XF23mmF2.8 R WR x Julien Rocheblave
My Perspective on Tokyo – My X Story with the XF23mmF2.8 R WR
When I first got into photography, it was for a city I had never even visited: Tokyo. I can’t quite explain why. There was something magnetic about it. The energy, the density, the silent rituals… It was through this city that I first learned how to look. How to wait. How to tell stories. And that’s how photography quietly entered my life — long before I ever set foot in Japan.
For nearly ten years, I explored street photography, mostly in European cities. My approach was always the same: blend in, observe everyday gestures, wait for something to happen — without forcing the image.
Then one day, the chance finally came to experience Tokyo for real. And with it, the opportunity to test a new lens, one that felt perfectly aligned with my philosophy: the XF23mm.
A Tool That Disappears
When I choose a camera or a lens, I’m not looking for specs or superlatives. I care about what it allows me to see — or rather, what it allows to remain visible.
The XF23mmF2.8 R WR is exactly that: discreet, fluid, silent. It adapts to me, not the other way around. It let me photograph Tokyo without interrupting it. And in a city so visually overwhelming, that’s a rare gift.
Suddenly, it wasn’t about “finding the right scene” anymore. It was about learning how to filter a flood of potential images. Ironically, that excess is what led me to leave the city — at least for a while.
Getting Lost to See More Clearly
When I left for rural Japan, I reconnected with a different pace of photography — slower, more intuitive. Where the city imposes rhythm, the countryside offered air and silence. The eye settles differently. The gaze becomes softer, more instinctive.
With a lightweight body and the 23mm shift lens, I could focus entirely on what mattered. I didn’t have to think. The camera simply became a natural extension of my vision.
And it was in that simplicity that something shifted in my way of photographing.
Returning, with New Eyes
When I came back to Tokyo after that pause, the city hadn’t changed — but my approach had. I wasn’t trying to chase the moment anymore. I wanted to listen to it.
I didn’t want to trigger the shutter at the “right” time. I just wanted to be there when it happened. And sometimes… to do nothing at all.
Photographing Tokyo with the XF23mmF2.8 R WR was like looking for stillness within movement. Finding intimacy in chaos. It’s not a flashy lens — and that’s exactly why I loved it. It let me be present without being intrusive. To compose without interfering.
It’s About Intention
What I take away from this journey isn’t a single image. It’s a mindset. I learned that you don’t take a photograph — you receive it. It’s not the gear that makes the picture. It’s the intention you bring to it.
And in that sense, the XF23mmF2.8 R WR was the perfect companion. Not a gadget. Not a distraction. Just a tool that disappears — so the gaze can fully emerge.
