Japan

Probably my favourite shot I've ever taken, and one of the reasons why I love Street Photography. When opportunity meets preparedness, you might be able to capture a frame that will never exist ever again.

Just an ordinary, everyday moment in Tokyo. Somehow even the mundane feels cinematic here.

Mt Fuji floating on a sea of cloud. Mornings like this feel less like photography and more like luck. The scene just shoots itself. 

Not pictured: Me and my friends absolutely frozen to death below the clouds. Worth it though.

Mt Fuji and a bullet train — two of Japan's icons in a single frame. A classic. 

Osaka Castle framed by a full flush of cherry blossom. Spring turns the whole city into a postcard, and this is about as peak as it gets.

Pure serenity, Japanese style. Some places just quietly ask you to slow right down.

A torii above the clouds, and Fuji rising beyond it. 

The viral shot that popularised this location. Unfortunately it now no longer looks like this and is a bit of a tourist trap, but the moment was still amazing while it lasted. 

In Japan, the Higanbana (Red spider lily) is the symbol of death and the afterlife. It's a gorgeous flower and this was the most perfect one I found in the sea of its 4,999,999+ other siblings. 

A stripe of light, a stretch of dark, and one silhouette between them. Classic Tokyo.

One of the largest floating torii in Japan, at one of the most famous locations in Japan. 

A blizzard, a glow, and a row of drinks that never sleep. It doesn't matter where you are or how hard you have it; in Japan, you can get drinks anywhere. 

A Maiko and her assistant walk through the narrrow alleys of Gion in Kyoto. 

A castle reflection that is 430 years old. The crow castle is the oldest original surviving castle of its kind in all of Japan. 

The classic tunnel of vermillion with the priest walking through, on the way to his daily rounds.

Osaka's grids on full show here. Somewhere in the backstreets of the city. 

A village under fresh snow, straight down. Winter turns rooftops into graph paper.

An old street under a weeping cherry, quiet enough to hear the petals land. Mornings like this are why you wake up early in Japan.

Well, they were before this place became so famous there are crowds hours before the sun rises here now. Also unfortunately, this tree was so old it actually fell down in 2024, trapping a tourist. The tourist is okay, but the tree is no longer around, sadly. 

A boat drifting under a spill of blossoms, perfectly framed. The slowest way to see spring, but the moment for us is gone in an instant. 

Red reflections, still water, and one elegant silhouette. Autumn in Japan knows how to compose itself.

A temple courtyard in full spring bloom. For one week a year, everything old becomes new again.

The moon sets during the day atop Mt Fuji. I remember I had to get in such an awkward position (near a river) to frame this up the way it is. I hope it was worth it. 

A silhouette that could only be Japan. Dusk does the rest.

Three torii standing at high tide. A well-defined path during low tide, but when the tide comes in, it transforms into something else completely.

A flash of luck as I caught a Maiko (Geisha in training) walking down the streets of Gion. Not many people get to see Maiko walking in the wild, and over my long career I've been fortunate enough to be around these areas enough to see many of them, but this shot is one of my favourites. I just love the way the shadows fall on this one.

The city switching on, building by building, light by light. Tokyo never sleeps, it just glows at night. 

Autumn leaves doing their best to steal the scene from Mt Fuji.

Signpost light, smoke, and the smell of food after work. This is a deep side of Tokyo that I'm always intrigued by. Unfortunately this shot will never be repeated, as this alleyway now no longer exists. 

A quiet moment through the Katsura river and a frame-perfect shot of the boatman's daily routine. 

A slow river doing its best to hold a reflection of spring. Some scenes don't need anything more.

Mt Fuji, framed by a week of sakura that never lasts long enough. Spring in Japan is a fleeting thing, and this is what it feels like to catch it in its full glory. 

The postcard shot — pagoda, blossom, and Fuji all lined up. A cliché, sure, but one you have to shoot at least once. I've shot it in every single season in every single condition, but this one is my favourite. 

The Cherry Blossom—a metaphor for life and death. A perfect symbol for the buried here. 

Tokyo stacked up in colour — signs, walls, windows, all of it. This city never once runs out of things to look at.

A kind encounter with the locals.