Tokyo in Black and White – M11 Monochrom

Ikebukuro is a perfect example of a colorful spot in Tokyo and I feel like I’ve shortchanged the viewer on that experience.

The vast majority of my photos from Tokyo are in color. This is for obvious reasons; Tokyo is such a bright and vibrant city. I wanted to try something different, so I only brought along the M11 Monochrom on some of my outings.

This example, from a small street in Yoyogi, worked out in black and white.

This was a neat little foreign food store, Napalese I think, in Jūjō. The colorful flags and posters don’t really have the same impact.

I’m still not sure how I feel about limiting myself to black and white while strolling Tokyo. In certain scenes, it works well. However, I feel like I was missing out on relaying the vibe of Tokyo when I left color out of the image.

In a high contrast scene like this, I like how black and white put the subjects in the spotlight.

How do you feel about limiting yourself to black and white in Tokyo?

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