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One day at a forest park with a sunny blue sky and scattered clouds.

Some jogging, some walking with their dogs, some picnicking, children playing happily, and crows calling in the background.

This was my first time fishing at sea—I only ever fished in ponds or rivers before. And it had been a long time since I last went fishing too.

So much fun and so much sun (hot)!

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These places aren’t landmarks—not even spots people would photograph. But these are places I visit every time I’m in Yokohama. I discovered them through two beautiful songs I heard in middle school—songs with music videos set in these exact places.

I remember the first time I visited, I put on my headphones, played both songs, and just stood there for some time—lost in nostalgia until the songs ended while realizing I was standing in beautiful places because of those songs—places I once only knew from a screen. I don’t have a word for what this is. People might call it manifestation—something I don’t believe in. Whatever it is… it is—at least to me—sentimental!

Now, every time I visit, even without playing the songs, I still find myself standing there and letting the memories find their way back.

It’s always sentimental Yamatecho.

I’ve always liked the look of vintage photography—the kind that mostly comes from film cameras—the texture… the colors… the look I’ve been trying to recreate lately. I did a similar exploration before with VSCO, but now I use Adobe Lightroom.

It’s not easy so far. I still don’t grasp much about color editing—I wish I could think more logically during exploration instead of kind of brute-forcing. But I’m sure this kind of sense sharpens over time with more practice—as well as feeding myself with more references!

Then I made my first three vintage presets.

RAWPreset 1

The first one is too yellowish—dull and washed out. But I’ll keep it and improve it. I feel like it could work for photos that need a warm nostalgic feel.

RAWPreset 2

This one is an improvement over preset 1 with a cooler tone—more balanced. I’m okay with this one for now—tried it on other photos and it works well—though still not satisfied yet.

RAWPreset 3

I like the colors on this one—it somehow works with this photo. The problem is it doesn’t quite work with other photos.

It’s kind of ironic—and a hassle too—using a digital camera but chasing the look of vintage photography. I even had to do a workaround on the lens side myself—my camera isn’t high-spec, but it still produces crisp photos.

Never wanted to own a film camera—rather recreate the look instead!

My delightful irony.

This is Eiger, Mönch, and Jungfrau. I took this shot at Birg right after lunch at Piz Gloria—the 360-rotating restaurant on Schilthorn. I’m grateful to see them in person—though the scene itself didn’t really impress me—or perhaps it was the angle from where I stood. Funny that what I found more interesting was the lore behind them.

In German, Eiger means ogre, Mönch means monk, and Jungfrau means maiden. The monk stands between the ogre and the maiden to protect her. That’s how they’re positioned geographically—Mönch right between Eiger and Jungfrau.

Funny that I only knew Eiger as an outdoor gear brand in my country—until the day before I took this shot, I was playing mini golf with friends in Grindelwald and found out the mountain behind the course was Eiger.

I took this shot a few years ago at a pottery workshop in Tokoname, Aichi. The place was chaotic—scraps and random stuff everywhere—but this old signboard caught my eye. I found it stood out against the mess around it.

Come to think of it… something like this might happen quite often—a small thing catching the eye, the way that signboard did. But it’s very subjective. Like… what stands out to me might mean nothing to anyone else—and vice versa. Even what stands out to me, I might still miss it—could be because I’m moving quickly, my mind is elsewhere, or something like that.

If I slow down a little—giving myself a moment to be present—I might see things I usually miss. But of course, it’s not a guarantee—just a chance.

Perhaps that’s what noticing is—being present, unhurried, and open.

These were my first experimental shots in exploring my visual style. Inspired by the editorial aesthetic of 90s magazines—that soft, matte look often associated with film photography. I’ll call it vintage magazine here.

The main pattern I noticed in the vintage magazine style was low contrast—creating a matte effect where the photo doesn’t go pitch black in the shadows.

Unlike the typical vintage magazine pattern, I set the sharpness a bit higher here because I found it more appealing.

I’ve also added some grain—big fan of it. It makes the photos feel a bit old, but it fits the vintage feel I was going for.

I used VSCO for editing. At the time, I didn’t want to spend too much time on complex color grading.