Blog - Shunsuke Takino Photography

Sequence of the sunset at Belt Parkway

Shunsuke Takino — Wed, 21 Oct 2020 03:25:00 +0000

Ever since I came to this pedestrian overpass this summer, I couldn't get this street light and its backdrop out of my mind. It somehow reminds me of Shonan coast in Japan. It's very nostalgic in many ways.

Every moment here during the sunset flashes back the memories of my life. So I stayed at the overpass and made photo sequence. The lady on my photo told me she comes here almost everyday to capture the sunset and can't get enough of it. I totally agreed.

You can forget life for a while. It is meditation.

RECAP: Juneteenth Break the Chains with Love March on the Brooklyn Bridge 06/19/2020

Shunsuke Takino — Sun, 21 Jun 2020 03:29:00 +0000

Juneteenth (6/19) is the celebration of the end of slavery in the USA on June 19th 1865. I'm glad to be a part of the protest at last.

Black Lives Matter movement is very important for not only black people but also people of color, LGBTQs and so on. Moreover, it's not about color of your skin or where you are from. Now we see who are good people and who are not. You can see people of any color (of course including white) gathered and marched together because we know, we have to end the descrimination toward Black community which has existed over 450 years. It’s long overdue. We have to tackle this issue first.

Through the collection, you can see how peacefully the protest went on the bridge. There was no violence at all. Also you can tell every single attendee wore a mask. 100 %

This is how we roll.

New York, New York.

BLACK LIVES MATTER.

Featured by Shotkit!

Shunsuke Takino — Thu, 20 Feb 2020 04:46:24 +0000

Hi all, my name is Shunsuke Takino. I’m originally from Japan but have been residing in New York City for 15 years. My journey began taking photos of landscapes in New York City.

Working as an industrial/graphic designer in the industrial area of Sunset Park, Brooklyn, I have been fascinated with capturing the beauty in the decayed and historic buildings and streets of New York City for the past 10 years.

Alongside landscape photography, lately I’ve taken more portraits of rising artists, actors, musicians, and performers. It is quite inspiring for me to connect and work with new people from different creative backgrounds. Through these collaborations, I’ve found joy in seeing their positive reactions to my photos in person, and that positive vibe makes me happy and keeps me moving forward.

Cameras
1. Canon EOS 6D
This is definitely my partner in crime. I’ve taken a lot of amazing photos with this guy. Even though I switched to the Sony a7R III, I still use this as a backup camera.

2. Sony a7R III
This is my new partner and a keepsake from my father. I got this in Japan, and surprisingly there’s no multiple language support. It would be torturous for you to use my camera unless you can read Japanese!

I don’t even have to mention how great this camera is. It is just stunning, and it definitely improves the quality of my work. Besides, the latest Real Time Eye AF update works really well.

Lens adaptor
3. Metabones Canon EF/EF-S to Sony E-Mount T Smart Adaptor – 5th Generation
I should mention this unit before talking about the lenses. I’m still in my transition period from the Canon EOS EF system to the Sony E-mount system, so this is my must-have adaptor to attach my Canon lenses to the Sony a7R III.

The autofocus performance is good enough for landscape and portraiture, and a great find is that Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 on a7R III can focus correctly at f/1.4 as Canon 6D NEVER does it right.

Lenses
4. Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM
This lens is so versatile and a must-have for event, stage, travel and urban photography, such as streets, buildings, urbex and skyscrapers of the City.

5. Sigma 24mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM for Canon
The long exposure shots at night taken with this lens are breathtaking on both Canon 6D and Sony a7R III. I also use this for portraits because of the reliability for sharpness, focus accuracy, and richer colors.

6. Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
Surprisingly, I use this lens a lot when I stroll the streets of New York. This compact and lightweight lens goes well with the Canon 6D (as well as Sony a7 cameras), 40mm is the tightest focal length for the narrow old streets of New York yet you can still manage to capture landscape, street, storefront and people with this tiny pancake.

7. Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
This has been my go-to lens for on-street shots and for portrait shots. It is small and lightweight with brighter aperture. This lens taught me how to compose an image (like, deciding a subject, and how it should be framed and captured). Even though this lens is over 25 years old, the quality of the image proves why Canon develops their lenses based on this one.

Sigma 50mm f/1.4 Art DG HSM for Sony E-mount (Not in the picture)
I got this lens this week. Even though it’s much heavier and larger than the Canon EF 50mm f/1.4, I needed a new 50mm that has higher resolution and works better with the Sony a7R III.

*PS: So far, I’m quite satisfied with its much faster focus speed and higher quality of the image compared to Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM. I still love the flavor of Canon 50mm though, I definitely grab this Sigma 50mm f/1.4 for photoshoot. (02/19/2020)

8. SONY FE 85mm f/1.8
The first Sony E-mount native lens I purchased for portrait. I chose this over Sony FE 85mm f/1.4 because of the price, smaller size and lighter-weight.

9. Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM
I’ve actually used this lens for portraiture most of the time in the past 2 years. It works fine with the a7R III+ Metabones EF-E.

Accessories
10. GoWing Lens Holder for Sony E-mount
This small item lets me easily switch lenses while shooting. It’s very helpful.

11. Sony RMTDSLR2 Wireless Remote
I’d rather use this remote than the app on my phone.

Bags
12. Langly Alpha Pro Camera Bag (Black).
I’ve been using Langly’s camera bags since the first release of the Alpha Pro. I love the design and finish of their products a lot.

Cases and Holders
13. Langly Memory SD Card Case (Black) 20cm.
14. Langly DSLR Battery Holder Pouch (Black) 20cm.

Straps
15. Peak Design ‘Leash’ Black Slide Camera Strap
Leash is the lightest camera strap of Peak Design. I tried Slide, the widest strap by PD, but it was a bit uncomfortable for me. Leash can hold my a7R III + Metabones adaptor + Canon EF 70-200mm lens, so I’m satisfied with this thinner and lighter strap.

16. Peak Design ‘Cuff’ Camera Wrist Strap
This strap is useful when I walk around and shoot in the city.

Tripod
17. MeFOTO Travel Tripod Kit BACKPACKER

www.shunsuketakino.org | @shunsky.nyc

*Published on 07/15/2019, revised on 02/19/2020

RECAP: Brooklyn Poets - Whitman Bicentennial Celebration at Smack Mellon, DUMBO, Brooklyn

Shunsuke Takino — Wed, 05 Jun 2019 03:14:40 +0000

On May 31, was 200 year anniversary of Walt Whiteman, an American poet often called as "the father of free verse". Brooklyn Poets featured 9 poets on stage who won the poetry contest hosted by BKP prior to the event.

A notable fact to this event was that the youngest winner, Kelsey Wang who is only 16 years old, made her appearance all the way from Taiwan! For her, this trip must be the summer to remember all her life. I'd like to say it is one of the significant achievements of Jason, a founder of Brooklyn Poets, who told me his plan to build a online poetry community 7 years ago. Now his community, THE BRIDGE attracts more poets internationally, and keeps growing.

I'd like to congratulate all the winners and BKP for a small but a certain milestone they achieved that evening.

I'm not a guy to write poems (I know how to write Haiku in Japanese though, for just in case you don't think I can write something lol), it is always a pleasure to listen to poets and take photos of them.

Jason Koo

A founder of Brooklyn Poets.

Joanna Lau

Second prize, ages 13–17: “Between Dawn and Indigo”

Kelsey Wang

First prize, ages 13–17: “Redshift”

Tina Chang

Judge, ages 13–17

Rowan Ricardo Phillips

Judge, ages 18–22

Shamon Williams

Third prize, ages 18–22: “What Is It, Then, Between Us?”

Eliana Swerdlow

Second prize, ages 18–22: “Paro Chhu”

Robin Gow

First prize, ages 18–22: “Exhibit: Spontaneous Sex Change!”

Mark Doty

Judge, ages 23+

Desiree Alvarez

Third prize, ages 23 and up: “Primero Sueño, First Dream: On Crossing, A Whitmanesque”

Mark Doty

Constantine Jones

Second prize, ages 23 and up: “Screening”

Marietta Brill

First prize, ages 23 and up: “Crossing Manhattan Bridge on the Q”

Stage Photoshoot : Bonnie's Last Flight

Shunsuke Takino — Tue, 12 Feb 2019 00:10:23 +0000

Last weekend, I was asked to take photos of upcoming Off-Broadway comedy named “Bonnie’s Last Flight” at Next Door at NYTW in East Village.

The backstage was a full of chaos finalizing all the set-ups before the preview opening in the same day while I was maneuvering and rolling around the dress rehearsal to capture the moments for the press kit.

However it was quite hard for me to take some “best” shots in this limited situation, I could take some good ones (It is supposed to be Eliza Bent’s retirement from self-producing but I don’t believe so!). All that jazz aside, it was a pleasure working with her again following her previous performance, “Kip Talk” at Abrons Art Center in NYC.

The preview has already started from past weekend though, the opening will be on this Wednesday, February 13th.

”BONNIE’S LAST FLIGHT is a three-part play set on a plane. Our audience makes the trip as passengers: sitting on the tarmac before takeoff, floating at cruising altitude, and buckling down for the wild and rocky descent back to land.

It’s Jan’s retirement flight. Everyone knows, except for Greig, Jan’s best friend and coworker of many years. As Greig waxes nostalgic, Jan worries about life post-retirement. LeeAnne, a klutzy newbie flight attendant with a dark past, must avoid her ex on the plane while Captain, a waggish pilot with a weakness for unlimited Bloody Mary Brunches, is caught in a love triangle. Erik, the co-pilot with a heart of gold, can’t get a word in edgewise. Presiding over the flight is Mark Twain, of course.

In a comedy set on everyone’s least favorite mode of transit, we must reckon with our crew’s dreams and regrets and ask ourselves: What does it take to really start living?”

Written by Eliza Bent
Directed by Annie Tippe
Produced by Caroline Gart, Ryan Gedrich, and Bentertainment

Ticket: Next Door at NYTW @ 79 E 4th St, New York, NY 10003

New York Times: 16 Plays and Musicals to Go to in N.Y.C. This Weekend

Eliza Bent as Mark Twain

Sam Breslin Wright as captain & Federico Rodriguez as co-pilot

Barbara Walsh as Jan

Ceci Fernandez as LeeAnne

Greig Sargeant as Greig

Joined VSCO’s Come Closer New York workshop

Shunsuke Takino — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 06:11:12 +0000

Come Closer New York workshop at 263 Bowery Street New York, NY 10002. (All photos were taken with iPhone 7 Plus)

I was invited by VSCO (Visual Supply Company) to join their unique workshop in Bowery, Manhattan last Saturday.

VSCO has been a very popular image editing app on smarphones past 7 years, and this time, they built a pop-up gallery in NY alongside the forthcoming New York Fashion Week.

Use The Street Style Series (SS1-SS3) and post your images with #VSCONewYork for a chance to be displayed here! (until Feb. 16th, 2019)

Quite frankly, what I actually did at the workshop was to take a science/recreation class for the first time in 15+ years! Honestly I expected to see a lot of photos displayed in the gallery, but it was fun to create something like a kid :-)

Looks like a science room.

So many colors to play with.

Started to make my own artwork like this.

It was a mixture of blue and yellow dots but they were completely mixed and turned to be green while I was carrying the plate to the photo booth. oops!

Other guest’s work. Nice.

Got a nice VSCO tote bag with VSCO logo pin badge.

In the tote bag, there was another nice gift, slide loupe. By the way, we could make our own pin badges out of our experimental work. The green turned much dull sadly but I really enjoyed the workshop. Thanks VSCO ;-)

Norwegian-American Parade in Bay Ridge

Shunsuke Takino — Tue, 11 Jul 2017 21:22:44 +0000

Celebrated a part of the history of Bay Ridge and Sunset Park area through Norwegians Parade who have resided here since late 19th century. The population of Norwegians are dwindling in the meantime we see more Latin Americans, Muslims, and Chinese who also enjoyed the parade in this beautiful sunny Sunday afternoon. 05/21/2017