I headed to Yurihama Town in Tottori Prefecture to visit my artist friend, Ms. Masako Hayashi. Nestled in the heart of this coastal town is the compact Lake Togo. It takes only about ten minutes to cross to the opposite shore, making it fun to dash across in search of the perfect angle of light. With mountains nearby and hot springs, the town feels like one big park, full of places to stop by while out for a stroll. It suits summer perfectly.
Many people are drawn to the environment and move here, and Ms. Hayashi also chose this place as her studio. The afternoon sun streams into her renovated old house studio. In the soft light filtering through the shoji screens, Ms. Hayashi was painting transparent, deep, cool pictures. Next to her, I peered at past works through a macro lens. It reminded me once again that how we perceive things changes depending on our distance from the subject.
Japanese houses often have brown wooden ceilings and walls, making colors easily washed out. When I want to showcase the vividness of my paints, I need to carefully adjust the WHITE BALANCE settings. However, the “AUTO AMBIENCE PRIORITY” feature proved incredibly useful. It perfectly balances the reddish tint that reflects off the wood and casts over the painting. When I do this adjustment work on my PC after shooting, I tend to let my ego take over, gradually forgetting the original color impression, which makes it difficult. This feature, which adjusts the colors instantly upon capture, is incredibly helpful. It allows me to stay intuitive.
When spending time with a subject, you sometimes catch glimpses of their “usual place” in their expressions and demeanor. The place envelops the person, and the person embraces the place. I believe PROVIA is perfect for capturing such moments. It allows me to focus solely on capturing the atmosphere of the place, letting myself as the photographer fade away. And above all, I love how it feels like I’m shooting with the light emanating from the subject themselves.
“How about Bar TOGO? The sunset will surely be beautiful again today,” she said, taking me to Lake Togo at dusk. We bought groceries at the supermarket, and the spot where we sat by the lakeshore became our bar. The two of us gazed at Lake Togo reflecting the sky until darkness fell. Come to think of it, I always remembered that whenever I encountered the pink and blue evening sky, I recalled her paintings.
Recipe
1
FILM SIMULATION:PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR:N/A
GRAIN EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE:WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT:WEAK
WHITE BALANCE:5000K
DYNAMIC RANGE:WEAK
D RANGE PRIORITY:OFF
TONE CURVE:H -2, S -0.5
COLOR:＋2
SHARPNESS:＋1
HIGH ISO NR:0
CLARITY:0
2
FILM SIMULATION:PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR:N/A
GRAIN EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE:WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT:WEAK
WHITE BALANCE:5000K
DYNAMIC RANGE:WEAK
D RANGE PRIORITY:OFF
TONE CURVE:H -2, S 0
COLOR:＋1
SHARPNESS:-1
HIGH ISO NR:0
CLARITY:0
3
FILM SIMULATION:PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR:N/A
GRAIN EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE:WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT:WEAK
WHITE BALANCE:5000K
DYNAMIC RANGE:WEAK
D RANGE PRIORITY:OFF
TONE CURVE:H -2, S -0.5
COLOR:＋1
SHARPNESS:-1
HIGH ISO NR:0
CLARITY:0
4
FILM SIMULATION:PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR:N/A
GRAIN EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE:WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT:WEAK
WHITE BALANCE:AUTO
DYNAMIC RANGE:WEAK
D RANGE PRIORITY:OFF
TONE CURVE:H -2, S +0.5
COLOR:-1
SHARPNESS:-1
HIGH ISO NR:0
CLARITY:0
5
FILM SIMULATION:PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR:N/A
GRAIN EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE:WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT:WEAK
WHITE BALANCE:5000K
DYNAMIC RANGE:WEAK
D RANGE PRIORITY:OFF
TONE CURVE:H -2, S -2
COLOR:-1
SHARPNESS:-1
HIGH ISO NR:0
CLARITY:0
6,7,8,9,11
FILM SIMULATION:PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR:N/A
GRAIN EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE:WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT:WEAK
WHITE BALANCE:5000K
DYNAMIC RANGE:WEAK
D RANGE PRIORITY:OFF
TONE CURVE:H -2, S -2
COLOR:＋2
SHARPNESS:-1
HIGH ISO NR:0
CLARITY:0
10
FILM SIMULATION:PROVIA
MONOCHROMATIC COLOR:N/A
GRAIN EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME EFFECT:WEAK
COLOR CHROME FX BLUE:WEAK
SMOOTH SKIN EFFECT:WEAK
WHITE BALANCE:5300K
DYNAMIC RANGE:WEAK
D RANGE PRIORITY:OFF
TONE CURVE:H -0.5, S +0.5
COLOR:＋1
SHARPNESS:＋1
HIGH ISO NR:0
CLARITY:0
