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Pentax 645D : 40 megapixels from 44x35mm sensor

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Pentax 645D 40 megapixel medium format digital camera

(Still in the dark) Pentax 645D 40 megapixel medium format digital camera

With just a few days until the camera is revealed there has been a steady trickle of information released by email and on a special “new” section of the Pentax Japan website. For those who can’t read Japanese, as summary of the information so far is:

News Vol. 1 Sensor 1.7 times the size of full frame 35mm

News Vol. 2  Eight custom image functions

News Vol. 3  Dual SD/SDHC memory card slots.

News Vol. 4  40 megapixel sensor

News Vol. 5  44 x 33mm sensor

All very interesting. The rest of the details should be released on the 11th at the CP+ Camera & Photo Imaging Show in Yokohama.

(As a guess I expect the sensor to be the KODAK KAF-40000 )

KitKat Omiyage

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Omiyage are the presents that Japanese bring back to their family and colleagues when they have been away on a trip. Usually they are cookies, chocolates or senbei but I know some people that send boxes of fruit from Okinawa, and crab or salmon from Hokkaido.

Even the big name brands have products specifically produced for omiyage. Nearly every place I have been to in Japan has their own Hello Kitty doll, while KitKat produces  flavors that are only available in certain prefectures. Here are a couple of boxes that are available in Nagano, Blueberry Cheesecake and Red Chili.

KitKat Omiyage

KitKat Omiyage

Nozawa Onsen Ski Area

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After a day with the snow monkeys we drove about 30 minutes north to Nozawa Onsen. We booked accommodation, rental gear and 1.5 day lift passes through Mark at Lodge Nagano . Although his lodges were full, Mark found us a place at Maruji Guesthouse just around the corner.

It was good to be back on the board if only for a couple of days. There hadn’t been any fresh snow for a while, but there were not really any bare patches on the mountain. Lower areas were a little choppy and slushy at times but you can’t be guaranteed of  powder snow if you go at the end of February for just a couple of days.

Strapping in to a K2 162cm rental from Lodge Nagano

Strapping in to a K2 162cm rental from Lodge Nagano.

I liked the fact that at the top of the mountain there were areas that were “ski at own risk” rather than completely out of bounds. It is a sensible decision to provide some off piste areas, as by providing a relatively safe area it should reduce the chance of boarders going off exploring and finding themselves stuck on a cliff ledge or at the bottom of gully. The signs were a little confusing  as to which were off piste and which were out of bounds but as with most things it’s a good idea to follow or at least ask a local.

Nozawa Onsen Ski Area - "Warninng"

And here’s another example why it’s nice to have a compact waterproof camera as well as a Gulliver sized behemoth. Set camera to video mode. Hold in glove.  Snowboard down mountain. Post to You Tube.

It’s a little unfair to compare Nozawa Onsen to other ski areas having spent only a couple of days there in spring conditions.  Niseko (Hokkaido) is still my favorite place for boarding in Japan, however Nozawa Onsen is just an overnight bus ride from Tokyo, or get the shinkansen to Nagano then the local train to Togari Nozawa Onsen. Well worth a visit.

(If you were wondering what my favorite resort in the world is check out Red Mountain, B.C., Canada. Spent three months there many years ago. Small mountain, steep slopes, lots and lots of snow.)

Photographer John Shaw

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John Shaw and Chris Willson at Jigokudani Onsen

John Shaw and Chris Willson at Jigokudani Onsen

I happened to meet photographer John Shaw while at Jigokudani Onsen. John was leading a wildlife photography tour of Japan. They had just spent around 10 days in Hokkaido and were enjoying their last few days photographing the snow monkeys. John’s a really nice guy and great photographer. He has written numerous books on photography including John Shaw’s Nature Photography Field Guide, John Shaw’s Closeups in Nature and John Shaw’s Landscape Photography.

Return to the Valley of the Snow Monkeys

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Just got back from a few days up on the Japanese mainland. I flew from Okinawa to Niigata, met up with my friend Steve, then drove south into Nagano prefecture for a day with the snow monkeys and a couple of days snowboarding.

Steve at the start of the trail up to Jigokudani Onsen

Steve at the start of the trail up to Jigokudani Onsen

There was much less snow than during my previous visit so the hike up the trail was no problem.

Hiking up the trail to Jigokudani Onsen (photo by Steve)

Hiking up the trail to Jigokudani Onsen (photo by Steve)

At the hot springs I spent the afternoon photographing the various monkeys. You can read about my first visit to Jigokudani Onsen on my main website.  Previously I had taken most of my snow monkeys photographs with a huge 400mm telephoto lens, but this time I wanted to get even closer so I left the telephoto lens in Okinawa and brought a macro lens for some portraits. As you can see it wasn’t difficult to get very close to the monkeys.

Up close with the snow monkeys at Jigokudani Onsen

Up close with the snow monkeys at Jigokudani Onsen (photo by Steve)

Once it was too dark to shoot, we headed over to the Korakukan Jigokudani guesthouse to relax in the onsen. I was hoping that the monkeys would come and join us in the pool, but they were not interested in joining the bathing apes.

Steve the bathing ape, Jigokudani Onsen, Nagano

Steve the bathing ape, Jigokudani Onsen, Nagano

It will be a few more days until I get my film processed. Will post the new photographs as soon as they are scanned.

Pentax Optio W90 and the Countdown to the Pentax 645D

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A couple of new cameras will soon be released from Pentax. The first is the latest in their line of rugged waterproof cameras, the w90. I’m a big fan of the W-series. They’re perfect for vacations when you may forget to empty your pockets before you dive in the ocean.

Pentax Optio W90 Camera

Pentax Optio W90 Camera (mud not included)

The bigger news is the countdown to the unveiling of Pentax’s flaship model, the long awaited Pentax 645D. I believe the sensor will be 1.7 times the size of a full frame 35mm sensor, but no news yet of how many megapixels, new lenses, the price, or the date of release.

Countdown to the Release of the Pentax 645D

Countdown to the Release of the Pentax 645D

Natsumi Photo Shoot

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Just got back from a fun photo shoot at Shikina Gardens in Naha. I was assisting fellow photographer Annya Eyestone as she photographed Japanese model Natsumi. I didn’t take my big camera, but did get a couple of shots with my little digital point and shoot. I converted a few to black and white as it hides various noise and color issues. Here’s my favorite.

Natsumi Photo Shoot and Shikina Gardens, Naha. (Pentax W60)

The Fine Print in Photo Competitions

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This post will hopefully shed a little light on the growth of photo competitions that have goals other than celebrating talent or promoting photography.

The first type of competition are simple money earners for the organizers. These competitions will charge a fee  per entrant or per image with the opportunity to win big prizes. Of course, someone will win the photo safari to Africa but if they get thousands of entrants at 50 dollars each the organizers will have made a healthy profit.

The second type of competition is more insidious and it involves what is known in the industry as ” a rights grab.” The organization announces a competition which may have some great prizes and no entry fee. However, when you read the fine print, it says that by submitting the photograph to the organizers you are giving them some degree of ownership of the image rights. You may be giving them permission to use the image to promote the competition (which is reasonable) but you may also have allowed them to sell that image to other websites or magazines for a fee from which you, the photographer, will not receive any payment. This may go a stage further with the competition organizer submitting your images to various stock agencies and again taking all the licensing fees. The copyright of the image may still belong to the photographer but suddenly their fantastic image has become the generic shot seen everywhere.

As an example, here’s the fine print in a Lonely Planet photo competition. Note that  on the entry form it automatically ticks the box next to “Grant Lonely Planet a General License to use my image(s)” And what is a General License…

Lonely Planet Photo Competition Fine Print

Compare this to the fine print for the Travel Photographer of the Year competition which states:

Fine Print from the Travel Photographer of the Year Competition

The Travel Photographer of the Year is well worth checking out even if it’s just for inspiration, there are always great entries. Another fantastic photo competition (that doesn’t try to grab image rights) is the Wildlife Photographer of the Year.

Sushi Zen: Apologies, Embarrassment and Disappointment

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A couple of months ago I posted a blog entry advertising that an Okinawan photo club I belong to was having a mini exhibit at a local restaurant called Sushi Zen (see original post here). The pictures were up all January and when the month finished the owner was more than happy to have the exhibit continue on into February.

Yesterday, I saw a comment on Facebook saying that Sushi Zen didn’t allow Japanese customers. I thought that something must have got lost in translation, but unfortunately, the comments made on Facebook were true. A regular customer of the restaurant told me that the Japanese owner had worked in America and on his return to Okinawa he set up a restaurant making American style sushi that would be popular with  Americans on the island. Japanese customers however demanded Japanese style sushi,  and made negative comments about the American customers when talking in Japanese.

It appears that to create a comfortable atmosphere for his American clients, the owner decided to make the restaurant a private club. Entry to the restaurant is free for Americans, Japanese have to pay 100,000 yen to join. A Japanese woman is allowed into the restaurant without paying the membership fee if she is escorted by an American. All Japanese men have to pay the membership fee. I went over to the restaurant today to check, and saw these signs on the door.

And below it

So first an apology.

I’d like to apologize to any of my Japanese friends or readers who may have gone to the restaurant and seen this sign and or been turned away. If I had known about the policy of Sushi Zen I would not have displayed my photographs there. Today, as soon as I saw the signs, I removed my pictures from the restaurant.

I briefly talked with the owner to again confirm the details and it was clear that he didn’t want Japanese customers and that this was his restaurant so it was his rules. He kept referring to the signs on the door.

I had expected this situation would make me feel angry, but instead I feel disappointment and sadness. Would his American customers feel so comfortable if they could read the signs telling Japanese they are not welcome. How would an American servicewoman feel if she was married to, or dating, a Japanese national and found that they were not allowed to eat there.

Some might use the argument that there are places in Japan that don’t allow foreigners. I agree this does happen. While living in Otaru (Hokkaido) I was told I couldn’t enter a ramen shop because “Russia-jin dame!!” (No Russians) or use one of the local onsen/sento because it would make Japanese people uncomfortable (we wouldn’t wash properly and might drink vodka in the bath). Just because there are other examples of exclusion on the basis of gender, skin color, religion or nationality does not make it any less wrong.

I hope that things will change for the better.