Gallery: Top Twelve-09

Shoe Polisher
Ginza, Tokyo, Japan

The Ginza area of Tokyo is famous as a center of high fashion and incredible wealth. Under the bridge near the Ginza Five complex, I found this shoe-shine man feeding birds. I asked him if I could take his photograph and pulled off several shots with my camera.

The decade-long economic recession has hit Japan badly and there isn't much hope in the air these days of any recovery any time soon. But this man seemed happy with his birds and his little spot in the universe. He chatted with them while I took the photos.

The signs he made saying "Shoe-shine ¥500 (about $5)" and "I repair umbrellas" were made with delicate brush strokes. Although the man's clothes were modest, his black leather shoes sparkled.

I used a wide-angle lens (35mm) for environmental portraiture, but an open aperture (f/2) to separate him from the background. The Canon has a nice background blur.

From the Japan 2003 series.

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Equipment: Leica M7; Canon 35mm f/2; Fuji Provia 100F.