Snow is a magical yet natural, seasonal element to the Earth’s landscapes and our own lives as well. In recent weeks, white flurries have hit cities such as Rome, Italy, and Tokyo, Japan the hardest they have been hit in a number years. Photographers and videographers have taken advantage of the rare and fantastic occurrence.
The award-winning travel photographer Yuichi Yokota went around his home city of Tokyo, setting up and snapping some superb photos of the wintery scenery of the cityscape. In practically every still shot, Yokota manages to capture daily life, the culture, the times, and the season.
The snowflakes add an extra dimension, giving the bright images a greater sense of the depth of field. The masterfully crafted views pictured in every photo take the onlooker to the locale itself. The angles are beautifully set. The lighting, which is tricky enough in every individual circumstance, can become even more difficult in snowy conditions since the snow crystals often refract rays of light, leading to an increase in overall brightness.
Sometimes it can be quite hard to compensate for this typically undesirable effect. Whatever Yokota’s challenges were, the result of his work clearly shows us that he coped well with them. The dense fog-like element generated by the snow storm was also dealt with quite professionally. This nebulous screen through which buildings can sometimes be seen looming out of the haze actually adds to the peaceful serenity of the still, wintery scenery.
Yuichi Yokota has a way of depicting a harsh reality with simplicity, invoking a manner of awe. A lot of his work just makes you want to, “Wow!” Like any photographer worth his or her salt, you can find him on Instagram. Fluent and expert in numerous genres of photography including portrait, wildlife, landscape, and macro, he has once again proven himself a master of fine art photography.
© 2018 – Photography by Yuichi Yokota
Magazine & Art Gallery