Re: Tokyo Fish Market & 35mm Summilux

["Charles E. Albertson" <chucko@eskimo.com>]

Michael---
     Nice story. The Tokyo fish market has been at the top of my places I'd
like to photograph for a long time. My former boss went on to a stint as the
fisheries attache at the US Embassy in Tokyo, and one of the features of the
job that he really enjoyed was escorting the odd visiting dignitary around
the fish market. I always meant to get over there for a visit before his
appointment was over, but never did.
     By the way, I've found that Kodachrome 200 handles mixed lighting
(daylight/tungsten/mercury-vapor/flourescent) very well for a color
transparency. It can pe pushed to a speed of 400 quite sucessfully, though
that sort of processing may not be as easily obtained in NZ as it is here.

Chuck Albertson
Seattle, Wash.


At 03:53 PM 6/15/96 -0400, you wrote:
>Last week I mentioned that I was traveling in Asia and hoped to get to the
>Tokyo wholesale fish market to do some shooting.  Finally last Thursday I
>did.  What an experience!
>
>I had with me an M6, 35mm Summilux and 90mm Elmarit-M.  This is my usual
>business travel kit -- small and light enough to fit in a briefcase, yet
>versatile.  This time though I missed not having the 50mm Summicron along.
>The 90 was just too long, so almost everything I shot was with the 35mm.
>
>Even though I mainly shoot transparencies for Ciba printing I bought and
>used Fujicolor Super 800.  I didn't know what the light conditions would be
>like so I picked up the fastest film I could find.  No regrets.  I'd never
>used this film before, but the results are more than acceptable and far
>finer grained than any transparency film of that speed would be.
>
>If anything, I should have used 400 speed film, because typical exposures at
>ISO 800 was 1/125 @ f/2.8.  With the Summilux I was able to shoot closed
>down 2 stops and this led to some very fine images.  In fact, I'd been
>seriously considering getting the 35mm ASPH, but now I'm not so sure.  Even
>the shots at f/2.0 and f/1.4 are great, and since this type of shooting
>isn't my forte, I think I'll save some $$ and stick with the regular
>Summilux.  It really is quite good.
>
>As for the market itself, if you find yourself in Tokyo, it's a must.  Every
>type of fish imaginable -- and some that aren't -- can be found.  Located
>right near the fashionable Ginza district, it's at its peak between 5am and
>6am.  By 6am the action is over so an early start is a must.  The auction at
>5:30am is a must see.
>
>Though hectic and crowded, everyone is polite and friendly.  I was able to
>walk around shooting and no one minded.  Some, such as a fellow shelling
>giant oysters with what looked like a sword, even turned around without
>prompting so that I could get a good shot of what he was doing.
>
>Afterward, if you're not up for a sushi breakfast at the market, you'll find
>the 24 hour restaurant at the Tokyu Ginza Hotel a few blocks away welcome. 
>
>Michael
>
>
>