Photo of the Month (January 2025)

Photographed on 29 January 2025 at Yebisu Garden Place Tower (Tokyo, Japan). EXIF: 35mm, f/5.6, 30 secs, ISO 100.

Photographed on 25 January 2025 at Miyajima (Hiroshima, Japan). EXIF: 35mm, f/5.6, 257 secs, ISO 100.

“Photo of the Month” for January also includes two photos, both taken during my much-anticipated solo trip to Japan, where I stayed in Hiroshima (day 1 and 2), Tokyo (day 3 to 6), and Osaka (day 7). I had visited Hiroshima and Osaka in recent years, but it was my first time in Tokyo with a proper camera, as I hadn’t picked up photography as a hobby when I last visited there back in 2008. 😅

As a cityscape photography enthusiast based in Asia (I’m Japanese and living in Singapore), a Tokyo skyline photo was something I really wanted to shoot and add to my Top 40 Photo Gallery, so I’m glad that I’ve achieved it. 😀

As for the “floating shrine” photo at Miyajima (Hiroshima), I researched the tide height at dusk (learning from my previous mistake when I happened to visit there on a low tide day 😭) and visited on a day with a high tide so the shrine would appear to be floating on the water. Luckily, I got good weather, but it was so windy that I couldn’t get much reflection on the water. That said, I’m still pretty happy with the result. 😀

By the way, four days in Tokyo were way too short to cover various cityscape photography spots at blue hour (besides, not every day can be sunny 🥲), so hopefully I’ll be able to revisit sooner next time and resume shooting from where I left off. 📸

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About the Author: LASTLIGHTS.NET is a passion project of Joey J, a Singapore-based Japanese photographer primarily shooting cityscape photography with long exposure at blue hour. Visit his Photo Gallery (40 most favourite photos taken) or download his free eBook, Getting Started with Long Exposure Photography .