
Nihon Noir - curtis
https://tomblachford.com/project/nihon-noir/
======
cthalupa
Shot composition is great, but I'm pretty tired of the post processing going
on there. There's way too many people taking city shots, desaturating it, and
ramping up the blue and purple, and it's all starting to look the same. People
go out and buy tons of CineStill 800T attempting to recreate the look from the
film used in the original Blade Runner movie, too.

If you like this style you can find plenty more on the cyberpunk reddit,
though.

You can do tons of amazing night city photography without the colors getting
so unrealistic. Just look at the lighting on
[https://2um6b944etm332zlf4pb7a19-wpengine.netdna-
ssl.com/wp-...](https://2um6b944etm332zlf4pb7a19-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/06/Fine-Art-Tom-Blachford-Zig-Zag_.jpg) \- color is so
off on all of the interior lights that, IMO, it really detracts from the
photo.

But, hey, it's art, so this is all just, like, my opinion, man.

------
fenomas
Great photos, but maybe a reminder to take care when using foreign characters
in one's designs. The Japanese in the top logo splits "noir" into two words,
with the effect that a typical reader can guess what's intended but it makes
no sense as written.

~~~
gwilkes
I disagree, the intended audience clearly isn't Japanese and splitting the
word up gives it visual balance. And using the katakana here is really just
for visual effect anyway, it almost doesn't matter what is written there, just
that is is something in Japanese. The reverse of this is why we have the
sometimes amusing "Engrish" on clothing in Japan. What the English says or is
intended to say doesn't matter as much as the fact that it is English, just a
stylistic choice.

~~~
mcguire
So, what's your feeling on Año Nuevo State Park?

~~~
gwilkes
Sure, there is a mixture of two languages there but they are both using latin
characters so even if you don't know how to pronounce Año correctly you can
get close enough knowing only English. If it was called राज्य पार्क State Park
then we would be closer to the 日本ノワール Nihon Noir issue we are talking about.
राज्य पार्क means State Park in Nepali. Someone who isn't Japanese or hasn't
studied Japanese has no chance to read 日本ノワール, to them is is just a visual
flourish. If someone decides to use non-latin characters from another language
for a visual purpose on their own website for an audience that primarily
doesn't understand that language then I believe that they can be freed from
the burden of having to ensure that they are using that language in a perfect
manner. Should this photographer have contacted a native Japanese speaker to
ensure that his title graphic was 100% correct before publishing? I mean
maybe, but I think that is asking a bit much for its intended purpose.

~~~
fenomas
> then I believe that they can be freed from the burden of having to ensure
> that they are using that language in a perfect manner

There's no can/should/must here, it's just a matter of intent - did the author
here _intend_ for his logo to not look like gibberish in Japanese? Considering
the amount of intention behind everything else, going to the trouble of
choosing a title that makes sense in both languages etc., it seems reasonable
to guess that he did. In which case he probably should have checked with
someone.

If he just wanted to toss in whatever looked nice, then naturally correctness
doesn't matter. But do you think that's likely to be the case here?

~~~
gwilkes
Yes, this is a photography site, what looks nice has a good chance of being
more important than what is correct. Also, breaking up a word doesn't make it
gibberish, it is a bit less legible surely. We do this all the time though in
English, for example on poetic wall posters or logos that look this this:

    
    
      LO
      VE
    

That isn't as easy to read as LOVE, but we understand it and we also
understand it was written that way for artistic reasons.

The other point I was making was about intended audience. This isn't a
photographer catering specifically to geeks, Japanophiles or Japanese people
from what I can tell. He seems to shoot everything if you check out his other
galleries.

In ideal world everyone would check that everything that they write is in
their non-native language is 100% correct. In the real world, and in Japan
where I live, nearly no one cares when English is used incorrectly on garments
and other places. The only ones who notice it are the few native English
speakers. Some fluent English-speaking Japanese people may notice it, but they
generally don't care as it is harmless. Why does Engrish persist? Because it
doesn't really matter enough for the intended audience which is regular
Japanese people.

It may seem strange but in defending this photographer I am actually defending
the use of Engrish in Japan. In this case of Nihon Noir it is the same thing
with the languages reversed. Japanese people will clearly notice the mistake
but they are unlikely to care much. The intended audience of regular English
speakers won't notice the mistake so won't care at all. Us geeks though, we
noticed, so what you are saying is that he should have catered to you instead
of his intended audience.

~~~
fenomas
> so what you are saying is that he should have catered to you instead of his
> intended audience

I said precisely the opposite - that it's down to the designer's intent.

~~~
gwilkes
Ok fair enough, but it still the same with Engrish. There is plenty that is
correct and they clearly are intending to be correct. They could do what you
suggested earlier and check with someone, however it still comes down to their
intended audience. The photographer knows who he is making this for. The
creators of Engrish goods know who they are making their goods for. Both are
certainly _intending_ to be correct, but they both know it doesn't matter
enough to their intended audience to make a special effort to make 100% sure
it correct. This is the assumption in the general case, it may not apply in
every case or even to the Nihon Noir in question, but to me it helps explain
most cases of Engrish (there are other factors of course) and even cases of
reverse Engrish as in this case.

------
jpatokal
A quick listing of what most of these buildings are:

* 1, 2: Edo-Tokyo Museum [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo-Tokyo_Museum](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edo-Tokyo_Museum)

* 3: Tokyo Big Sight [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Big_Sight](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Big_Sight)

* 4, 5: ?

* 6: Fuji TV HQ [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_TV](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fuji_TV)

* 7: ?

* 8: Nakagin Capsule Tower [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakagin_Capsule_Tower](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nakagin_Capsule_Tower)

* 9, 10, 11: ?

* 12: Asahi Beer Hall [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Beer_Hall](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asahi_Beer_Hall)

* 13, 14: ?

It's also worth noting every single one of these is a Bubble Era creation from
the 1990s or earlier, meaning they're starting to get some of the "this is
what we thought the future would look like" Disney Tomorrowland retro-
futuristic vibe.

And a gratuitous plug for some of my own retro-Tokyo pics, although there's a
bunch of other stuff as well:

[https://www.photo.net/jpatokal](https://www.photo.net/jpatokal)

~~~
dmix
I'm really curious what this building is:

[https://2um6b944etm332zlf4pb7a19-wpengine.netdna-
ssl.com/wp-...](https://2um6b944etm332zlf4pb7a19-wpengine.netdna-ssl.com/wp-
content/uploads/2018/06/Fine-Art-Tom-Blachford-Shizuoka-Press.jpg)

Very cyberpunk.

Edit: the filename says it's "Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting Center"
[https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/shizuoka-press-
and-...](https://en.wikiarquitectura.com/building/shizuoka-press-and-
broadcasting-center/)

~~~
twblalock
That and the capsule tower are pretty good examples of the architectural style
called Metabolism that was popular in Japan in the 1960s and 1970s. Most of
the buildings appear to be modular, and some of them actually are.

------
scarejunba
I think Masashi Wakui does a great job in this genre
[https://www.flickr.com/photos/megane_wakui/](https://www.flickr.com/photos/megane_wakui/)

~~~
mind_heist
Love this photographer, thought I would add a couple of more links:

Instagram :
[https://www.instagram.com/masashi_wakui/](https://www.instagram.com/masashi_wakui/)
Twitter :
[https://twitter.com/masa_photo_jp](https://twitter.com/masa_photo_jp)

------
eps
Daaamn... these are _photos_. Took me a minute to realize that!

Extraordinary work.

------
Figs
If the page shows up as blank blue for you -- as it did for me -- try turning
off CSS styles (e.g. View->Page Style->No Style in Firefox). I was able to get
the images to load fine that way.

Nice images though, and indeed they do raise questions -- like "What is an AT-
AT doing in Tokyo?" Translating 江戸東京博物館 gives "Edo-Tokyo Museum", for anyone
else curious.

~~~
aplc0r
I highly recommend visiting the Edo-Tokyo Museum. It is full of replica
buildings (including a full bridge spanning one of the floors) and super
intricate models depicting life in Edo.

~~~
itsthejb
Seconded. It's a fantastic museum. And oddly space aged building considering
the antique contents...

~~~
lovemenot
Located nearby, on a much smaller scale, there's a similar juxtaposition of
interesting contemporary architecture and older Japanese art - the Hokusai
Sumida museum. For anybody who likes Hokusai's wood-block prints, the one-room
permanent exhibition has excellent multimedia content.

------
Analemma_
These are very cool, although I’m surprised that Tokyo City Hall
([https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metropolitan_Government_...](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_Metropolitan_Government_Building))
isn’t included, that’s about as cool and neo-Gothic architecture in Tokyo as
you’ll ever find.

~~~
haasted
Wow, it's like a weird combination of Albert Speer and Japanese forms.

------
parf02
these are amazing. I've always wanted to take pictures that give off this
vibe. Does anyone know what type of postprocessing is required to do this?

~~~
crimsonalucard
Nighttime, long exposure with a blue-ish filter?

~~~
jstarfish
You can see some of the lighting halo/starbursts from where longer exposures
were used, but much of the magic here is HDR.

~~~
cthalupa
I don't think it's even HDR. Just desaturated most of the colors, and hard
pumped blue and purple.

To the GP: Search for cyberpunk / neon noir filters on google and tutorials on
youtube. You'll find dozens to hundreds for both.

------
tjpnz
Nice photos but can you do something about the text at the bottom? My colour
blind eyes are having a really rough time with it.

------
nlawalker
Some background music as you scroll: [https://www.zophar.net/music/nintendo-
snes-spc/shadowrun](https://www.zophar.net/music/nintendo-snes-spc/shadowrun)

(#1b in particular)

------
raws
Very good compositions with great contrasts balancing!

------
thehoomanist
Great job. In the title there's a random extra "N" in katakana at the end of
Ni (日) hon (本). I guess it's from noir at the bottom but, as it is, it doesn't
make any sense to any Japanese reader. You should split them by word, not just
for graphical balance.

~~~
glandium
It's not a N (ン), it's a NO (ノ); so, yes, this is from noir, cut weirdly.

------
gravy
Are these pictures blue as a result of post processing?

~~~
aikinai
Yes, none of the buildings actually look like that.

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i_am_proteus
This is gorgeous urban landscape photography.

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gaspoweredcat
fantastic work

