Checking Status – Kyoto, Japan

Capturing people engrossed in their smartphones may make easy targets, but I find the subject interesting, nevertheless. I posted this a year ago, with the same title, and I’m considering making this a series of some kind. It’s not anything too original and rather than this being a social statement, I’m merely documenting a popular trend that’s of our time.

How long our fascination with tiny computers will continue, who knows. Perhaps, in the not too distant future, we will stop looking at these tiny screens and we will have heads-up glasses with even tinier built-in screens. Even further out, I can imagine some kind of man-machine implant as we start fusing with them. If that ever happens, I’m sure we will look back to our current time with nostalgia.

I shot this just past the bridge on Shijo Dori, a major street in downtown Kyoto. The woman is standing in front of a old and very ornate Chinese Restaurant.

As is my favorite street photography kit, I used the Olympus PEN-F with the Panasonic Leica 25mm f1.4. I’ve considered posting my usual in-camera black and white, but I prefer the soft colors of this image.