TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography

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“Kluso Akoustic” at Cotonoha Artspace & Cafe

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Kluso Akoustic (Photo by Bill Anders)

Kluso is playing tonight at Cotonoha Artspace & Cafe in Uehara, Okinawa. I’ve intended to go to one of his concerts several times but something has always come up at that last moment. Tonight however, I will head down south and have a listen. Kluso plays acoustic guitar and his style is a blend of Americana combining folk, country and pop-rock. I will know more after the concert. Admission is 2000 yen and this not only covers the concert but hors d’oeuvres and 1 drink is included. Cotonoha is a new gallery cafe run by an American guy Mitch who has done a fantastic job of creating a great new venue for art, music and dining.

Kluso Akoustic (photo by Bill Anders)

The song in my head : Boom de ya da!

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And just in case you want to sing along too, here are the lyrics:

I love the mountains,
I love the clear blue skies

I love big bridges

I love when great whites fly

I love the whole world

And all its sights and sounds

Boom de ya da, boom de ya da

I love the oceans

I love real dirty things

I love to go fast

I love Egyptian kings

I love the whole world

And all its craziness

Boom de ya da, boom de ya da

I love tornadoes

I love arachnids
I love hot magma
I love the giant squids
I love the whole world It’s such a brilliant place Boom de ya da, boom de ya da Boom de ya da, boom de ya da

Shakuhachi

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Man playing the shakuhachi

In readiness for some very long train rides next week, I was just uploading music and podcasts to the ipod I’m borrowing for my trip. One of the few songs I have bought through iTunes was Principles Of Lust: Sadeness from Enigma’s MCMXC A.D.album. Back in 1991 the song managed to bring Gregorian chanting and French rapping to both the top 40 chart and the dance floors of Europe. Another interesting thing about the song, and the reason I bought the track, was that the main instrument used is a shakuhachi or Japanese end-blown flute. I happened to meet the man in the picture above at Nagoya’s Honensai festival last year. I asked him what the name of his musical instrument was, as it sounded vaguely familiar. A quick google search revealed why I recognized it, not only was it used by Enigma it was also used in the Peter Gabriel’s fantastic song Sledgehammer. More recently it was even used by Linkin Park for the rap/rock track Nobody’s Listening on their album Meteora. Of course, the shakuhachi has been used many times in movies to produce evocative background music for samurai movies, the equivalent of bagpipes in Braveheart or Rob Roy. The shakuhachi, a simple piece of bamboo and a Japanese musical icon.

Photographer Ben Simmons

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Last week photographer Ben Simmons visited Okinawa and dropped by my house for coffee and a chat before exploring the island. It was fantastic to meet Ben and have a good discussion about photography, living in Japan, and the changes in both camera technology and the photography industry as a whole.

Japanscapes

I also got some advice on places to shoot when I am in Tokyo for a few days later this month. Ben has published several books including Tokyo and Japanscapes: Three Cameras, Three Journeys.

Tokyo by Ben Simmons

What pleased me most of all was that after many decades of working as a professional photographer Ben still loves taking photographs. I think it is all to common for the realities of work to erode away the passion you have for something. I know SCUBA diving instructors who found that their dream career rapidly became more and more like a regular job. It gives me confidence that I will still love taking photographs for decades to come.

Chris, Seiko & Ben

Around the World with TPN

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The Travel Photographers Network is a community of travel photographers that aims to improve and promote the art of travel photography. A community only thrives through the actions of its members, and luckily TPN is packed with talented people who are willing to share their ideas, their experiences and their dreams with others.

Around the World with TPN

Over the last year TPN has put together a book showcasing fantastic images by the community’s members. The book has just been published through Blurb and is available for purchase here.

Two of my photographs were selected for the book: Rising Sun and Monkey Hug. It is an honor to be part of a book created by a group of individuals with a shared passion for travel photography.

Inspiration – Stephen Wiltshire

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When I was around 11 years old I saw a TV programme about an extrodinary British boy just a year older than myself. His name is Stephen Wiltshire and he has not just a photographic memory, but the ability to then reproduce what he has seen on paper.

In May 2005 after a helicopter flight over Tokyo he drew a 10 meter long 360 degree panorama of the city over the following 8 days. Possibly the greatest feat of memory there has ever been.

Tokyo Panorama by Stephen Wiltshire

See a larger version of the above panorama here

I love Stephen’s work, we have a shared interest in architecture and classic vehicles. Several years ago I even bought a tiny sketch he had done of a New York taxi. It seems that taxis have become one of his favorite things to draw, but for me his most awe-inspiring pictures are his cityscapes of London and New York.

New York Taxi by Stephen Wiltshire

Next time I am in London I plan to visit his gallery, but until then I’ll continue to keep up to date with all his work at his website.

Mount Asama Eruption

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Mount Asama, one of the volcanoes in central Japan erupted yesterday. Eruptions are not a rare event in Japan. Mount Sakurajima near Kagoshima regularly has a column of smoke rising from it. Mount Fuji, Japan’s highest mountain, is quite literally a time bomb waiting to explode.

At the start of 2000 I was living in Otaru, Hokkaido. On March 31st, the morning TV news showed that the local volcano, Mount Usu, was smoking. (Note I saw the pictures on the screen, but didn’t understand what the newscaster was saying.) A couple of friends and I had the day off so we decided to go and have a look. We drove from Otaru to Lake Toya, but got a little lost on the way and ended up taking little back roads rather than the main highway. We arrived at Lake Toya to find it was very quiet and there was only a single news photographer standing at the lake edge.

I took a few photographs of the Mount Usu erupting in front of us.

Mount Usu eruption in 2000

The news photographer then asked how we had got there. It turned out that the main road had been closed, 15,000 people had been evacuated, and the person on TV had been saying how dangerous it was. I asked if we were safe where we were on the opposite side of the lake to the volcano. The answer was no. If the volcano suddenly decided to vent under the lake it would send a tidal wave hurtling across the surface washing away everything along the lake edge. If you survived the surge of water, you’d still have to deal with a sky full of falling debris. At this point my friends and I decided it was probably a good idea to head home.

Seat of Power

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Over the last month I have done my 40 km bicycle commute 4 times. My time dropped from close to 2 hours to 1 hour 38 minutes for the ride there, while my fastest ride home was 1 hour 30. (The university is at the top of a hill.)

I’ve learned some important things about riding:

When it’s cold, riding faster warms up your muscles but the wind chill means you are still freezing.
Most car and truck drivers are very considerate and give cyclists a wide berth. However it would only require one idiotic / sleepy / distracted driver to make a real mess of your shiny bicycle and limbs. Defensive cycling is an necessity rather than an option.
Riding in the rain is fun the first time, but the novelty wears off fast.
There is an infinite number of varieties of asphalt, and a cyclist can feel every nuance through their bottom.

Fizik Arione Tri 2 saddle

The stock seat that came with my bicycle had a rather annoying squeak, and was not specifically designed for a triathlon bike. I am now however the proud owner of a new seat that is lighter, more comfortable and squeak free. One other criteria was that I didn’t want any leather or suede on the seat. In the end I chose a Fizik Arione TRI 2 saddle, it felt good for a brief spin on the trainer, but I’ll get a better evaluation after a long ride.

On the bookshelf – Night & Low-Light Photography

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Twilight in Tokyo

In my recent blog about tripods I mentioned that one of the uses of a tripod was for night shots. In reality most “night” shots are actually taken during twilight. The reds and purples or the sunset add some visual interest to the background, while the slightly lighter sky allows the building to be silhouettes rather than disappearing into the night.

Lee Frost's The Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography

Lee Frost (a fellow Pentax 67 shooter ) gives a good introduction to shooting at night, dawn and twilight in his book The Complete Guide to Night and Low-Light Photography This is the book I have on my bookshelf, but there are numerous similar books available and many of the more recent ones are slanted far more toward digital users.

There is always the exception to the rule. Jason Hawkes doesn’t use a tripod for his night shots but as an aerial photographer prefers to use a giro-stabilizer attached to a helicopter. The results are fantastic, my favorite of which is this one here.

Japan Train Timetables

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I’ve been sitting at my computer planning my next trip. I fly from Okinawa to Tokyo, but will travel by train from Tokyo to Hachinohe to Aomori to Niigata and then back to Tokyo. A decade ago figuring out the how, what, when and where of this journey would have been tricky even for a Japanese speaker. Now in the age of the internet, and with a growing appreciation of English speakers in Japan there is a solution, visit the website hyperdia and simply enter your start point and destination. There are a few niggles in the system (It seems to assume Tokyo always mean Tokyo Disneyland) but overall I have found it a fantastic resource when planning trips.