Random photos of stations I have visited

[kuro68000]

I made some more wallpapers.

 

[kuro68000]

[kuro68000]

 

I tried to improve this one with a bit of editing. I think the colours are a bit too saturated in places, like on the right there is a blue tint. The Pixel 7 Pro camera tends to be aggressively realistic with colour, where as the preference seems to be for more saturation now.

 

I think part of the issue is the HDR effect essentially reducing contrast. A lot of photographers with "proper" cameras seem to prefer to leave some areas of shadow, giving a very contrasty look that the Pixel doesn't always capture. At least not out of the phone directly. If I remembered to save this one as RAW then maybe I should have a look at that.

 

Speaking of which, the Pixel 8 Pro allows you to save the original 50 MP image as RAW now, so I'm hopeful that it is more flexible when it comes to digitally developing shots later.

 

Another thing I learned from this one is that I often get too close to the subject. In order to crop to 16:9 I lost the sign above the shop, and the edges are a bit crowded. Again, having 50 MP images would help here as you can do a lot more cropping without effectively upscaling the image. But maybe I'm asking too much of a phone. The Fuji x100v's siren song calls, but it's not cheap and I'm not sure I have the skills to use it.

Edited October 5, 2023 by mojo

[kuro68000]

[kuro68000]

 

Here's another one that seems like it's not quite level. According to the phone's sensors it is level, but I think I need to ignore those and just do it by eye. Quite a few shots I took that time round ended up looking wonky, despite the phone swearing they were perfectly aligned with gravity.

[kuro68000]

[kuro68000]

 

This one has a definite tint to it, due to the off white walls and lighting. That's how it is in real life.

[kuro68000]

 

I had to rotate this one a fair but to get it level. I wish I could remove the wire going across the front, but don't know how.

[kuro68000]

 

Another attempt at improving the previous one. Some of the colours look good, some just highlight the limitations of phone optics. This is done with Paint.net, but I think I need to get some better software. I've tried Darktable but it seems to have issues on my system, and be extremely slow. Maybe it's worth paying Adobe for a month or two. Apparently the software that comes with Fuji cameras is very good.

[kuro68000]

 

By accident this one seems kinda dynamic. I think it's all the lines - the tracks, the girders in the roof, the train itself, the barrier.

[kuro68000]

[kuro68000]

 

Kisarazu, Chiba. I should have crouched to void having my shadow in the frame so much.

[kuro68000]

 

Near Tachikawa, if memory serves.

[kuro68000]

 

Tamado station. Those houses are incredible.

[kuro68000]

 

This cat's residence doubles up as Tomado Station. I'll bring him something next time.

[kuro68000]

 

The bus this was taken from had very clean windows.

[miyakoji]

14 hours ago, mojo said:

The bus this was taken from had very clean windows.

I stayed in Yotsukaido for a week when I first went to Japan, and walked past that fire station.  At the time, on the other side of the street somewhere, there was a Mister Donuts.  I had a few donuts and watched the cars go through the intersection.  Being from the US, watching left hand traffic really made me nervous 🙂

[kuro68000]

5 hours ago, miyakoji said:

I stayed in Yotsukaido for a week when I first went to Japan, and walked past that fire station.  At the time, on the other side of the street somewhere, there was a Mister Donuts.  I had a few donuts and watched the cars go through the intersection.  Being from the US, watching left hand traffic really made me nervous 🙂

 

The bit that gets me is turn on red. We drive on the left in the UK, but we don't allow cars to turn when the pedestrian crossing is green. It seems weirdly un-Japanese, at all other times drivers are polite and defensive, but will roll up to the crossing and wait for pedestrians.

[railsquid]

22 hours ago, mojo said:

 

Near Tachikawa, if memory serves.

 

That's the shunter stationed at Hachioji (it, or a close relative, is just about visible in this Street View angle: https://maps.app.goo.gl/ayhFaSUujHwFhGo67 )

[kuro68000]

 

Arrived at Haneda. If it doesn't display then it's still processing the upload, give it an hour or two for 4k...

 

I decided to get the Tokyo Monorail this time, just to try it out. I usually get the Asakusa Line. On the plus side the monorail has a nice luggage rack. On the minus side, the seats seem to be incredibly uncomfortable, at least the ones next to the luggage rack are. And then you end up at Hamamatsucho, so you have to take the Yamanote or Kehin Touhouku Line to Akihabara, and then the Tsukuba Express. The latter is usually okay at this time on a Saturday, but the other two are a bit more busy.

 

Bit of a shock as masks now seem to be completely optional, even on public transport. I suppose COVID levels are low in Japan right now, and it does save my glasses getting fogged up. Also at this point my blood must be about 8% vaccine by volume.

 

 

 

Wish I had read that last time... Maybe I inspired them to make it. At the Asakusa station on the Tsukuba Express line.

 

Lazy day tomorrow, before getting started properly.

[kuro68000]

 

I wonder if anyone actually reads all these incredibly detailed notices.

 

 

I've never felt more understood.

[kuro68000]

  

 

Popped into Beep in Akihabara today, and also spotted this heavily defaced bin for vending machines.

 

I got my first digital stamp too, and then forgot to drive-by all the other stations. The app is really slow so I can see myself not collecting many of them.

 

Hopefully there will be some actual train stuff tomorrow, but I can't promise anything!

[cteno4]

LOL seems like the designated/authorized/permitted public freedom of expression spot! Quite orderly defacement.

 

jeff

[kuro68000]

Yeah, Akiba has a unique culture... The local government officially doesn't allow it, but also can't really stop it.

[kuro68000]

    

 

 

First one is Asakusa station on the Tsukuba Express line, I was bored while waiting for the train. The second one is Ozaku station.

 

Wasn't Tackleberry in those Police Academy movies?

 

 

Classic cars repair shop.

 

Need to find a better place to take a photo of this one. It used to be all cats and Shiba dogs, but for some reason these crabs seem to be popular now. Personally I find it a bit weird because although I don't touch them to most Japanese people they are food.