A Calming Day of Street Photography in Kamakura

A perfectly framed lookout spot from Hasedera temple.

Hi there and welcome to my first ever blog!

My name is Chloe, I’m a photographer from sunny ol’ England.

My camera has been everywhere with me for the last 3 years and I thought it was about time I shared some of the small moments that caught my eye along the way.

Last week, I got the exciting opportunity to travel to Tokyo. Everytime I go to Japan, I am spoilt for choice of where to take my camera to but this trip I decided to follow the sunshine all the way over to Kamakura, in particular to Hase station.

Now, I don’t want to complain about the sun being out as a Brit who has to put up with constant grey skies. But Japanese summers are intense to say the least. It was a solid 35 degrees whilst I was out and I was playing a risky game by having no camera strap on and sweaty palms.

But that aside, once exiting Hase station and having an excuse to ride the Enoshima rail line (very cool, by the way). I travelled to Hasedera temple. I feel the mix of people from tourists and locals, paired with so much history and beauty made for an interesting place to photograph.

The above photograph caught my eye on the way up to Hasedera. Although a simple photograph, I really like how the green and red draw you in to the middle of the frame and contrast against the plain background. I also enjoy the little details such as the washing hung up to the left and the wonder of when will someone return to the cart, has it been left there a while?

Once inside, I noticed this gentleman contemplating his surroundings on this bench. I framed him alongside the scene in the background and I like how the photo flows from left to right.

I next saw someone working on the maintance of the grounds. The lines and colours drew me in and I enjoy how the photo feels split up in to sections. The persons hat covering their face and the red pop of their gloves is my favourite part of this image. Pairing this with the other half of the image, the ‘Closed’ sign makes the image feel balanced.

A simple photo but the way the light is hitting the middle statue made for a cute frame.

Blueeee. Need I say more?

One of my favourites. The two reflections in this picture of the lady serving and the security guard in the top left keep me analysing the photo for more clues.

A simple juxtaposition of the old and new.

Small details.

I like that this photo feels split up in to different sections, paired with some reflections it also make it feel more three-dimension. I also love noticing the small moments in life like this scene, just taking a moment to look off to the distance and appreciating a view.

The Kamakura area is for sure an area you don’t want to miss if you’re in Tokyo, it has so much to offer. Even with half a day spent there, I only scratched the surface.