I needed to get some examples of using natural framing in photographs for a future photo tips article I am writing. Luckily I knew of a suitable location that would allow me to get the images I wanted. Shots taken at 7.30 AM at Zakimi Castle, a UNESCO world heritage site that’s about 15 minutes from where I live. Zakimi Castle has no entry fee, and is permanently open. A fantastic place to take photographs.
It was announced on the news today that David Carradine is dead. I am a little too young to have grown up watching the TV show Kung Fu, but I am sure that for many this will be a sad day. In recent years Carradine returned to fame as Bill in Tarantino’s Kill Bill movies. For those who haven’t seen the movies, in one of the scenes in Kill Bill Part 1, Uma Thurman travels to Okinawa to get a samurai sword made by sword smith Hattori Hanzo. A couple of years ago I did an interview with the only real sword smith in Okinawa – Kanehama Kiyochika. I even got to ask him about Kill Bill… From the age of 22 to 31, Kiyochika Kanehama trained as an apprentice swordsmith. At a forge in the Japanese Alps, his sensei Kiyomune Miyairi taught him how to create a blade from lumps of iron ore. For years, he studied the process of folding and honing metal to produce edges so sharp that they are considered a …
During the summer months bull fighting takes place in several bull rings on Okinawa. I have mixed feelings on the whole situation. Compared to Spanish bull fighting it is delightful. Okinawan bull fighting is a battle between equals rather than men against beast. The Okinawan bulls lock horns and then push each other until the weaker bull turns and runs. The bulls are not killed, and are looked after by their owners better than many pets. Near where I live, you regularly see the bulls being taken for walks. ( Something I really should photograph now that I think about it. ) Some bulls however do get injured, which is hardly surprising when both combatants have a big pointy horn on either side of their head. With the potential for animals to be injured or even killed is the cost of this entertainment too great?
During May and June dragon boat races are held across Okinawa with fierce competition between local towns. I would love to take photos from inside the boat during a race, but for now this shot is my favorite.
In today’s Ryukyu Shimpo (one of the newspapers in Okinawa) there was a short piece about my exhibition at Cotonoha. It’s a bit of a shame that it was published when my exhibition is only up for another couple of days, but better later than never. I’m going to be hanging out at Cotonoha Saturday and Sunday afternoon, so if you are in the area drop by and say hello (or konichiwa).
Here are a few photographs of my exhibition at Cotonoha for those of you who live on the other side of the world.
Living in Japan can be a little tricky if you are vegetarian or vegan, but it is far from impossible. In general you don’t get products that are specifically targeted at vegetarians. So no veggie burgers at fast food chains, no veggie symbols on packages of food, no spicy bean burgers or anything by Linda McCartney. There are veggie / vegan restaurants but they tend to be quite rare and, until recently, it was difficult to find out where they were. For the opening evening at Cotonoha I asked a local vegan restaurant, Salon Cuttho, to provide half the food. They made samosas, spring rolls, bruschetta, croquettes and ratatouille. The guests thought the food was delicious, and it disappeared fast (too fast in fact – didn’t realize that an international crowd require far more food than an all Japanese crowd of the same number). The next day, while settling the bill at Salon Cuttho, I saw they were selling a Japan Vegan Restaurant Pocket Guide. Written by Herwin Walravens it gives information on over 100 …
Box just arrived from Amazon.com with a couple of books, a couple of cd’s and a movie I’d ordered. One of the books was A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Tadao Shimba. I’m most impressed by the book. Colour photography throughout , over 600 species, a little bit of a description on each bird, and its geographic range. The photographs range in quality but still give you a good idea of what the birds look like. One problem I have already noticed is that the book has the English name and the scientific name of the bird but not the common Japanese name. If you buy this book and plan to use it while in Japan (which would be most people I imagine) having the Japanese name would allow you to ask locals what a bird was or confirm your guess. Until the photographic guide came out the standard book (in English) of Japanese birds was A Field Guide to the Birds of Japan by the Wild Bird Society …
If you’ve seen the movie Apocalypto you will be well aware that a solar eclipse can be a life changing experience. On July 22nd 2009 there will be a total solar eclipse visible from a narrow band across Asia and the Pacific. From Wikipedia: “This solar eclipse is the longest total solar eclipse that will occur in the twenty-first century, and will not be surpassed in duration until June 13, 2132. Totality will last for up to 6 minutes and 39 seconds, with the maximum eclipse occurring in the ocean at 02:35:21 UTC about 100 km south of the Bonin Islands, southeast of Japan. The North Iwo Jima island is the landmass with totality time closest to maximum.” This map shows its progress across southern Japan. The main island of Okinawa is in the 90% eclipse zone. Most of the Japanese islands in the total eclipse area are tiny. The island of Yakushima however is a little larger and still in the zone of totality. There is access by plane and ferry from Kagoshima, but tickets are either gone or …
The Stripes Okinawa, is the free weekly supplement of the Stars and Stripes newspaper. Kluso (the musician in an earlier blog post) does some writing for the paper and came down to Cotonoha to chat about the exhibition. Kluso’s article along with some of my photographs appeared today in this week’s edition.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 