Tokyo is the main source of inspiration of the Japanese photographer Masashi Wakui, who specialises in nocturnal views of urban landscapes. Born in 1978, he brings an entrancing and poetic eye to the Japanese capital, which he continually captures in the course of his nocturnal wanderings. His introduction to photography took place in 2012 on a shooting platform, when discovering a new camera that enabled him to extract fixed images of shots taken by filming a scene in very high definition. He became more and more interested and thus produced his first photographs, later modifying the colours and lighting with the help of retouching software. Masashi Wakui finds inspiration in the film world, where he has worked on a daily basis since 1999. His photographs in cosy colours evoke the mystical and surrealistic atmospheres of Japanese comic strips and animations, whether these are mangas like Ghost in the Shell by Masamune Shirow and Akira by Katsuhiro Ôtomo or productions by the illustrious Studio Ghibli.
I chose this image from my Leicester photoshoot as it was at night and contained most of the elements of Wakui's work. I ramped up the colours and played with the compostion. I like the blurred figure but I needed to get more neon and interest along my leading lines as the Tokyo photos are most cluttered and busy. Changing location to the arcade off of Melton road would give me a similar subject.
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