All posts filed under: Okinawa

Lab Report – OAARS Okinawan American Animal Rescue Society

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The Okinawan American Animal Rescue Society  OAARS is a fantastic program whose main goal is to find homes for stray and unwanted animals on Okinawa which would otherwise be euthanized ( a polite way of saying killed).  I am writing about them here (in a blog that is meant to be predominantly about photography in Japan) because my friends Theresa and Michael saw that there were some labs that needed homes and hoped I’d be interested.  As much as I would love another lab, or two or three, Pudding and Bear are quite enough right now. Hopefully, however, there is a reader out there who would love one of these beautiful creatures, and make the dogs, the people at OAARS, Theresa, Michael and myself extremely happy.  As an added bonus adopt one of these dogs and you can then come and hang out with Pudding and Bear at the beach!   Labrador retrievers are quite possibly the best dogs in the world. They are loving, smart, sensitive, beautiful, playful and have great temperaments (although Bear has some issues). But….. …

Nakamura House, Okinawa

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Nakamura House is a traditional Okinawan house that dates back to the 15th Century. Its roof is covered with red clay tiles while the walls are made up of sliding wooden panels. The moveable walls can be opened to allow cooling breezes in the summer heat or closed and braced against wind and rain during typhoons. A shisa – lion dog – talisman sits on the roof protecting residents from evil spirits.  The house has eight rooms, many with the tatami flooring – the rectangular mats made of woven straw. Some rooms contain artifacts including traditional bingata kimono. The house is located in the northern part of Naha City on the main island of Okinawa. Nakamura House is open everyday from 9.00 to 17.30

Medium?

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I do some freelance work for Okinawa Living magazine, a publication produced by M.C.C.S. which introduces Okinawan and Japanese culture to American military members and their families. I have a base pass so that I can drop off my work and meet with the editors, but it also allows me to use the fast food restaurants while I am on the base. This is not insignificant because it means I can get veggie burgers from Burger King. The only other fast food chain that does a veggie burger in Japan is the Hard Rock Cafe, but the closest one is in Fukuoka a thousand or so miles away. I usually order the medium meal opting not to go large or king size. However on my last visit something interesting happened due to some clever/devious decision making on the part of Burger King. Burger King have decided to rename their sizes. King is now large. Large is now medium. Medium is now small. The portions however have not changed. When I ordered my medium meal, I …

“Kluso Akoustic” at Cotonoha Artspace & Cafe

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      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.     

Shuri Castle New Year Festival

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From the 1st to the 3rd of January you can see the Shuri Castle New Year Festival in Naha, Okinawa. Shuri Castle is a UNESCO World Heritage Site and an interesting place to visit on a normal day, but it is spectacular with hundreds of people dressed in traditional costumes. Here are some photographs from previous years. The second photograph of the Ryukyu Queen was taken backstage when I was one of the events official photographers.         

Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium

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Okinawa Churaumi Aquarium is the second largest aquarium in the world, and has the world’s largest aquarium window measuring 8.2 by 22.5 meters. I have been many times but usually without my camera as I was showing friends or relatives around the island. (The issue of being a good photographer versus a good travel companion will have to wait for a future post.) What this meant was that I didn’t have any really good images of the main tank which is a real oversight when the aquarium is one of Japan’s top tourist attractions. So a few weeks ago I went along and took some shots with my main Pentax 67II camera. I used Fuji Provia 100F film and pushed it two stops to ISO 400 as it is so dark inside. The film was processed but there was still too much motion blur in the shots from the slow shutter speeds. I ordered some faster film on-line and last week went back again and shot a second roll. This time I used Fuji Provia …

New York Times assignment

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  In early September I took photographs of the Okinawan home of Japanese theater producer Amon Miyamoto for The New York Times. It was the first time I had worked for them and both a fascinating but challenging experience. Normally when doing travel photography I am happily working at my own pace and I can wait until the conditions are perfect. On this assignment I had only a couple of hours to shoot five rolls of 220 film and get a decent selection of shots of the house’s interior, exterior and some portraits of Amon Miyamoto. The house was constructed from concrete and had a minimalist design. The photos are now online at the New York Times website you can see them here:   The New York Times – In Okinawa, Staging the View