Two Lenses for One Harbour

Yokohama, 17 August 2025, from 16:46 to 18:25, on two lenses: a TAMRON 50-400mm and a NIKKOR Z 35mm f/1.4. Swapping between them is enough to make one harbour look like two different places.

Cutting into the harbour

The first frame at 16:46 is 50mm, 1/1000s, f4.5, and the focal length grows from there. By 17:43 a harbour ferry is pulled in at 314mm, 1/125s, f6.3.

The Pier and the Bay / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — The Pier and the Bay

Long lenses compress front and back. A cruise ship and the Bay Bridge fit in one frame because the distance between them has been flattened.

Shinko Pier / a snapshot taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Shinko Pier / Liner and Bay Bridge

Liner and Bay Bridge / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Shinko Pier / Liner and Bay Bridge

A Liner at Berth / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — A Liner at Berth / The Harbour Ferry

The Harbour Ferry / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — A Liner at Berth / The Harbour Ferry

The Red Shoes Bus / a snapshot taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — The Red Shoes Bus

17:07, over to the 35mm

The three frames from 17:07 to 17:27 are at 35mm, f1.4, between 1/4000s and 1/6400s. Stay wide open in daylight and the shutter has to run that fast.

The Red Brick Plaza / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — The Red Brick Plaza

At 35mm you cannot cut the harbour out. What you get instead is the plaza at the Red Brick Warehouses, the people on it, and the water behind. The long lens picks a subject; the wide one records a situation.

Brick from 1917 / a snapshot taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Brick from 1917 / Minato Mirai Past the Park

Minato Mirai Past the Park / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Brick from 1917 / Minato Mirai Past the Park

18:08, both lenses inside one minute

There are two frames at 18:08: one at 50mm and 1/320s, one at 154mm and 1/200s. The same dusk skyline taken both wide and tight.

Yokohama at Dusk / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Yokohama at Dusk

At 18:22 it is 35mm, f1.4, 1/800s. At 18:25 it is 204mm, f6.3, ISO 800. Inside three minutes both the lens and the ISO have changed.

The Wheel at Sunset / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — The Wheel at Sunset

Skyline at Dusk / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Skyline at Dusk

Sunset Panorama / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Sunset Panorama / Carrying the Tripod

Carrying the Tripod / a snapshot taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Sunset Panorama / Carrying the Tripod

Midday on New Year's Eve is a different light

11:58 to 12:46 on 31 December 2025 is a different proposition from an August evening. Winter noon gives short shadows and colder colour. The frame looking up at the Ferris wheel and the frame pulled back from the plaza are the same day.

Looking Up at the Wheel / a landscape photo taken at Yokohama, Kanagawa. Shot on the Nikon Z6III (LUMA Frame) — Looking Up at the Wheel

The avenue of trees on Nihon-odori, the sign at Queen's Square, a neon logo. Collect the pieces of the city and you get the Yokohama that is not the harbour.