Towering Achievements

I keep hearing some international travelers condemn Tokyo Tower because it's largely a copy of the Eiffel Tower. Photo Wise, I'd wager Tokyo Tower is by far the better of the two. I mean, the Eiffel Tower is really only ever shot from the front cause there aren't a whole lot of good compositions, but with the Tokyo Tower you could shoot it from almost any position and get a good shot. The grounds are far more vivid and detailed.

When I was in Japan I actually went out to shoot the tower on multiple nights, primarily because my second time around I was accommodated just a few blocks away. There wasn't a whole lot of leeway because apparently they turn the lights off at midnight (and I had other night shoots to get to).

The plan was to shoot inside the stairway tunnel, which is a more well known shot then I thought cause there was a literal LINE just to get it. That instantly spoke to me saying it just was not worth it (and the guy who was down there when I arrived was taking his own sweet time) so I circled the perimeter of the park a few times before I found this walkway to the northeast, and it was just perfect.

This is one of the better shots I got in Tokyo, the composition could not have been better, and there wasn't a line for this one. In the editing process I saw quite a bit of noise in the sky still, and there was also a bit of construction material down the middle of the walkway which I went to great lengths to get rid of (redrew the tile lines myself) and the lamps leading to the tower were impeccably placed. So my advice to other photographers, don't try to get the same angle and composition that you've seen other people do, you could shoot the Tokyo Tower from almost ANY angle and make it look amazing. Be willing to think outside the box a bit.

 

Done