Our first beach Christmas (smile). They say Merry Christmas in Manly Beach … the handheld HDR way.
The trees decked for Christmas.
In Sydney they say Happy Christmas and I did find a Christmas tree.
A very Merry Christmas in the sun.
When we lived in Canada my commute was a 45 highway drive with traffic and snow.
When we lived in the UK the commute was roughly the same amount of time through a host of winding roads.
This week I am in Sydney and taking a ferry to and from work. My kind of commute. Via iPhone.
What I have not found is the energy to do is join the people on the beach at 5:00am either running, biking, playing beach volleyball or surfing as I am out the door at 620am.
However my boys were up and about early this morning for a 7am surf lesson.
Doesn’t hurt that it is 31 degrees and their summer. Very different than when I was here during their July winter.
Quite a lifestyle.
And as an aside, expect spotty blogging for the next couple weeks as I fill my camera.
iPhone isn’t half bad on a sunny day.
The Australian papers are filled with anti-gun articles after the last US gun related tragedy. It is just so sad.
President Obama has yet to step up, afraid of the well financed military industrial complex and radical NRA who’s view is that this latest tragedy simply means that more people should be armed to protect themselves; including 6 year olds and teachers.
In Australia there were 30 gun related murders in 2010 after Prime Minister Howard had the moral courage to stand up to the gun lobbies. In the US: 10,000 over the same period. Canada is similar to Australia with roughly 50 deaths. The gun registry had reduced gun related deaths by 41 percent.
This is your chance Obama. Make the US a better place or bend to the will of the military complex that Eisenhower feared so much.
This isn’t about the constitution and the right to bear arms. This is about money and senseless death.
A time for courage to do what is right.
I came across a suggestion that the Edo Open Air Architectural Museum was a worthwhile tourist destination. In retrospect, I would say it was “5/10” and better enjoyed if you can enjoy the park around the museum. It is a beautiful park.
The museum is filled with buildings from around around Japan, primarily from this century. A couple impressions; the houses have always been small and the doorways low. What Japan considers a big house is definitely different than North America. This is probably due to the fact that roughly 20% of Japan is habitable with the population crammed into 8% of the island’s landmass.
A few (non-HDR) photos. Prior to entering we grabbed lunch at the little restaurant in the park. This is Japanese “fast-food”, it was fantastic. I love Japan’s food.
The museum entrance.
It is December, and flowers are still blooming. No snow (smile).
The had moved the studio of a photographer. Outside were a number of his family portraits. This one caught my eye.
An old bus in Japan, looks like an old bus from everywhere else.
This opulent home was donated by the super wealthy Mitsui family, built in 1897. I would guess it at under 2,000 square feet.
I don’t think that I could sleep in this guest bed.
A farm house had an operating oven where they were making rice cakes. The interesting thing was that this particular house did not seem to have a ventilation system. I looked at the other old farmhouses and they had a chimney or open top to let out the smoke – it was very smoky as a roof that think isn’t letting the smoke out.
The Japanese stored their wheat off the ground to keep it dry and keep pests out. Smart.
I happened by 5 photographers with their tripods set up. They were shooting this tree.
The fall colors were in full bloom.
They also have a “street” set up with shops, and of course, a subway car.
They also moved a 1929 era public bathhouse.
I could not believe it, a cosmo in late November.
And of course, a shrine. Jisho-in Mausoleum (Otama-ya) was constructed for princess Chiyo, wife of the Owari lord Tokugawa, to hold a service for her mother Ofuri-no-kata, wife of the third shogun, Iemitsu Tokugawa (1652).
One thing I will hand to the museum, they have done a fantastic job of providing an English hand-out so that you can actually learn as you walk (which is missing in many places in Japan).
A good afternoon walk.
A flowering bush in December. In December! No snow …. –4 in Toronto today. Don’t miss the snow.
Lots of fall colors. Amazing that the HDR has zero ghosting even though I am not using a tripod. Well done Canon.
The sake barrels. The guide told me they are empty.
The downside of the HDR, look at the edges of the trees. As it takes the 3 quick photos, if the trees are moving it creates what looks like a halo.
One final barrel shot.
We headed over to Meiji shrine again this weekend as we had a friend in town. I was excited about trying out a few shots with my new found HDR method on the camera.
The first bit of luck was at the gate. I saw the volunteer tour guides and last time they had just finished for the day. This time they had time and took us on the tour and we learned a few new things about the shrine – such as the road to the shrine dips down and then back up as a sign of respect and the road turns at 88 degrees as the number 9 is bad luck.
Of course it is nice that it was not raining, 13 degrees and sunny in December? Two thumbs up.
The Tori gate. This is the 2nd one you pass through and the largest in Japan. (all photos are handheld – and in HDR – artistic vivid).
OK, not all photos. This priest was very solemn, but he said I could take his photo.
I like having a guide with us. She explained this Japanese wedding party and why this bride was wearing the head garment – to cover her “horns”. Seriously.
Two choices of headgear exist. One, the watabōshi, is a white hood; the other, called the tsunokakushi, serves to hide the bride’s ‘horns of jealousy.’ It also symbolizes the bride’s intention to become a gentle and obedient wife.
There were a few weddings going on.
We headed over to the tree, filled with wishes. I am not sure if Ja is a male or female name. If it is a woman’s name then the request below might need a lot more help as she is in serious trouble in Japan according to this article:
Asked whether they think they can marry, only 27.8 percent said they want to marry and think they will, while 35.3 percent said they don’t want to get married yet.
Of those who would like to get married, 36.9 are afraid they won’t.
At the top of the reasons for this was economic insecurity, cited by 60.8 percent, compared with 48.2 percent who said they are not popular with women. More than one answer was permissible.
A beautiful tree, back to the HDRs.
The colors with the HDR mode are amazing compared to a standard photo.
The museum at the back of the park.
The top of the Mori Tower in Tokyo has the museum, a viewing deck (of the city), a Disney exhibit and restaurants. After the museum we took a look around. It is a great view.
We looked at these apartments (Roppongi Hills) when we were trying to find an apartment in the summer. It has a wonderful gym and pool but your kids have to be 16 or older. I could not imagine saying “see you in a bit boys, heading downstairs for a workout and swim” so we moved on.
Hey, there is my apartment! Up and to the left, or is it the right and down?
I almost never get into the pictures. As it was just Narda and I, a photo was taken.
The tower from a different angle.
They make plastic food of everything. At least you know what you are ordering.
If you happen to be in Tokyo, I would put the Mori Tower on the list.
I had the good fortune to sit through Mr. Toyoda, CEO of Toyota, Marc Benioff, CEO of Salesforce.com and Colin Powell speaking about the economy, business and leadership last week at Cloudforce Tokyo.
My favourite comment was from Colin Powell on failure – roughly paraphrased:
Failure is a part of life, you will fail. So learn to accept it and work through it:
1. Accept it is your failure. Don’t blame others.
2. Fix it
3. Then shake it .. move on. Too many people hold onto that failure, cannot deal with it. Never linger on the failure. You do not drive looking in the rear view mirror. You look aheadAt a school, a young girl stood up and asked a question. She asked do you fail? He responded yes. It is part of life. You might fail a test. Do bad on a paper. Accept it. Learn from it. Grow and then throw the failure away. Move forward.
Wise words.
I have been “playing” around with the HDR on my 5D Mark III. I definitely do not like the embossed setting, but the “natural”, “vivid” and “artistic” settings are interesting. I am torn between “vivid” and “bold”. All were taken with a 2 second delay (to avoid shaking), resting on a railing (I really need to replace my tripod). I did not mirror-lock.
HDR natural. It looks a little washed out.
Artistic standard.
Artistic vivid
Artistic bold
A new set. HDR natural …
Artistic standard
Artistic vivid
And last, bold. I don’t like the bold.
It definitely gives some cool effects, without the protracted editing phase. I figured out how to turn off the setting which keeps all of the originals (as it shoots 3 shots) which were filling my camera quickly.
A few more. The sunrise.
The sunrise clouds ….
The pink in the clouds is from the sunset behind me.
One more test, of Roppongi Hills and the Mori Tower (I deleted the embossed). I like the 2nd photo the best but I did not record the setting (smile).
We have come a long way on the camera front. Now if they would just build in the GPS ….
Is the Tokyo Tower. Merry Christmas – and I didn’t even need to decorate it.
It is very important to take care of your bike. In Japan, you invest in pri-ride maintenance (smile).
And of course, it is better to be on your bike than hanging out with the ….
Those labbits. Ask an Australian, they know what a bad influence they are.
I have been playing with the HDR settings on my Canon (in handheld mode). You can read about it here. You can see a few samples below. It warrants more exploration.
A few weekends ago I was reading through the Japan Times and found a write-up on the controversial exhibit at the Mori Art Museum at the top of my office building, the Mori Tower.
It so happened that the boys were on a school trip and I took a few days off to explore with Narda, so we put the exhibit of Makto Aida on our list and headed over for a Monday afternoon viewing. I love the entrance.
This ends the photos as it is a museum, and photography is not allowed. I will admit that I was drawn to Aida’s work due to the write-up which suggested he was unique, contentious and an adventurer. His work spanned traditional pieces such as his Roman bust charcoal that is breathtaking and “traditional” – it must have been 10’ high and was a testament to his underlying skill as an artist – significant.
For the art explorer, you will not be disappointed by the breadth of art – using all kinds of mediums – video, photographs, repurposed newspaper and brochures and on and on. It was fun to explore and of course I loved his rather twisted pieces such as the salary man mountain (read about it in the article). I thoroughly enjoyed 95% of the exhibit and enjoyed his talent, even though I found the room by room narrative where he explained his “motivations/inspirations” filled with the usual artist pretentiousness.
But I was also disappointed. In the “you must be 18” area it is filled with rather disturbing images, the worst being a pornographic, intensely offensive, graphic and perverse anti-American manga around WWII, Okinawa and rape.
I get the shock factor and testing the limits, but some things just do not need to be displayed and “in the name of my art” has limits. This Canadian left disgusted and of the opinion that Aida should be ashamed of himself.
I have the good fortune to have a nice view of Tokyo from our apartment and from my office. A few photos from the office in the Mori Tower, Roppongi.
Looking toward Mt. Fuji at different times of the day. I am glad I do not have an office with a window, as I would find it hard to not stare out the window for hours on end (Fuji-san is the bump on the left overlooking the city)
Or in this case, the “bump” in the middle.
The lights went up around Tokyo right after Halloween. Nice to see the lights .. with no snow.
Around Roppongi, they have covered many branches …
The close up of what it takes to light a tree. A lot of lights.
The day after our son’s birthday we start to put up the Christmas lights. I remembered a few photos I took a while back of the lights that I was untangling and weaving through the bannister.
I have started to build my Spotify Christmas lists. Last look, 583 songs that play for over a day …
Michael Weening: a few pictures 