Kobe is an interesting city of contrasts. The day trip we made showed us three disparate "feels". We started west of the station in an area that looked like it was all about the promise of an interesting night life, then we went up the surrounding hills to find colonial trading houses and faux European street scenes and then down to the city proper, where magnificent tall and regal office buildings and top end shopping contrasted strongly with China Town and dock lands.
Once the gateway for foreign trades and renown for Kobe Beef, the city still plays an important role today.
For me, it offered great light, interesting people and that mix of un self conscious small town and proud, vibrant city that tends to produce interesting images.
Below, I felt that I had a balanced image first up. The light was interesting and the main subject (I feel it is the slightly classic looking man) had plenty of support.
The second image, giving you an indication of how often I push the button when walking and framing, is more pointed. It takes away much of the street feeling and becomes more about the man and the crowd opposite, almost a "me against the tide of them" statement.
The third image exaggerates the feelings from the image above, making the man the secondary, framing element to the man on the left across the road. Light becomes the framing factor here, not compositional, subject balance.
My favourite is the middle one at the moment, but these things change.
All images EM5 with the 17mm