From 2002 to 2004 I had a monthly column in the Asahi Weekly newspaper. In 2006, Nan’un-do published わかる日本と不思議な日本―Your Japan,My Japan:An Englishman’s Perspective a textbook based on my articles combined with various exercises to check comprehension, expand vocabulary and encourage discussion. I am pleased to say that it is now used in several universities and language centers across Japan.
I just saw this Dove commercial for the first time. I think it aired in 2006, so this is old news, but the ideas behind it are just as relevant, if not more so, today.
The Toy Maker Morito Toyonaga creates toys that are miniature works of art. His designs have been exhibited in Tokyo, Yokohama, Osaka, Sendai and Okinawa. He has a love of traditional techniques that would otherwise disappear. Morito Toyonaga studied sculpture at Okinawa Prefectural Art University and the School of the Museum of Fine Art, Boston, Massachusetts. His interest in sculpture blossomed into a passion for preserving the skills once used to create Okinawan children’s toys. In 2002, he set up his own toy store called Road Works beside Shuri Castle. What materials do you use to create the toys? “Some of the figurines are sculpted from wood, while the stuffed toys are fabric filled with cotton balls. The majority of my toys, however, are made from papier-mâché. To create these paper toys, I start by carving a wooden mold. I then layer a mixture of newspaper, brown paper and glue onto the outside of the mold. The wooden core can then be removed, leaving a thin paper skin. To strengthen the toy, I mix powdered …
95 % of the time I shoot with 220 rolls of Fujifilm’s Fujichrome Provia 100F. The Pentax 67II gives you 10 images on a 120 roll, and 21 images on a 220 roll. Using 220 means I get one extra shot compared to shooting two rolls of 120, processing is a little cheaper and I spend less time changing film. 220 rolls of Provia aren’t available on Amazon but you can get them from B&H Photo. I use Provia 100F for it’s ultra-fine grain, and great color reproduction. However, I sometimes use Provia 400X if I have to shoot on an overcast day or for fire festivals. (Provia 400x is not available in 220 so I use 120 rolls) On my next trip as I’m going to be shooting some landscapes (hopefully with blue skies and cherry blossom) so I have also got a couple of boxes of Velvia 100F for higher color saturation. I wouldn’t use Velvia for portraits, for this Astia 100F would be a better option. I have only used Kodak products …
I have a stack of Japan guidebooks that I have bought or aquired over the last decade. I’ve spent most of the last week preparing for my next trip up to the mainland so I felt I could give a few brief pointers about the differences in books available and which I would recommend. I’m only going to discuss the guidebooks I’ve actually used, but if you’ve read another I’d love to hear your comments. In a later blog I’ll give a list of useful Japan travel websites. As a quick means of comparison I will mention the amount of information each book has on Matsuyama (one of the places I will be going). Let’s start with the heavyweights. Lonely Planet Japan (Pages on Matsuyama: 5 including 2 page city map) The Rough Guide to Japan (Pages on Matsuyama: 12 including city map and Dogo onsen map.) The problem I have with the Lonely Planet and the Rough Guide is their places to eat, and places to stay sections seem to be almost arbitrary. It …
I get asked this question quite a lot, and in all honesty, I am not really the right person to answer. The only digital camera I currently use is my little point & shoot W60, while for work I still use my Pentax 67II medium format film camera. Getting balanced opinions isn’t made easier by the fact that many photographers are extremely proud (or defensive) of the brand they use. The situation is akin to sports teams. Asking a Nikon user about the quality of Canon’s gear, is similar to asking a Liverpool fan about Manchester United. You may get an honest answer, but you are more likely to be told the other brand is trash or that Rooney looks like Shrek. Photography magazines are usually better, but you have to raise an eyebrow when the glowing review for a particular camera is followed by a two page paid advertisement for the exact same camera. I would first take a look at the digital SLR buyers guide at Digital Photography Review. Another good introduction to …
Within the Frame: The Journey of Photographic Vision is a new book on travel photography by David duChemin. The quality of both the writing and photography along with its focus on vision rather than equipment means that the book, already a bestseller, is destined to become a classic. Simply put, it should be on the bookshelf of any aspiring travel photographer. “Vision is the beginning and end of photography. It’s the thing that moves you to pick up the camera, and it determines what you look at and what you see and what you do. It determines how you shoot and why. Without vision the photographer perishes.” David duChemin There are chapters on the basics such as the rule of thirds, exposure, depth of field and varying angles. The book also delves into issues that are more specific to travel photographers such as whether to give money to beggars, or issues to consider when photographing poverty, children or the elderly. Overall, however, the book is about how to improve your craft, …
One clever feature on Flickr is the ability to track the popularity of your images. There is a program that will determine your most interesting images based on comments and views. It then creates a special set for your Photostream. My top 36 “most interesting” images as of March 15th are those above. It appears that women in bikinis and men’s bottoms are popular favorites. Nice to see that my labrador Bear sneaked in there at number 36.
A final three photos of the snow monkeys.
PocketWizards also allow you to easily use off-camera flash when shooting in the field. Connect one PocketWizard to your camera and then the second Pocket Wizard to the flash. I use a transceiver caddy to mount the PocketWizard to the handle of an old hammerhead flash. Press the shutter and, wirelessly, the flash will trigger. You could add a second off-camera flash by setting the second flash to slave mode. Another useful thing to consider if you are taking PocketWizards into the field is a hard case which will protect the antenna while it is bouncing around your bag. Some are designed to fit with the transceiver caddy making things even easier. This one is by Hildozine.
