Matthew O'Brien, The Listener (PEOPLE 2026)

Web:

www.matthewobrien.com.au

Tokyo, 2025. Twenty minutes. That's what you get when you're travelling Japan with young kids — they stop for lunch, you grab the camera and circle the block. Found this man in a back street collecting rubbish. No shared language. A gesture toward the camera, a nod, and he put down what he was carrying and gave me his face without hesitation. Four frames at f/2, pulling focus. Showed him the back of the screen, he approved, and I made it back before the bill arrived. Canon 1DX. Focus stack. Full frame.

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