Jeff Austin 10/27/26 Jeff Austin 10/27/26

On Visibility, Old Glass, and Twenty-Five Years at Ameyoko

Jeff Austin 10/26/26 Jeff Austin 10/26/26

The Best Camera Settings for Street Photography (and Why Not Aperture Priority)

Street photography settings: manual aperture and shutter, auto ISO, exposure compensation. Why aperture priority is the wrong first habit, and how to think about ISO.

Jeff Austin 10/19/26 Jeff Austin 10/19/26

Where Is the Line Between Street Photography and Exploitation?

Where street photography ends and exploitation begins: why the law isn't the line, two working tests to use on the street, and what the documentary canon really shows.

Jeff Austin 10/14/26 Jeff Austin 10/14/26

28mm vs 50mm in Shibuya: Two Cameras, One Rainy Day

Jeff Austin 10/12/26 Jeff Austin 10/12/26

How to Overcome the Fear of Photographing Strangers

The fear of photographing strangers doesn't go away — it stops being in charge. The two kinds of fear, what reduces the first, and what to do if someone gets angry.

Jeff Austin 10/7/26 Jeff Austin 10/7/26

The Gift of Getting It Wrong in Shibuya

Shibuya isn't overrated; it's daunting. A rainy loop around the Scramble through Dogenzaka, Mark City and Sakura Stage, and why failure here is practice.

Jeff Austin 10/5/26 Jeff Austin 10/5/26

Zone Focusing for Street Photography: Settings, Distances and Where It Breaks

How zone focusing works for street photography: f/8–f/11 at two meters, real depth-of-field numbers for 28, 35 and 50mm, and where the technique breaks down.

Jeff Austin 10/3/26 Jeff Austin 10/3/26

The Long Walk: Ueno to Jimbocho

A holiday walk across Tokyo on foot, from Ueno's market through Akihabara, Ochanomizu and Jimbocho to Yasukuni Shrine. No lesson, just a camera and the city.

Jeff Austin 9/28/26 Jeff Austin 9/28/26

What Is Street Photography? (And Does It Need People?)

Street photography is public life you did not arrange. It doesn't need people in the frame — it needs evidence of them. A Tokyo street photographer's definition.