July 15th, 2006
Just as with my photos of the Petronas Towers, I noticed that my photos of Tokyo’s Sensoji temple were not representative of a few visits I had made there. I’ve stayed in the Asakusa area and walking over to the temple with camera in hand is a great way to spend an evening. It may not be the most architecturally ornate or elegant of Japan’s temples, but the size of the gates, the iconic, five-story pagoda, and the active visitors of the temple make it a great shooting location.
July 11th, 2006
I was only able to spend a few short days in Osaka when I was travelling through Japan. It seemed, even more than Tokyo, the very definition of ‘urban.’ Many people have a vision of Japan as a futuristic, modern city that covers virtually every inch of the archipelago and if they only visited Osaka, they would be justified in believing that.
The photos I have uploaded include images of the Osaka Skyline, the Dotonbori Shopping and Entertainment District and The Umeda Sky Building. When time permits, I also have images from Osaka castle and Osaka Aquarium that I intend to process and upload as well, so stay tuned.
And as always, a few samples:
June 7th, 2006
The Online Photographer has just completed their list of the Top Ten Greatest Photographs Ever Made. Each selection features an essay detailing the rationale for the selection. Good cases can be made for each of the photos and interesting discussion already surrounds their picks.
June 5th, 2006
Photographyblog.com has a roundup of their picks for the best cameras in each consumer class that’s worth a look if your planning on doing some shopping.
The Small Object has a step-by-step guide on how to measure and cut a matte. A good do-it-yourself guide for photographers and artists.
World War I Color Photos is an interesting collection of very early colour photography. From the site: “Although color photography was around prior to 1903, the Lumière brothers, Auguste and Louis, patented the process in 1903 and developed the first color film in 1907. The French army was the primary source of color photos during the course of World War One.”
And lastly, something ridiculous: a Flickr set of squirrels with cameras. No these aren’t just run-of-the-mill photos of cute backyard rodents, these critters appear to be amateur shutterbugs.
June 2nd, 2006
Not content to have yesterday’s gorgeous weather pass me by while I stayed inside and worked all day, I was compelled to visit one of my favourite places in Ichonoseki, Japan: the shrine on top of the hill in Nakano district.
The cedar-forested hill is as peaceful as you can imagine - the only hint of movement is the slowly undulating shadows on the forest floor as the light passes through the gently swaying tree tops. At the base of the hill is a small garden where a butterfly landed on my cheek as I approached - evidently, with my fully-sprouted beard, I now resemble lichen.
Long stone steps begin at the entrance to the forest and lead up to the shrine. Less than halfway up the steps is a group of miniature stone houses where spirits undoubtedly live. A red-bibbed Jizo statue also chooses this isolated location to loiter.
The shrine itself isn’t Japan’s largest, most beautiful or most holy, but it certainly gets high ranks for peacefulness. During my whole time there yesterday, I only saw one other person willing to hike up the plentiful steps to reach a piece of privacy. I can only imagine the experience of visiting some of Kyoto’s temples in such solitude. If it was ever possible, lonely visitors to those places were lucky.
I took along my camera despite the harsh midday light. Here are my three favourite shots of the visit:
June 1st, 2006
Ryan McGinnis has some gorgeous storm chasing photos on his blog. It’s great stuff that makes me want to check the weather reports so that I might try to find something even half as pretty.
May 31st, 2006
If you’re a photographer lacking inspiration, check out some of the top sites on this list of the best photoblogs. Maybe the work of others can get you going.
And of course, if that doesn’t do the trick, there’s always my article on Breaking Shooter’s Block.
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