Last Updated on 12/07/2017 by Chris Gampat
All images by Reza Bassiri. Used with Creative Commons permission.
Japan never fails to amaze in many ways, especially when it comes to everyday scenes and city life to photograph. Tokyo is a crowd pleaser and firm favorite of travelers and photographers, but it’s just one of the country’s stunning cities to visit and experience. In his beautiful street set, Paris-based creative director Reza Bassiri shows that Osaka also glows, especially when captured on film.
Like Tokyo, Osaka is full of sights and scenes photographers will find irresistible to document. Around Namba, Reza has found that a vibrant city life unfolds, with busy streets, neon lights, street food, and local fashionistas at every turn. It’s a city that never sleeps; where you can grab some must-try giant sushi and the best takoyaki at 4 PM… or 4 AM.
Looking at his snaps, there’s always something interesting to photograph — a bright sign catching your eye, fashion-forward locals looking their best, or beautiful buildings lit by the sunset and surrounding neon signs. Reza made a great choice of bringing along a Pentax 67 equipped with 75mm f4.5 and 105mm 2.4, loaded with rolls of Kodak Portra. The Pentax 67 is a big camera to lug around when you travel, and therefore not a top choice for street photography for most. Still, the results are worth it, without a doubt.
Likewise, he also made a great choice of film to use to capture Osaka’s colorful city life. Kodak Portra is known for rendering excellent tones and life-like colors for most subjects, making it a versatile favorite of most photographers. The capabilities of Kodak Portra best shows in his street portraits and snapshots of people making their way around Osaka’s busiest corners.
If you enjoyed Reza’s Osaka set taken with Kodak Portra, you’ll certainly like Maxence Dedry’s nostalgic street portraits of New Yorkers as well.
Don’t forget to visit Reza Bassiri’s Behance portfolio and website to see more of his photography and other creative projects.