One the most famous shrines in Kyoto, Yasaka is incredible in the daytime, but beautiful at night. By evening the lanterns were lit, the weather had cooled down and the shrine was covered in tourists and street vendors who were allowed to open up shop right on the premises. It made for some fantastic evening shopping. Most of our souvenir hunting was done right here.
Wednesday, January 10, 2007
Higashi Honganji Temple
Outside of Tokyo this particular shrine was alot more immense then we were let on to. After strolling the multileveled shrine we realized we had completely left the area we were exploring and already deep into a whole new neighborhood. One of the experiences we enjoyed in Japan was the freedom we had to explore and "get lost" without fear of actualyl getting lost. Once we had figured out how to interpret the rail system and schedule we could easily scour the countryside at our leisure. On most trips abroad we were always bound by bus schedules, excursion schedules, hotel switches, etc. But here we left the hotel EARLY in the morning and explored until evening had well set in thoroughly engrossing ourselves in the culture.
Tori Gates Inari Shrine
Tori gates are very common with the multitude of shrines in Japan, but I think none rival those of the Inari Shrine. Bright red laquered gates are kept up on a daily basis to ensure that they are always clean. This particular shrine might seem familiar to some people as I beleive it was a location shoot for a couple of big Hollywood films.
Field Trip
Japan is one gigantic photo opportunity waiting to happen. I completely love shooting normal day life and the abstract of the countries we visit. While in Kyoto we hiked about 15 miles one day through the city to the more suburban areas just to capture such moments. In other cities it might be dangerous since we couldn't really read the language (most was writen in Kanji), but here we were able to walk unmolested and without fear of getting lost. People were always willing to help, especially the younger generation who knew quite good English.
Conveyor Belt Sushi!
We thoroughly enjoyed the cuisine of Japan. While most people are familiar with Americanized versions of Japanese food (think Kobe or Benihana steakhouses) the old capital of Kyoto offered superior offerings of the local cuisine. Although we spent a week in cities across Japan at that point it wasn't until we got to Kyoto we were able to have sushi. We enjoy sushi, but this was a whole new experience. At the Kyoto train station we fell in love with sushi on a conveyor belt. Packed with locals we were the only gaijins there the three or four days we visited. We couldn't get enough of this. In fact, we actually became regulars and the wait staff knew who were as soon as we walked in and knew our drink orders before we sat down! Biros! Funny how once you actually try to learn and use the language and customs how the Japanese warm up to you. Oyesumi nasai!
Hakone Boat Cruise
In the small town of Hakone we were trying to make a two day stay to see Moutn Fuji, but unfortunately a typhoon had made it's way to the Land of the Rising Sun. While we only caught a hint of Mount Fuji through the fog we were able to salvage our rain soaked hike of the mountain by waking up early the next morning to capture some interesting sights of the empty town - no tourists!
Canon A70.
Canon A70.
Imperial Gardens Waterfall
Set up on a tripod at the Imperial Gardens to catch this motion blur. I forgot how mild the fall and winters are in the Far East.
Canon A70.
Canon A70.
Shibuya Kabuki
Taken outside of Tokyo in Shibuya. Performers dressed as kabuki advertise one of the kabuki shows coming up soon. We were able to catch one act of the show in one of older theaters. Very pricey so we got a bird's eye view in the nosebleed section.
Shot with a Canon A70.
Shot with a Canon A70.
Monday, December 11, 2006
I've found new love for black and white photography. I had done plenty of it in 35mm, but because of inaccesibilty to a darkroom and lab I tried my hand at color more then ever. With the advent of digital potography i took it for granted that I could easily convert over to grayscale in photoshop. Photo credit to Eleanor Ruiz Pineda. Shot with a Nikon 8700 and later effects added by me in Photoshop CS. December 2006.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Jazz on Savannah's River Street
Originally shot for a conceptual poster for the Savannah Jazz Festival and later made into a tee shirt design. This one was also shot using my Pentax k1000 35mm.
Bonaventure Cemetery Guardian
Shot near my home in Savannah, Georgia, the now famous Bonaventure Cemetery of Midnight in the Garden of Good and Evil fame during a winter where it actually snowed in Savannah.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
Forsyth Park / Savannah, Georgia
I've always loved black and white photography. I've also always loved night photography. Set up on a tripod using the manual shutterspeed with my Pentax k1000 35mm. It took a few tries, but I finally managed a great shot.
Over the years Eleanor and I have taken quite a few trips both domestically and abroad. During these trips we always try to capture these moments by dedicating a great bit to photography. I love photography.
Ever since I was a preteen I had always been fond of taking photos of friends, family and events. It was only natural for me to continue exploring my passion for it through high school, college and then my career.
Our home is LOADED with images caught with either my Pentax k1000 35mm, Canon A70 or Nikon 8700. We're running out of room on our walls. What are we gonna do with all these other photos that never made it up?
A coworker of mine recently went to Charleston and Savannah to tour and we got to talking about my love for both of these places. Charleston is where I grew up and first got my taste for design and photography. Savannah is where I resided for a few years to earn my design degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design. We got to talking about photography and I offered up one of my favorite photos from there and she came up witht hebrilliant idea of...
...posting a photoblog of my best stuff. Why didn't I think of that??? So the gauntlet has been thrown down. Will I maintain this blog along with my other blog That Design Guy? We'll see.
What do I do with another blog besides posting some of my best photos? I've entertained the idea of possibly selling my work online or physically to interested parties. Will it take off? I don't know, but it'll be worthwhile to try...
So here it is. Check it out. Let me know what you think. Thanks for the interest.
Ever since I was a preteen I had always been fond of taking photos of friends, family and events. It was only natural for me to continue exploring my passion for it through high school, college and then my career.
Our home is LOADED with images caught with either my Pentax k1000 35mm, Canon A70 or Nikon 8700. We're running out of room on our walls. What are we gonna do with all these other photos that never made it up?
A coworker of mine recently went to Charleston and Savannah to tour and we got to talking about my love for both of these places. Charleston is where I grew up and first got my taste for design and photography. Savannah is where I resided for a few years to earn my design degree at the Savannah College of Art and Design. We got to talking about photography and I offered up one of my favorite photos from there and she came up witht hebrilliant idea of...
...posting a photoblog of my best stuff. Why didn't I think of that??? So the gauntlet has been thrown down. Will I maintain this blog along with my other blog That Design Guy? We'll see.
What do I do with another blog besides posting some of my best photos? I've entertained the idea of possibly selling my work online or physically to interested parties. Will it take off? I don't know, but it'll be worthwhile to try...
So here it is. Check it out. Let me know what you think. Thanks for the interest.
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