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Rainy days in Tokyo

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It was either cloudy, rainy or snowing the entire 3 days I was in Tokyo. This meant that the exterior architectural shots I wanted will have to wait for another visit. I did however visit the Tokyo International Forum to get some interior shots. The building was designed by architect Rafael Viñoly and completed in 1996. The glass and steel latticework (which looks a little like an upturned boat) fits the surrounding area far better than the similarly modern Kyoto train station.

 

Tokyo International Forum

Tokyo International Forum

Myoko Ski Area

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I met up with my old friend Steve in Niigata, and after a day hanging out at his house we went to Myoko for a couple of days in the snow.

Myoko is a ski area close to the Niigata Nagano border. Mt Myoko is the mountain the region gets its name from, and there are several small ski areas on different parts of the peak. 

On the first day we went to Myoko Suginohara, the largest and busiest area. It was a Sunday and great weather so the slopes were quite crowded but it was good to be back on a snowboard again. After face planting off a jump, I also came to the grim realization that perhaps my skills have got a little rusty after a 7 year break.

We stayed at The Hawk and Hare Inn in Akakura which is run by an American ninjutsu falconer (I couldn’t make this stuff up.). It had a really relaxing atmosphere with a roaring fire, a constant supply of hot tea and a variety of boarding games. We played Risk, and I won (Steve will claim it was a draw).

 

Steve at Akakura Kanko (showing he's been in Japan too long by flashing the peace sign for photos)

Steve at Akakura Kanko (showing he's been in Japan too long by flashing the peace sign for photos)

The next day we went to Akakura Kanko. It was now a weekday, and snowing heavily so there were relatively few people out on the slopes. Much better snow conditions and for the first few hours there were even a few nice lines of untouched powder along the edges. We stopped for a break  at the Akakura Kanko Resort and Spa a large hotel complex located halfway down this small ski area. It was built in 1937, a collaborative effort between the Japanese and Germans, and perched on the side of the mountain. There is more than one reason why some locals gave it the nickname “the eagle’s nest.”  Steve and I  came in out of the cold, sat down in the very nice cafe and had cheese buns and coffee.

 

Akakura Kanko Resort & Spa (Spending most of my time behind a camera rather than in front of one has led to me forgetting to smile. I was having a good time, honest.)

Akakura Kanko Resort & Spa (Spending most of my time behind a camera rather than in front of one has led to me forgetting to smile. I was having a good time, honest.)

After another couple of days in Niigata, I headed south to Tokyo.

The joy and pain of rail travel in Japan.

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From Aomori my next stop was to visit my friend Steve in Niigata. I checked on hyperdia.com and found that I could take a limited express train from Aomori to Akita, change, then get another limited express train from Akita to Niigata. I would leave Aomori at 13.45, get the 16.34 from Akita and arrive in Niigata at 20.07. The cost for the ticket was ¥12,290.

Things were going great, I spent the entire ride to Akita chatting to  Max a Japanese filmmaker  who now works in New York. At Akita station however, I was told that the train from Akita to Niigata was cancelled due to high winds.  The ticket office said that I would have to take an alternative route…

 

Akita to Niigata - routes A & B

Akita to Niigata - routes A & B

Rather than travel the 250km straight down the coast in three and a half hours (the green route), I would have to travel 900km from Akita all the way to Omiya near Tokyo and then up to Niigata (the red route). It would all be on bullet trains so if I got the 17.09 train from Akita I could get to Niigata just before eleven. They apologized that I would arrive nearly 3 hours later than I had expected and then….

charged me and extra ¥8430 because I would now be completing the journey by  bullet train,

I rolled my eyes, and then handed over my credit card. 

 

Shinkansen - perfect when you need to travel and extra 650km

Shinkansen - perfect when you need to travel an extra 650km

Pentax 645 digital

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The Pentax 645 digital is a thing of legend, that is for years there have been rumors of it’s possible existence but time and again it has failed to materialize.

Back in 2005 it was going to be an 18.6 megapixel camera,

Pentax 645 digital prototype (photo from Amateur Photographer.co.uk)

Pentax 645 digital prototype (photo from Amateur Photographer.co.uk)

a year later it had changed shape.

Pentax 645 digital prototype (photo from Amateur Photographer.co.uk)

Pentax 645 digital prototype (photo from Amateur Photographer.co.uk)

By 2007, there were plans that the camera would now have a 32 megapixel sensor but it looked uncertain whether it would make production. By 2008 the general consensus of fellow Pentaxians seemed to be that the camera would never see the light of day.

Then yesterday a post appeared on the website Amateur Photographer.

PMA: PENTAX REVIVES MEDIUM FORMAT DIGITAL CAMERA PLAN (UPDATE)

If you will allow me to steal from Mark Twain…

It appears that  the rumors of its death have been greatly exaggerated.

Daibutsu – Giant Buddhas

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After Hachinohe I went a little further north to the city of Aomori. Aomori is home to the Nebuta Festival in August, where huge colorful floats parade through the city. In mid-winter Aomori, like Hachinohe, is cold and gray with most of its residents either indoors or bundled up against the freezing conditions trying to commute to and from work on treacherous roads and sidewalks.

 One local attraction that interested me was the Showa Daibutsu a giant bronze statue of Buddha around 45 minutes by bus from the city center. Constructed in 1984 it is 21.35 meters high and weighs 220 tons.It was the largest Buddha in Japan until the construction of the Ushiku Daibutsu in Ibaraki Prefecture. 

It sits in a clearing among the trees and unlike the giant buddha at Nara is exposed to everything Mother Nature has to throw at it. 

 

Showa Daibutsu, Aomori

Showa Daibutsu, Aomori

Other giant Buddhas I have seen in Japan include the one at Nara,

Todai-ji Daibutsu, Nara

Todai-ji Daibutsu, Nara

and the one at Kamakura.

 

Daibutsu of Kamakura

Daibutsu of Kamakura

Haven’t been to the Ushiku Daibutsu, but if you have please post a picture in a response. In fact, if you’ve seen any giant Buddhas anywhere in the world, it would be great to see the photos.

Which scanner do you use?

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Epson Perfection v750-M

Epson Perfection v750-M

I scan all my transparencies with an Epson Perfection V750-M scanner. It produces fine results, and is reasonably fast and reasonably priced for what it does. In Japan is has a different name the GT-X970, but much to my delight you could still select English rather than Japanese when installing the software. In the past when clients have requested, images have also been sent out for drum scanning. This has however was infrequent, and tended to be only when they wanted very large files.

Also essential to scanning is an air duster, to keep the scanner surface and transparency free of all the dust you can see, and then plenty of time, patience and the spot healing brush tool in Photoshop to remove all the tiny specks of dust which appear once you have enlarged the file.

Imacon flextight X5

Imacon flextight X5

Of course if money were not an issue I would run out and get an Imacon Flextight X5. It would do the job faster and produce better results if I was scanning images to very large sizes and needed to get every last detail out of the transparency. On the other hand if money was not an issue I would be in a hot air balloon cruising over the Masai Mara game reserve and someone else can do the scanning.

Hachinohe Enburi – Photographs (part 3)

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The parade wound it’s way through town. I tried to find a place with a background more interesting than a McDonald’s or a Mos Burger.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

Switching to a wide lens allowed me to capture more of the action.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

In the late afternoon and evening, the Oniwa Enburi took place in the garden of Koujoukaku, a historic building in the city where the dances were once performed for rich merchants.

A young boy performed Ebisu-mai which celebrates the struggle and ultimate success of a fisherman.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

The final dances of the evening were performed in torchlight (and a few floodlights) these three men are performing Naga Enburi one of the oldest styles dating back 800 years.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori

Hachinohe Enburi – Photographs (part 2)

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After the initial ceremony at the shrine, the participants of the festival gathered in the small park nearby, before starting the parade through the city. As I learned at Notting Hill Carnival a few years ago, these few minutes pre-parade are the perfect time to get some good portrait shots. Great costumes and smiles make the job of a photographer much easier.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Not everyone smiles for the camera, but perhaps a grin would seem out of place with the pair of samurai swords.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi – Photographs (part 1)

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Nearly two weeks have gone by since my last post, and I am now back in Okinawa. I have started the slow task of scanning the transparencies and will post them to the blog over the next few days. 

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

The festival began at 8 a.m. at Choujasan Shinra shrine. Groups of men wearing horse head inspired hats danced with various farming tools.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

A young girl did a dance that I think had something to do with planting rice, and then as the snow began to fall again one of the groups of participants gathered for a group photo.

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

Hachinohe Enburi, Aomori, Japan

 On a technical note, photographing on snow without the aid of a digital screen to check exposure can lead to terribly unexposed photographs if you use auto settings. I didn’t have my handheld meter with me so I used the camera’s meter to first gauge the light off a mid tone building then manually set the exposure on the camera.

Hachinohe Enburi

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On the road again…

I’m standing in the lobby of the Aomori Toyoko Inn  using the complimentary internet service while my clothes churn away in the “coin-laundry.”  On Monday I flew from Okinawa to Tokyo then took the shinkansen bullet train to Hachinohe.  

Hachinohe is a city of limited charm and is, all in all, a rather desolate snow-blasted place. Maybe because of this the locals enjoy a good celebration and consequently have a big festival in both summer and winter.  On Tuesday I spent the day photographing the Hachinohe Enburi from the initial shrine ceremony at 8am through to an evening performance of the traditional dance.

The festival and dances are to ask the gods for a good harvest in the coming months, and to remind each other that they must work hard at tilling fields, planting crops and fishing to get enough food to see them through the winter.

  In this  modern age it would be appropriate to now post some photos of the event. I am, however, an analog man in a digital world, which means that the photographs are still on rolls of film in my bag, and won’t be processed until I get to Yodobashi Camera in Niigata tomorrow night. 

Clothes have finished churning.