Okinawan women not only have the longest life expectancy in the world, but the extra years are usually healthy, happy and productive. The reason is more nurture than nature, so eat your veggies, get some exercise, cherish your friendships, and remember to smile.
One of the great things about the new 90mm lens for the 645D is that it can focus very close to the subject. Although not a 1:1 macro, it does allow you to get some great detail shots with what has become my standard walk-around lens.
Shawn Miller and I went out to Yanbaru very early this morning for a birdwatching tour with birder and wildlife artist Ichiro Kikuta. Ichiro has just started offering guided birding tours, either 2-hour dawn tours from 6AM to 8AM, or all-day tours. He can speak some English, is very personable, and has a huge wealth of knowledge about Okinawan wildlife. Shawn and I specifically wanted to see the Noguchi-gera, the rare woodpecker that is endemic to the subtropical forests of northern Okinawa. Ichiro knew where a pair of the woodpeckers were feeding their chicks, and guided us to the nest. We spent a couple of hours photographing this particular bird, while Ichiro identified other species of birds we spotted or heard. Ichiro can be contacted by phone at 090 6867 3160 or email at kikuta-ichiro@mbp.nifty.com 2-hour dawn tours are ¥6,000 per person. All-day tours for one to four people are ¥¥18,000 (1p) ¥24,000 (2p) ¥30,000 (3p) ¥36,000 (4p).
I’ve been to Fushimi Inari Taisha in south east Kyoto several times. I took one of my most popular images there, a simple geometric photograph of the orange torii gates winding up the mountain. On my recent trip I wanted to get some new images, this time showing a Japanese person visiting the shrine. Of course I could just photograph tourists milling around, but I decided to be a little more proactive. I met up with model Mari and photographer Keith at Kyoto Station, and we took the local train to Fushimi Inari. It was fortunate I wasn’t even attempting a shot similar to the one I’d taken before because the shrine was packed with people. Luckily we could find gaps in the crowds to get some decent images. The image stabilization function on the new 90mm lens added an extra bit of stability which was useful, and the wide aperture gave a nice limited depth of field in the portraits. Fushimi Inari shrine is dedicated to a fox god so there are numerous fox statues, …
Here’s a quick update to a previous blog post on field guides to Japanese birds. Along with the two books previously mentioned, is a new volume by Mark Brazil (who turns out to be a friend of a friend). A Photographic Guide to the Birds of Japan and North-East Asia by Tadao Shimba. Colour photography throughout , covers over 600 species with a brief description of each bird including its geographic range. The photographs range in quality but still give you a good idea of what the birds look like. One problem I noticed is that the book has the English and scientific names 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 …
Cape Zanpa (also spelt, or arguably misspelt, Cape Zampa) at dusk. This was the first time out shooting with a new shift setup for the 645D. I used a Pentax 67 45mm lens with a Zörk ProSA-P67 adapter. This adapter not only allows you to use 67 lenses on the 645 camera but also allows you to raise or lower the lens to correct converging verticals when shooting landscapes or architecture. More details and images should follow over the next few weeks.
69 year old Matsubayshi-ryu Hanshi 10th dan Toshimitsu Arakaki. And as a final treat Hanshi 10th dan Toshimitsu Arakaki training with Hanshi 10th dan Yoshitaka Taira
While in Tokyo, I saw an Ultimate Fighting Championship event at the Saitama Super Arena. Ultimate Fighting is a mixed martial arts competition where fighters can win by knockout, tap out, or points. The fighters come from a range of disciplines including striking styles such as boxing, karate and kickboxing along with submission styles that include aikido, judo, and wrestling. Fighters compete within their own weight class, but fighters of one style can be paired against any other style. This means you get matches between boxers that want to keep their distance and use punching power against submission fighters that want to take the fight to the mat and bend limbs in the wrong direction until their opponent taps out. The bouts take place in a octagon with wire walls rather than ropes. You definitely get the feeling you’re watching something not far removed from gladiatorial combat. The stadium atmosphere, however, was more friendly and reverential than bloodthirsty. The Japanese audience clapped and cheered for fighters from all countries, the greatest cheers were for combatants …
Even in Über-safe Japan it seems that some stores are worried about their sneakers taking a walk from the outdoor displays.
Now that I’m back from Yonaguni and Tokyo I can start organizing the coming workshops. Please click on the links to see more details about each class. I’ve put in two Photography 101 workshops in April so that people who aren’t yet comfortable with their digital SLR can master the basics before taking part in the Light Painting Workshop. I’ve also had requests for another Off Camera Flash course, hopefully this will happen later in the summer. April 14/15 – Photography 101 Weekend Workshop with Chris Willson US$250 April 28/29 – Photography 101 Weekend Workshop with Chris Willson US$250 May 3 – Going Retro Mini Workshop with Trevor Williams and Chris Willson US$50 May 4/5 – Light Painting Workshop with Trevor Williams and Chris Willson US$150 To reserve a place send an email to chris@travel67.com (please write WORKSHOP on the subject line) Please state the name and date of the workshop you wish to book. I’ll send a paypal request for the course fee. Once payment is made your place on the course is confirmed.
TRAVEL 67 : Chris Willson Photography 