Down the Lane of Memories [ Panasonic GX7 ]

Peeking down a narrow lane in Tokyo.




This little cluster of bars and smoke-filled restaurants is called Omoide Yokocho (思い出横町), and is meters away from Shinjuku, one of the busiest stations in one of the busiest cities in the world. Though you wouldn't know it from the quiet seclusion here.




The other day I decided to give my fancy zoom lenses a rest and instead take out an old 50mm Auto Chinon lens my brother got me. It's small, and despite the age and a few cracks is in great condition, and on a micro four thirds camera (like my Panasonic GX7) it turns into a great little portrait lens, perfect for street photography.




Yes, not being able to auto focus can make it hard to get shots just the way you want them, but I noticed two things walking around the Shinjuku station area with this lens on my camera.

First, and I think a lot of people would agree with me on this one, using a fixed lens, especially one that forces you to do everything by hand, slows you down a lot. You can't just snap off picture after picture, so it makes you think more about framing, distance, and a lot of other things. And in the process you think about other things, and in many ways it leads you to taking pictures you would've never thought to take with a usual modern all-auto zoom setup.

I used to shoot with only fixed lenses, and those years really helped me a lot. Lately I've gone more for convenience (especially after picking up the fantastic Panasonic 12-35 F2.8), but I think I need to go out with my fixed lenses, and even moreso go for just one lens if I can, to force myself to think more like a photographer.

The other thing is that people don't seem to mind you as much when you're using a setup like this. I'm not sure what it is. Maybe it's because the smaller lens makes the camera look smaller overall (and thus less imposing). Or maybe it's because with a very old looking lens on it my already retro looking GX7 looks more like a film camera than digital. Or maybe the act of taking pictures like this puts you in more of a photographer's mindset, and you blend into the scenery yourself. Whatever the case, I found that I was able to get up closer and a lot more personal with my subjects, none of whom seemed to flinch at all in front of my lens. So I think in the end I got a bunch of good pictures.

If you'd like to see more pictures like these, check out my other posts: Down a Long Alley, Shinjuku Night Streets, or Tokyo Ruins Hunt. Or check out my Flickr Photostream. I plan on posting more pics there with this great little lens.