cover image by yuto
As July arrives, the true essence of summer begins to unfold. Capture the unique landscapes and events of this season in photographs and send them as summer greetings. Here are 5 subjects you’ll want to photograph in July that will make you eager to head outdoors with your camera. Experience the enduring culture of Japan and preserve your summer memories in vivid detail.
Summer Festival Scenes
Summer festivals are iconic events of Japanese summers. The vibrant and lively scenes of portable shrines, food stalls, and people in yukata create a colorful spectacle. While daytime offers lively scenes, the festival atmosphere illuminated by lanterns at night is even more captivating. Set a fast shutter speed to capture moving subjects during the day, and open the aperture without increasing the ISO too much to beautifully capture the night scenes.
Fireworks Festival
Fireworks festivals, which color the summer night sky, are also a test of a photographer's skills. Use a tripod to stabilize your camera and prevent blurring. Setting a long shutter speed, around 15 seconds, is recommended to beautifully capture the trails of fireworks. Aim to capture multiple fireworks going off at once for a more spectacular shot.
Coastal Scenery
Summer is synonymous with the sea. You can capture various scenes such as people enjoying the beach or surfing, sparkling waves, and the sea bathed in sunset colors. In the bright daylight, use backlighting to create dramatic silhouette photos. During sunset, take advantage of the soft light of the golden hour to capture beautiful landscapes.
Sunflower Fields
Photographing sunflowers, the flowers of summer, is also recommended. The vast sunflower fields are breathtaking, and their vibrant blooms facing the sun are invigorating to behold. Use a wide-angle lens to capture the grandeur of the sunflower fields. You can also focus on a single flower and blur the background to make it stand out as the main subject. Taking photos from a low angle near the ground can create a beautiful contrast between the sky and sunflowers.
Watermelon Splitting
Watermelon splitting with family and friends is another fun summer event. To capture action shots, use burst mode to capture the moment the watermelon splits and the reactions that follow. Adjust the exposure to emphasize the vivid red color of the cut watermelon.
How about it?
Capture summer moments in photos and share them with your loved ones to deepen your summer memories. Through photography, enjoy summer moments that make you forget the heat. May each moment captured by your camera become a special memory etched in your heart.
