Tokyo gave us rain that afternoon — steady, cold, and unrelenting. But that wasn’t a problem. えみり (Emiri) and I stayed under an umbrella the entire time, just like everyone else in Shinjuku.

We moved through the narrow alleys and pedestrian crossings of the city, finding rhythm in the flow of umbrellas and wet pavement. No big light setups. Just ambient reflections, halation, and the quiet compression of a rainy Tokyo street.

This was my first shoot using the Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 — a dream lens I had waited years to own. It felt right to use it here, in a city that always feels cinematic even when nothing is happening.

(Fun fact: a frame from this session became my most liked post on Threads.)

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Rainy day portraits photographed in Shinjuku, Tokyo — March 2024. Captured by @_elsewherelse using the Leica SL2 + Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 and Leica Q3. A moody, urban portrait session photographed entirely under one umbrella in natural light, with a candid, unscripted approach.