Click here for todays photos

It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Rain, it was the season of Wind, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had 42.2 kilometers before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to Heaven, we were all going direct the other way — in short, the period was so far like the present period, that some of its noisiest authorities (Tokyo Governor Ishihara) insisted on its being received, for good or for evil, in the superlative degree of comparison only.

The Tokyo Marathon, or as I have decided to call it, my “Blind Date”.

I have named it such because it was my first marathon, and I was not quite sure what to expect.  350,000 people had signed up to run the race, but there were only 35,000 available slots, so I was lucky to get in.

And like a lot of first experiences in life, a friend had talked me into doing it.  This friend will remain nameless, so lets just say that his name rhymes with “Peter”.   It was last year, and “Pete” had run the Tokyo Marathon for the first time.  We were talking about it over beers, and I guess he could see the envy in my eyes so he suggested I run it the next year.  Feeling good (ten feet tall and bullet proof, due to the beer) I responded with a hearty “Yes!”   I should have known better though, as it was the very same situation, a few beers and good food, that got me into climbing Mt Fuji for the second time.

But I am not on to back out on a commitment, so I made sure to put in a good amount of training to get ready for the race.

A couple of days before the race I started eating a lot more pasta, and getting plenty of sleep.  I was also keeping my eye on the weather forecast, and I did not like what I was seeing.  As it got closer and closer to race day, the weather outlook got more and more bleak.  And by the time I woke up at 4:30 on Race Day I found that not only was the wind blowing and the rain falling, but it was also getting colder.

There was a second there when I considered just crawling back into bed and ditching the race.  But only for a second.   I had trained for 11 or so weeks, and wanted to put all that training to the test so I ate a light breakfast and headed up to Shinjuku.

Upon arriving in Shinjuku I was happy to see that the wind had died down a bit.  But I was not so happy to see that the rain had not stopped.  I would be even less happy when I found out that I would have to stand in the rain for a bout 45 minutes while waiting for the race to start.  That was a pretty miserable experience.  But I was able to give a spare pair of gloves to an older Japanese woman who was lining up for the race next to me.  She had forgotten hers at home, and I had taken a spare pair just for a case like this so I was happy to be of help.

The only thing that kept me  from turning hypothermic while waiting for the race to start was the clear plastic trash bag that I was wearing as it kept my for the the most part dry.  I had brought a button up raincoat that I bought at a 100 yen store the day before, but the trash bag was a better solution for the race.  ”Pete” had the foresight to bring an extra trash bag for me and right before the race he cut the head and arm holes in it and I slipped it on.   The only break to the monotony of waiting for the race to start was when Bobby, a rather famous foreign TV talent in Japan stepped into the group of runners a few paces away from me.  He had cameramen and photographers all a round him, so that gave me something to watch while the rain continued to fall. I would have liked to get a photo of all the goings-on, but due to the rain I had decided to not run with my camera as I would have probably shorted it out had I used it in the rain.

So there I was, the minutes counting down to the start, staying reasonably dry (but not warm), with the exception of my feet since my shoes were slowly soaking up the rainfall.

Then, after a minor eternity the race was on!  And off I went, WALKING for the first 5 or 6 minutes as the marathon mob slowly filtered through the starting gates.   Think of the entire resident population of the Super Dome trying to squeeze through a couple of  narrow streets and you will get an idea of how congested the start of the race was.

After going about half a kilometer down the road things started to open up a bit since the road was getting much wider.  It was still packed in pretty tight, and because of this I could not really see the road in front of me.  That was when I ended up running through a long deep puddle, completely soaking what were up to that point only semi-damp feet.  Not a good start.  More than 40 kilometers to go, and I would be doing it with soaking wet shoes.

As the kilometers started to click by, the rain continued to fall, the wind started to pick up, and the temperature continued to drop.  While running through Ginza, around the 20 kilometers mark I noticed a thermometer on a building at it said 3 degrees C.  Shortly after that I felt a brief spattering of hail, but only for a couple of minutes.

Because it was so cold, I had to make periodic periodic stops every 5 or so kilometers to stretch my legs.  The cold was keeping my muscles tight, and there was not much I could do about it.

What really kept me going was the crowds that were lined up on both sides of the road for nearly the entire 42 kilometer course.  I heard “Ganabatte!”, “Faito!!”, and “Go!!!” more times that I could even begin to count.  The only places were there were no spectators to rally the runner on were the couple of bridges near the end of the race since.

The  really nice thing about the crowd was the support they provide to the runners.  And I’m not just talking moral support.   People in no way officially connected to the race would have prepared snack and energy foods ahead of time.  They would then hold them out on plates so runner could grab then as they passed.

Slices of lemon, orange, and mikan.  Chocolates, sweet hard candy, bananas, and my personal favorite: small homemade chocolate cookie wafers loaded with salt, each individually wrapped in plastic.

As a result of the spectators thoughtfulness to make all of these treats, I ended the race with a full stomach, almost too full in fact.   The extra helpings of snacks along the way might have actually slowed me down in the long run, but were it not for the cheering crowds I am sure that it would have been a much more difficult experience.  I appreciate each every spectator that took the time to come out and stand out in the rain to cheer all the runner on.

The absolute worst part of the race for me was kilometers 30 though 35.  After that I could sense the end and I actually started to speed up.  This tells me that i didn’t push myself hard enough for the first half of the race, and I was saving too much energy.  During the first half of the race I did think that maybe I was making that mistake, but I was also worried about burning myself out too early.    I guess I will be able to better judge things the next time I run.

You can check out the splits in my overall time of 4:20: 25 by following this link and entering my bib number: 27427.

After finishing I got my medal, and headed to the area where I could pick up my change of clothes, although the had seemed to have misplaced my bag so it took them about 15 minutes to actually find it.  Not that I minded though, because while I waited they had a nice soft chair for me to sit in, all wrapped up in warm blankets.

After they located my bag I headed to the changing area and stripped off my soaking clothes and shoes, toweled myself off, and changed into a set of dry clothes.  I was happy to notice that my feet had held up incredibly well, and had given me absolutely no problems, even though they were wet for the entire race.   I saw some other people who were not so lucky.  One guys socks were dripping red, and in places his shoes had worn completely through his socks,and deep into his skin.

My leg muscles were obviously sore, but today, just three days after the race and I am feeling back to normal.  I’m actually itching to go on another run if you can imagine that!

So in summary The Tokyo Marathon, aka “My Blind Date”  turned out to be quite an ugly one, but they day was not a total loss as she ended up having a great personality.  :)

click here for todays photos

Tomorrow I will be running the Tokyo Marathon.

The longest race I have previously run is a half marathon, but thanks to  a 12-week marathon training plan that I found on the net I feel I am absolutely ready for it.  I was a bit concerned when I got sick during the first week of the schedule and had to drop most of that weeks runs, but it turned out to not really have a negative impacts on me.

Here is the plan that I followed:

marathon training plan

If you are interested in getting a ground level view of what the course entails, just check out the following link: http://www.tokyo42195.org/movie2010/movie.html

During training, my longest run was 35K, so I have not yet run a full marathon distance.  Although when I did that run I felt like I had plenty left in my tank and could have stretched it out for the full 42.2K if I needed to.

I’m planning on taking a Ricoh GR Digital with me so I can take pictures during the race.  The forecast is calling for a 90% chance of rain, so that could kill my plans to take pictures as I don’t want to kill my camera.

Wish me luck!

click here for todays photos

From time to time there are some stories that make the national news here in Japan that mystify me.

Sometimes the stories are sad, sometimes they are strange, and other times they are down right creepy.  But from time to time a story comes along that can’t be described by any word other than “cute”.

Case in point is a recent article in the Yomiuri Online about a metal light pole falling down and hitting a little girl, slightly injuring her.   The little was not doing anything wrong, she just  happened to be near it when it fell over.

An investigation by the city determined that the reason the pole fell over was because it had been corroded over the years by countless cats and dogs urinating on it’s base, eventually leading to structural failure.  As a result, the city paid the parents of the girl a grand sum of 26, 050 yen, which is just shy of $300 at todays exchange rate, and enough to cover the hospital bill.

After the event, the city immediately inspected all 1,700 of these poles, repainting  600 of them, and replacing 18.  And that was the end of it.

If this same thing happened in America, I can just imagine how it could would have turned out:

1. The parents would have sued the city for $300,349,251.97 , which breaks down as follows:

• $15,000 for the ambulance ride to the hospital.

• $27,237 for the actual medical care.

• The remaining  $300,307,014.97 for “Pain and Suffering” and emotional trauma, because of the fact that the girl (and her entire extended family, including in-laws) would have to start taking a cocktail of anti-anxiety medication for the rest of their lives, the contents of which include, but are not limited to: Ativan, BuSpar, Celexa, Cymbalta, Dalmane, Desyrel,  Effexor, Elavil, Klonopin, Lexapro, Librium, Norpramin, Pamelor, Paxil, Prozac, Remeron, Serax, Tofranil, Tranxene, Valium, Vistaril, Xanax, and Zoloft. (I know most of it read like Klingon, but those are all true drug trade names, honest!)

2. People in all other cities in America would start a class action suite against the cities they live in because this very same type of thing could happen to them.

3. Congress would immediately vote an extra BAJILLION dollars into the Stimulus Package (I can never say that with a straight face) and 90% of that money would of course be directly funneled into bonuses to bankers.

4. The remaining money from the StimulousPackage would be used to fit automated tazers to all light poles that would fire at any offending pet (or person) that decided to take a leak anywhere within a 15 foot radius of the pole.  This of course would lead to more lawsuits, and so on and so forth…

I am very glad to be living here in Japan.  Where the news makes no sense, but that’s OK, because neither do I.

Click here for todays photos

On Saturday I woke up at O’ dark-thirty, packed my Nikon D700 and four primes in a bag and caught a train up to Tsukji to spend a morning shooting pictures as part of a Japanorama workshop.  Due to the frenetic pace of the place (it is a fully functioning fish market) the group size was restricted to six students and two instructors.  As soon as I saw this one posted at Japanorama I rushed to sign up, knowing that the student slots would fill up fast.

For those of you you plan on going to see the Tsukiji fish market I have one word of advice.

Go early.  (OK, maybe that’s two words, but you know what I mean)

The place is a beehive of activity, and it only starts to wind down shortly before 10 a.m..

To sum the place up in a phrase I would have to choose, “finely orchestrated chaos“. Everyone and everything is in constant motion, including a lot of the fish!

The game plan was to make a couple of loops through the heart of the action, shooting short telephoto (85mm’ish) on the way in, and wide (20mm’ish) on the way out.   I was solid on the 85mm department, since I had my Nikon 85mm f1.4 with me.  But on the wide side I went a little nuts and tried using a Tamron 14mm f2.8, which turned out to be entirely too wide.  I rather quickly swapped that out for a 35mm f2 (my next widest lens).  I did shoot a few images with a 50mm, but that was the exception.  The idea was to obtain some reportage type shots through the use of these two focal lengths.  The wides to set the scene, and the telephoto to fill in the details.

This was not my first (or second, or even third) trip to Tsukiji, so adding some external structure to my shooting was a very good thing.  The tips and guidance provide by Alfie and Hunter were very much welcome as they helped open my eyes to some new ways to see and capture things.  This prevented me from falling back into my own personal comfort zone of shooting.

I definitely feel that I got a higher percentage of keepers that on my previous trips to Tsukiji.

This time I used the two extreme focal lengths

The real lesson for me was that I need a 20mm lens.  There seems to be no better focal length for dragging the shutter and getting some closeup people shots.

And there is a lot of people to see:

People hauling Styrofoam boxes on their shoulders, men pulling two wheeled carts heaped with seafood, and funny looking self-propelled three wheeled wagons that can turn on a dime and give you six cents change. (A very necessary feature in the crowded rows of fish mongers.)  The real change since my last trip to Tsukiji is that now a lot of these self-propelled carts are electric powered, so you can’t hear them coming.  You really have to keep your head on a  swivel to make sure you don’t get run over.

One thing that always strikes me about the place was just how clean it is. For a place that moves more than 5 million pounds of fish (worth nearly 30 million dollars) daily, the place has no fishy smell.

Part of the reason is that everything is so fresh. The other reason is that the place is given a very thorough cleaning at the end of each day.

5 million pounds of fish a day.

Think about that for a minute.

That is more than 10 times the volume of New York City’s Fulton Market, the largest seafood market in America.

Pretty impressive.

Tsukiji has already been reported to death on the internet so I will not try and give the whole history behind the place. Anyone interested in learning more need do nothing more that a quick google search and you will have loads of information to read.

It’s a must see for anyone who wants to get some interesting photos, as well as a snack of some of the freshest sashimi you are likely to ever come across.

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FYI – I just fell off the wagon again and ordered a Canon 5D Mark II.  Soooo,  I will soon be putting my trusty 5D mark I up for sale.  The going rate for used 5D’s seems to be about $1,200, but I figure I would offer it up here first for $1,000 (plus any insured shipping costs and/or paypal fees).

If I had to guess I would say it has about 40,000 actuations on it (the 5D shutter life is rated at 100,000 actuations) and it is in very good condition.  It comes with 3 Canon batteries (all hold an excellent charge), an 8 GB memory card, and all the original odds and ends (battery charger, strap, etc.) and the original packaging/box.

It has been lovingly used by me for the past four and a half years, but selling it will help fund the Mark II, so I will have to let it go.

If anyone is interested, please let me know.  If there is no interest here I’ll be posting at the usual online photo gear selling websites.  (But I would much prefer to give a better deal to one of my regular viewers.)

—

ps: My heartfelt thanks go out to all of you who have been ordering prints from my Smugmug page.  Your continued purchases have helped to fund the 5D Mark II, and I will be sure to do my best to keep serving up fresh content for you all.  The video capabilities of the 5D Mark II particularly intrigue me, so expect to see some videos in the future.

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For those of you in Germany, check out page 28 of the February 2010 issue of FHM.  You’ll find one of my photos there.

For those of you in Japan, pick up a copy of the Metropolis 2010 calendar, one of my photos has been used for the month of February.

Seems like February is a hot month for me…

Click here for todays photos

Why do we take pictures?

It’s a simple question.  But I think that the answers to this question are as many and varied as there are people on this planet.   We each have our own reasons, but I also think that there has to be some common thread, otherwise it would not be such a universal phenomenon.

I guess the first question that needs to be asked is this: What is it about the still image that captures our attention?

Could it be that it is the process of stopping time, allowing us to examine a scene in detail, consciously appreciating all the things that are normally only “noticed” on a subconscious level?  When watching a video, the scene is in a constant state of change, no two moments are the same, and the limits of our perception only allow us to “see” one small part of each scene at a time.  But with a still image, the eye has the luxury of time to explore and see not only the forest, but the individual trees as well.  A moment in time has been frozen, preserved forever, but also never to come again.

I know that for me, I am always amazed at how much detail is captured in a single still image.  Details that I was not able to notice at the time I created the image, due to either the distractions of sound and motion, or just the fact that we are all limited by the amount of information we can take in and process in any given period of time.

Maybe it’s a way for us to make a statement that “I was here.  I existed” The proof is in the pictures.  We document our lives, our experiences, not necessarily for the purpose of sharing them with others, but more as mental cue cards to help us recall with greater clarity, the experiences of our lives.  Memory is malleable, and over time details become lost, or changed.  And what we remember may not actually be what “was”.

In essence, pictures help us remember.  They are the closest we have yet come to true time travel, to allow us to go back and experience the feelings we had, and remember.

We take pictures of things that are important to us.  Family gatherings, and other “life events” such as birthdays, weddings, and the birth and growth of a child.  For many this is the extent of their picture making, documenting the good times, the major moments.

But for those of us that takes things a step further, those of us that integrate this activity of recording our lives, our experiences, more into our daily lives, we photographers want to capture not just the watershed moments, but also the many other, usually smaller yet still significant moments where something stuck us.  Where we connected with a feeling, or were impacted by something we saw.

This type of shooting is more than just a documentary of our lives, but rather and emotional journal.  Capturing a mood, or a feeling, and attempting to express that feeling in an image.  I say “Attempt” because this seems to be the most difficult of all things to accomplish.  I my past ten years of photography, I can’t lay claim to ever really capturing a feeling.

Not even once.  (At least not to the extent that I had intended.)

We each carry our own filter through which we see the world, and the same image can speak in many different ways to different people.  It all depends on each individuals own personal frame of reference, how their life experiences up to that point have colored their filter.  An image that means very little to me can have a profound effect on another person if it strikes some sort of personal chord with them.  The opposite also holds true.  An image that I absolutely treasure can (and usually does) hold no interest to others.

Some call this the subjectivity of Art.  But what is this subjectivity but the manner in which we all see the world through our own set of filters?

When I first took up photography I was only concerned about documenting as accurately as possible the scenes in front of me. This lead me down a long path of learning the equipment and techniques, the real “nuts and bolts” type of things related to image making.

After 3-4 years I had pretty much figured out, through some trial and a lot of error, how to document an image.  Perfect focus, sharpness, exposure, they were all there.  Technically I had figured out how to take a picture.  But my images started to feel stale.

Sterile.

Lifeless.

In looking back into my photo archives I noticed that some of my more early images seemed to be better than what I had been recently producing, and upon examining them further I came to the realization that while it is important to learn the technical side of image making, it is equally important to shed that analytical skin and step into a more instinctive style to truly progress as an image maker.  It is still important to stand on that technical foundation, but in doing so you have to know when to leave it behind and trust your instincts in reaching towards a more ethereal goal.  The capture of a feeling.

Before learning the technical side I would more commonly get lucky and break some (or all) of the “rules” of photography and the result would be the capture of a feeling.  But as I learned the technical side of the process, I was forcing myself down a perfectly engineered, yet sterile path, nearly devoid of emotion.

When you first start taking pictures you just flail around.

Then you learn the technical side and this allows you to more consistently capture what you intended.  But once you are able to do that every time, then you should stop worrying so much about the technical things, by that time they will be deeply enough ingrained to be there even when you are not conscious of them.  Just forget about all the technical stuff, and start flailing again.  Shoot on instinct.  The fact that you have learned the technical side will ensure you don’t stray too far off the path, but giving yourself the freedom to have fun again and “go nuts” will add a new refreshing dimension to your images.

We often say “I took a picture”, and in most cases that is exactly what we have done.  We have documented something as it was.  But what is to me, the highest form of art, is when one is able to cross the threshold between taking pictures, and capturing emotions.  And never worry about weather or not people like your images.  After all, it is a subjective thing.  So long as you are true to your own vision, and you enjoy the results then you can be sure that you are on the correct path.

Our experiences make up the music of our lives, and at least for me, photographs are the notes.

Koi - Click the image to see todays photos

I apologize to you all for the delay in posting an update that includes some of my more recent Kyoto photos.  Right after I returned from Kyoto I had to (got to?) go to Hawaii for a business meeting.  While in Hawaii I managed to catch a nasty cold and have been pretty well sapped for energy ever since.  I feel like I am starting to get the best of it, but I’m still plagued by a nasty persistent cough which just doesn’t seem to want to end.

But enough about that.  Let me now tell you a little bit about Kyoto.

I can’t quite remember how many times I have been to Kyoto so far, and up till this trip I always made sure to hit Kiyomizu Temple, and a few other of the more famous places.  And almost every days worth of shooting was always to be capped off by a few hours in Gion shooting Maiko and Geiko.

But on this trip I decided to take it slower.

Maybe I needed a break more than the last times.  Work has been quite taxing as of late.

Or maybe I just wanted a different experience.  Whatever the reason, I kind of surprised myself by not seeing Kiyomizu Temple, or Kinkakuji at all.  What’s even more surprising is that I only went to Gion once, spending only about 90 minutes there.

In addition to changing my normal  sightseeing routine, I also seemed to unconsciously change my shooting style as well.  After all is said and done, I figure I shot about 60% – 70% less photos that I normally would during a 5 day trip to Kyoto.  There was only one day when I had to actually poop in a fresh memory card, with an 8 GB card usually lasting me all day and then some.

This is not to say that I was not enjoying myself.  Quite the contrary actually.  I had a marvelous time and felt like I truly relaxed and unwound during that week.  Much more so in fact that on my previous trips to that part of Japan.

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I know some of you were wondering why I decided to drop my original plan to shoot medium format this time.  The reason I did it was mainly due to the weight difference between carrying a medium format kit versus an SLR kit.  And I definitely made the right decision to go with the lighter of the two.

Since I had ran a half-marathon race on the same day that I left for Kyoto, my legs (right knee mostly) were definitely the worse for wear.  During the first two days of my trip I could definitely feel that I was pushing myself a bit too hard so soon after the race.  This forced me to take little breaks here and there, and I think that is was these  forced pauses that allowed me to down-shift into an overall lower gear and slow down, taking in more of the view with my naked eyes, and less of it through the viewfinder off my camera.

This turned out to be a blessing in disguise, as it reminded me not just look at something, but to also to take the time to really “see” it.

Thanks go out to Tregix for remindding to bring it all back to basics.

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For those of you that are interested, here is what I ended up taking to Kyoto:

Nikon D700
Nikon 35mm f2
Nikon 50mm f1.4
Nikon 85mm f1.4
Voigtlander 58mm f1.4
Voigtlander 40mm f2
Tamron 28-300mm VC

I also ended up buying the following two lenses while I was there since I found great deals on both of them:
Tamron 28-75mm f2.8
Nikon 180mm f2.8

Click here for todays photos

Having lived in Japan for about 10 years now, I’ve been to Kyoto quite a few times, each time with a camera and set of lenses at hand.

My most recent trip starts this coming Sunday.  I’ll be taking a night bus from Shinagawa, departing at around 11 pm, and arriving in Kyoto just before 7 am.  I could take a Shinkansen there, but I will be running a half marathon in Yokosuka earlier on Sunday, and taking the bus that night gets me into Kyoto earlier than if i were to catch the shinkansen the next morning.  I’m betting that I will be tired enough so that I sleep like a baby during the night bus ride.  Just to be sure I will pop a couple of sleeping pills as I board the bus, that way I can hope to get a good nights sleep and arrive feeling relatively refreshed.

On the way back home the following Saturday I will be taking the shinkansen as that is the absolute fastest way to travel, and I will be able to leave Kyoto after sunset and still make it home in time for a late dinner in Yokosuka.

This will be the first time that I will be shooting (digital) medium format in Kyoto.  Usually I shoot DSLR or Rangefinder, but this time I decided to trade off my more light weight kit and go for maximum image quality.

Here’s what I plan to bring:

Mamiya AFDII
Mamiya ZD back
Mamiya 35mm f3.5
Mamiya 55mm f2.8
Mamiya 80mm f1.9
Mamiya 150mm f3.5
Set of 3 extension tubes for macro work
A sack full of CF cards

While I am there I will also be checking out the used camera shops in Kyoto and Osaka to see if I can find a good deal on a Mamiya 200mm f2.8.

All of this fits nicely into a Lowepro Micro Trekker 200, which is my favorite backpack to use. I may change bags and instead use a Domke wax-wear F2, it depends if it looks like there will be a high likelihood of rain as the Domke is very water resistant.

Since I have not really had time to put the ZD back through its paces yet this should be a good opportunity to really see what it can do.

To date I’ve only used this medium format setup for single day type shooting (6-8 hours at a stretch) so I think I have a pretty good idea about what to expect as far as weight goes.  I am still a bit concerned, but I do also know that the results will quickly make me forget about the increase in weight compared to a DSLR kit.

But I do also have a backup plan/sanity check: I will also take along an Olympus E-P1 with a 20mm f1.7 and 14-42 kit zoom. This will serve as my backup in case I don’t feel like carrying so much gear on any particular day. The PEN will also serve as my nighttime low light camera.

Since this is a solo trip, and the only point is to take photos, explore more of Kyoto, and relax, I don’t think I’m going too nuts here with the gear I am bringing.

I just wanted some other people’s perspectives about this plan. Given the same choice of gear, would you do the same thing?

My alternative DSLR setup would be a Nikon D700 with some fast primes: 14/2.8, 35/2, 50/1.4, 85/1.4, and 180/2.8

CLick the image for todays photos

This past Wednesday, being Veterans day, was a day off for me.

I had planned to go out taking photos. But when I woke up to torrential rains, I checked the weather to see what the rest of the would hold: 100% chance of rain.

Damn.

But, not to be deterred I decided to make the best of it and head up to Nakano to check out a favorite used cameras shop and take some photos.

Since photos taking was secondary on the agenda to camera shopping, I only packed the Olympus E-P1 with 20/1.7, 25/1.4 (C mount), and Zuiko 50/1.2.

I caught the train first from Yokosuka Chuo station to catch the Yamanote line in Shinagawa.  From there I would make the necessary transfer in Shinjuku to get to my destination in Nakano.

It’s about 80 minutes in total on the train, so I sank into my seat and settled in for the ride.  The swaying and creaking of the train as is slid up the tracks started to lull me into a short nap.  I was listening to the sounds around me; The rustle of someone turning a newspaper page, a muted cough from someone further back in the train car,  the hum of the trains electric motors, and the periodic announcement from the train driver about what stations were coming up next.
It was during this time that I heard a little kid pointing out to his father all of the things he saw as the train made its way along the tracks.  That reminded me that there is always something to see.  You just need to open your eyes and mind to it.

In this case I had been “looking” with just my ears, and after hearing that small kid I was reminded that there is never any dead time.  Something interesting is always presenting itself.

I think that most people around me are probably wondering what I am taking so many pictures of all the time, and I am happy to let them assume that I am a tourist.   In all truth, after living here for nearly ten years now, I still do feel like a tourist. I mean this in the sense that it still feels like a vacation to me. There is still wonder in what lies around the next corner, or what there is to see at the next train station.

The wonder of this place has yet to wear off for me. This is a testament to how fascinating I find Japan. There is always something new for me to see. Some times it is a an altogether new place that I exploring, other times it may be something I have seen many times before but I happen to find a new way to look at it.

There is something “subarashii” (wonderful) locked up in most everything we see. The key is being able to to find it. But it is there. Trust me. All you have to do is change your point of view, or frame of mind, and open yourself to what surrounds you.

Let it all in. The sights, the sounds, the smells, the feelings.

Don’t have too many expectations about a place before you see it. While it is good to listen to those that may have been there before you, don’t take their views as gospel. Let your own personal experience shape your view and you will be surprised by what you see once you stop looking with just your eyes…

A Playboy Bunny, Peter Pan, A guy who is trying to be WAY to sexy for this photo, and the most shocked person with pink hair I have ever seen.

More Photos Here

I had with me the old Fuji F30.  It served the purpose well and from the photo gallery you can see I just dumped the memory card straight from the camera.  It’s further proof positive that no matter what camera I use I am more than capable of producing bland, out of focus, poorly framed shots with bad composition and timing.

I was dressed up as Peter Pan, and Saori was Tinker Bell.  She had scored a great deal on the costumes earlier that week via the internet.

I was not planning to stay out all night (Thats what the hotel room was for) but I was aware that the party was a “Nomihodai” meaning it was sure to be fun, if not a little bit of a challenge for the old liver.  And true to form I lost count after the 9th or 10th gin-tonic, but seeing as the party started at 7pm, there was plenty of time not only to drink, but to burn those drinks off.

Granted I was not feeling as chipper as I usually do as I rolled out of bed at the crack of afternoon the next day, but I’ll blame that on the cheap gin.

Will I go again next year?  Most definitely, I just need to think of another costume that will be popular as Peter Pan.  With Japan having such an obsession for all things Disney I was constantly getting dragged into pictures with people which is a great conversation starter to say the least.

Soooo.  Anyone have any ideas about what I should be next year?

Last Sunday I met up with about 30 of my closest friends.  On the third Sunday of every month the Tokyo Cameras club gets together to shoot pictures, and last Sundays location was Rikugien Park in Tokyo.  It’s near Komagome Station on the Yamanote line.

Club votes on the location for each months get-together, and the last two finalists were Rikugien park, and Yokohama Chinatown.  I was pulling for Chinatown as it is a whole lot closer to where I live.  And to tell the truth i was a bit bummed when Rikugien ended up winning the vote.  But, not to be deterred by a 90 minute train ride (That’s what iPods were invented for) I happily hopped on the train.

After getting to Komagome station, Saori and I stopped in at Matsuya for a quick meal of beef with rice and a bowl of miso soup.  Speaking of Matsuya, I am completely impressed with traditional fast-food in Japan.  Be it Udon, Ramen, or Gyudon, it’s always completely and satisfyingly delicious, not to mention worlds healthier than western style fast food.  Think of Puppies frolicking through a field of MORE puppies and you will get an idea of how satisfying a good bowl of gyudon and miso soup can be.

Thinking that I may find it hard to find interesting things to shoot in a park, I stopped in at a combini for a couple of cans of liquid inspiration  (aka: BEER)  ans set off down the street towards the park.  Polishing off the second can  just as I was passing a recycling bin near the park entrance, I dropped the can into the bin, and pulled my camera of the day out of my backpack.  (Olympus E-P1) I pulled off the lens cap, checked to make sure the battery was charged, the memory card was empty, and the lens was clean.  Check, check, check.  ”OK, time to go see if I can scrape together some images from this park” I thought to myself.

Boy, were my feelings wrong.  The park ended up being spectacular.  Not at all crowded, and beautiful.  It also helped that the weather was absolutely perfect, the ideal autumn day: clear skies, dry, and moderate temperatures.  It turned out that I didn’t need the beer after all.  (Although even knowing that ahead of time would probably not have stopped me)

The lenses that say the most use while using the E-P1 was the standards kit zoom (14-42mm f3.5-5.6), and a manual Olympus Zuiko 55mm f1.2 .  The kit zoom is spectacularly sharp, and built in such a manner that it can collapse down into a quite compact form when not in use.  The 55mm f1.2 equates to a rather ridiculous 110mm f1.2 on the E-P1s cropped sensor, so the shots and perspectives you can get are pretty fun.  It’s soft as hell wide open, but the bokeh is to die for.  Stopped down it gets satisfactorily sharp.

To make a long story short, the three hours of shooting went by all too fast. but now that I have gotten a taste of the place, I will be sure to return when the maple leaves are in all their full autumnal splendor.

So I guess the moral of the story is, ” Don’t be too quick to judge something before you get a chance to experience it” and also “Beer never hurts”.

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In case anyone is interested, I took part in another episode of “Cool Japan”.

It will air at the following times:
Nov. 17 (Tue) 22:00〜22:44 (NHK BS Hi-vision)
Re-run – Nov. 22 (Sun) 0:10〜 0:54（NHK:BS-1)