Sendai: A Freelance Photographer's Messy Love Letter

so i landed in sendai with my gear and a dream, mostly to escape the studio in tokyo where the air conditioning is set to arctic and the clients are nightmares.

the map above shows where i've been wandering. honestly, the city is a mix of old and new, but the old parts are where the magic happens. and the magic means freezing your butt off. i just checked and it's currently that temperature where your camera starts complaining, 0.68 degrees celsius and feels like it, so bundle up if you plan to shoot.

if you get bored (which is unlikely), fukushima is a short hop over the mountains, but i wouldn't know about that. instead, i've been sticking to the city, shooting the *zuihoden mausoleum and the sendai castle ruins. the light at dusk is something else.

heard from this old local that the best ramen is at a stall that only opens on tuesday mornings, but then again, he was also trying to sell me a used lens. so take that with a grain of salt... and maybe some miso.

someone told me that the ruins of a castle nearby are haunted by a photographer who dropped his favorite lens there in '98. i went and didn't see any ghosts, but the light was amazing. got some long exposure shots of the moon over the stones. totally worth it.

speaking of gear, here's what i'm rolling with in this freezer:
- camera: old canon 5d mark ii (because i dropped the new one in the haunted castle ruins)
- lens: 50mm prime (because the 24-70 is too heavy for frozen fingers)
- tripod: a wobbly one from a flea market (for long exposures of the frozen river)
- gloves: touchscreen-compatible but useless when you need to adjust a dial. ugh.

i did manage to get some shots of the ohori park frozen over. the lake was like a mirror, and the snow-covered trees looked like they were from a fairy tale. then again, everything looks like a fairy tale when you haven't slept in 48 hours.

and then there's the sendai city museum. the building itself is a work of art. i spent a whole day there, and the natural light filtering through the windows is just... wow. but honestly, i spent more time in the cafe next door because it was warm.

at night, the city lights up, and the jozenji dori* avenue is buzzing. i stayed out until my toes were numb, but the shots of the illuminated trees and the people walking by were so worth it.

if you're a photographer, check out this photography group on flickr for local tips. and if you're hungry, this yelp list of ramen joints is a good start. but remember the tuesday rumor? maybe call ahead.

that's all for now. i'm off to find a warm place and maybe a lens repair shop.