#001 Sunny after snow, Nihonbashi bridge

This is a view of Nihonbashi, Tokyo in the New Year.

To those of you who may have been tempted to say, “Where’s the sunny after snow?” unlike the title, my apologies. I am sure you are wondering what the meaning of this not-so-beautiful view is.

At the end of last year, I had a chance to look at “100 Views of Famous place of Edo” by Hiroshige Utagawa, an Ukiyoe artist of the Edo period, and I was impressed by how good many of his pictures are. I thought it would be interesting to try taking pictures of the same places and in the same composition as these in present-day Tokyo.

Here is the “#001 Sunny after snow, Nihonbashi bridge”.

The photo at the beginning is my reckless attempt at this, and I am truly sorry that my ability and taste (of course) are far less than the original work. We can’t see Mt.Fuji from here and of course it doesn’t snow nor shine so conveniently.

In the first place, in the overcrowded city of Tokyo, it is extremely difficult to take a landscape photograph with a clear view that beautifully captures both the near and distant views in a single composition. In fact, before that, Hiroshige’s works themselves probably make full use of artistic fantasy and strong deformation rather than realism, so it would be impossible and reckless for me, who have no skills at all, to reproduce them in my snapshots. I know that. However, if I dare to take on this impossible and reckless challenge, I may have many interesting experiences.

And I am currently thinking that if I have 100 views, I will have no trouble finding material for my blog for the time being.

Yes, all the photos in Hiroshige’s original series are vertical compositions, but the thumbnail photos for the top page of the blog must be horizontal compositions or they will not fit well, so let’s take some horizontal photos of this area.

I used a Pentax K-3III and the HD DA20-40mm limited for this shoot. I have a feeling that the K-3III will be used more often among my handheld equipment, as it looks good in a vertical composition with an aspect ratio of about 2:3.

I also heard that there is a plan to “bring back the sky” by undergrounding the expressway that runs over the modern-day Nihonbashi bridge. If it is realized, the scenery may improve a little, but it may be difficult to create a sense of openness like that of Hiroshige’s first view.

Anyway, I would like to try my hand at “100 Views of Famous place of Edo” from time to time in the future.
The works by Hiroshige shown on this page are borrowed from this book.

広重名所江戸百景 望月義也コレクション [ 望月義也 ]

楽天ブックス

Amazon

楽天

Yahoo!