I knew I wanted to visit it.

Accessing the Shirahige shrine is not easy unless you rent a car. I did travel on a budget, so I used public transportation as much as I could. The only option was to take a 1h30′ train from Kyoto and walk for around 30′ on the hard shoulder of a highway. Every single step was worth it. Being alone at such a special place makes me realise that it is very important to avoid visiting only famous spots when travelling and take the less travelled path.

Looking for more hidden Japan photography spots?

Discover them here!

The long exposure was mandatory, as the clouds were moving fast and there was some wind that did not let the torii cast a reflection on the lake. Exposures of 2-4 minutes were ideal to reflect the silence and quietness of the situation. The edition was mainly focused on creating a sunset vibe all across the image.

Wrapping up

These are my favourite 2020 Japan photography locations, and the images I obtained from each of them. What is your favourite one? Have you visited any of these locations? What location in the world did you visit during 2020? What should I put on my bucket list for 2021?

The first part of this series, featuring Spain is already available here! If you want to keep updated, not miss any post, follow me on Instagram. You can find me as @aniolvisuals or by clicking here. If you want to use any of my images or just chat with me, contact me at hello@aniolvisuals.com