Thursday, June 30, 2016

Animated Image -- Bailing Out a Sabani

sailboats,swimmer,3 girls, capsized boat, islands, ocean

Seas Were a Bit Rough

 

 

We're still sorting out and selecting photos from the 2016 Zamami Island Sabani Race.

Six images were used in creating this animation, to show what happens after a capsize.

Of course, everybody and, everything falls out into the ocean.

The mast and sail, have to be removed, in order to upright the boat.

One gal, bails furiously with a bucket, while the other two, steady the craft.

The guy, swimming is catching gear which has gone astray.

Once, the yellow bucket, got away and, the gal used a straw hat to bail out the water.

Another thing, I witnessed, was somebody's iPhone floating in the ocean.

It was safely bouncing around in the sea, wrapped up in a zip-lock bag.

Good idea. Huh ?

The capsize happened, about half an hour, from the start of the sailing sabani race.

Once enough water was bailed out, the rest of the team, got aboard and started paddling.

In another four and a half hours, the team reached the island of Okinawa.

Bouncing around with a hangover and heavy cameras, got me thinking.

"This is torture. Don't ever drink again.  Until after the sun goes down."

So, that's exactly what I did.

Wednesday, June 29, 2016

This Beats Sleepin' on a Street !

Guest House CamCam,Naha, Okinawa, entrance

Budget Accommodations in a Big City

 

 

Upon our return to Naha, the capital of Okinawa, we would  be spending the night.

At 6PM an awards ceremony was scheduled for the sailing sabani teams.

Plenty of alcoholic beverages are normally consumed at these type of events.

And, nobody would even think about driving home, under those circumstances.

So, we checked into this establishment. The price was unbelievably reasonable.

I paid my twelve bucks then,  picked up my backpack and camera bag.

The gal at the front desk said, "Follow me, I'll show you to your room."


Capsule Hotel, rabbit hutch, ladder, wood, futon, pillow

It's Like a Rabbit Hutch


The contents of my second story wooden cage, didn't take long to inventory. 

Climb up the ladder and, wiggle yourself inside. Glad, I wasn't drinking, yet.

There's a futon, blanket, pillow, electric outlet and a maybe, 5 watt light-bulb. 

Down the hallway, there's room to store luggage and the shower facilities.

They even have coin laundry machines for, those who wash stuff on vacations.

The first thing, I did after showering was plug my dead smartphone in to get charged.

Then, we all went to about three drinking parties, lasting until the wee hours of morning.

I don't recall, climbing that ladder the second time, I went in there.

Maybe, someone lifted me up or, I floated into my room.

It was air-conditioned and comfortably cool so, I slept well. Maybe, even snored.



Monday Morning Arrived 


My luggage, was exactly where I dropped it and, nothing was missing.

By now, the phone was charged and, I snapped the two photos before, heading home.

Knowing, lots of people, will be asking me, where this place is located, I did a review.


This establishment, will get another visit from me, with a real camera, someday.

In Japan, it would be called a Capsule Hotel; I call it a rabbit house !

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

10 Photos: JUN 2016 Sailing Sabani Event Zamami Island Okinawa

sabani boat, team, uniforms, beach, blue skies

A Quick Rundown

 

 

The afternoon prior to the sailing sabani race (Saturday) teams form up at Furuzamami Beach.


beach cleanup, boats, ocean, mountains, sky, sabani teams

Before any boat race, participating members conduct at thorough beach cleanup. 


sailboats, sabani, teams, ocean, sky, beach

 From Zamami Island, they will race to Tomarin Port in Naha, Okinawa.

Aboard an escort (safety) boat, I am the cameraman for the boat with the red sail.


multi-colored sails, sabani boats, mountain, sky, beach, ocean

 Every team and their boats, deserve to have photos taken so, I give it a try.

Once they start paddling and sailing, they will be spread out for miles.


sailing sabani, rock uotcropping, ocean, sky, safety boat

The teams get a good workout for their arms, stroking those paddles.


sailboats, rock outcroppings, sea, sky

A photographer, gets a great workout, bouncing around on his legs.

A tripod, would be useless, on a rocking and rolling fishing boat, out at sea.


sabani boats, sails, paddles, teams

The skies, following us, turned from blue to grey and, the wind picked up.


capsized sabani boat, team in deep ocean, rough seas

Just take your eyes and camera, off the team and, look what happened.

Some evil mother trucker, in the deep seas, capsized their boat !


uprighted boat, bailing water, removing the sail, team in water

Those guys and gals, don't need to be rescued by anyone; they're professionals.

Still, I worry about them. we're drinking buddies. What about sharks !!!


Number 18, sabani, sailing, paddling

These sabani people are bound and determined, to complete the race,  back to Naha.

Five hours and ten minutes, from Zamami to Okinawa, they arrived safely.

And, we all got hot showers so, we could go drinking again !

Rough seas and a few thunderstorms along the way, didn't stop any sabani team.

Hopefully, I'll be out there (calm seas please) again next year.

Hats off to team Ichimanmagi and, all the sailing sabani racers.

Special thanks, go to Miss Miyagi, who arranged my trip and transportation back home.

Sunday, June 26, 2016

Travel Photo: Maririn the Dog

dog, statue, sky, clouds

Home from Zamami Island

 

 

This adventure began Friday morning and, I just got home today, sort of.

Thousands of photos,  taken over the weekend  will be processed during the next few days. 

This is the only one, I'll post here for now.  More may be seen on Facebook.

If you haven't heard about the statue of this famous dog, look here

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 15-30 at 30MM

Exposure: f/11   1/160   ISO 100

Location: Zamami Island, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  JUN 25  2016  10:44AM

Thursday, June 23, 2016

Animated GIF: Chopper in Blue Skies

Helicoptes, tandem rotors, camouflage, in-flight

Unidentified Flying Helicopter

 

 

Usually, I go and research things photographed, after a day of shooting.

This bird looks similar, to some, I've been hauled around in but, I can't name it.

So, we'll leave that part up to the aerial stuff experts.

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Sigma 50-500 with 1.4 converter for focal length of 700MM

Exposure:  f/11   1/400   ISO 100

Location:  Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  JUN 19  2016  5:20PM 


The photos used to create this GIF were taken while waiting for the moon to rise

Busy, packing bags for a trip to Zamami Island, I'll be going offline, for awhile. 

If, there's no blog post tomorrow, it just means, I'm having too much fun.

Er, I forgot to put a laptop in my backpack !

Wednesday, June 22, 2016

Sumo Wrester's Feet: Wordless Wednesday JUN 22 2016

uniforms, legs, feet Okinawa Sumo, wrestlers, sand


Related Post: Young Sumo Wrestlers

Tuesday, June 21, 2016

JUN 21 2016 Full Moon Images

Full Moon, 8:10PM

It took awhile for the moon to make an appearance because of low flying clouds.

When it finally cleared them, it was a brilliant orange color.

This photo was taken at 8:10PM.


full moon, JUN 21 2016 at 8:19PM

A little higher in the sky at 8:19PM, this shot was taken.

The image was cropped a bit differently but, notice the change in colors.

Both images were taken using the same specifications.

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 300MM with 1.4 converter -- Focal length 420MM

Exposure:  f/16  1/5sec  ISO 100

Location:  Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Monday, June 20, 2016

JUN 2016 Full Moon on the Longest Day of the Year

Summer Solstice, Full Moon

Some Call It a Honey Moon

 

 

They say, the humidity makes the moon a honey color during this time of year.

The source, I like best is the Old Farmer's Almanac but, I check a few others, too.

 I heard, the full moon occurring on the Summer Solstice, hasn't happened since 1948.

That was 68 years ago, according to my birth certificate so, I didn't want to miss this one.


western sky, clouds, sunset, gif

 Off to the east, I could tell I'd be waiting over an hour for the moon to appear.

So, I set the tripod and camera, pointing towards a hill, off to the west.

The images in this GIF, were taken between 6:57 and 7:07PM.

The dark clouds were moving from south to north and, they were blocking the sun.


Egg Rock, eggu ishi,reflection, moon, ocean, Kin Town

That's a sort of special rock, the moon was reflecting on, in the bottom of this photo.

It got named Eggu Ishi (Egg Rock) way back when Commodore Perry was over here.

One of these days, I'll be writing a folktale about the rock formation.

Meanwhile, I've taken a hundred or so, pictures of the rock from different locations.

This was a fun photo, to compose but, some power-lines, had to be removed from the scene.


full moon, left scene, JUN 2016

By 7:54PM the moon was high enough above the clouds for this shot.


JUN 2016 Full Moon

 Out of the tower and, back at my office, I swapped lenses.

The Sigma 50-500 was put away and a Pentax 300MM was used for this image.

Adding a 1.4 converter, the shot was made at a focal length of 420MM.


The next time, the full moon happens on Summer Solstice won't be until  the year 2062.

Hopefully, you enjoyed these photos because, I plan on sleeping-in, for the next one !

Sunday, June 19, 2016

Shots Taken While Waiting for the June Full Moon

full moon, JUN 2016

Not 100 Percent Yet

 

 

Technically, the full moon is scheduled to appear tomorrow night.

Living on a tropical island, it's best to shoot it whenever you can.

There's no telling, when some rain squalls might come along and, ruin a night's fun.


Using the Sigma Bigma

 

That's a nickname for the Sigma 50-500 zoom lens, I used on the Pentax K1.

Coupled with a 1.4 converter, it became a 70-700MM lens.

The moon hadn't appeared over the horizon and lower marine layer of clouds.

After standing in an observation tower for awhile, I wanted to start shooting.


bridge, boat. islands, sea, sky,gif

A boat, sailing by the Ikei Island bridge, caught my eye.

So, I figured it would make a colorful animated GIF and, shot several frames of the action.


blue sky, white clouds

 Next, I turned around, facing north and, decided to take photos of some clouds.


sky, blue, clouds, white

 The sky, was a rich blue, most of the day. My kind of weather.

white clouds, blue sky

Some people, see things in the shapes of clouds. Not me. My imagination ran away.

Name this cloud and, I can email you a better copy of it.


powerline, bird, perched, gif


 Way before the moon made an appearance, this bird showed up.

Later, I will look back through my files and, get its scientific name, which I can't recall.

After a few hours, in that tower, I may have gotten 15 photos of the, almost full moon.

And, 200 more photos, of stuff, I shot to keep from getting bored !

Saturday, June 18, 2016

Looking at Ikei Island Bridge from Kin Town

bridge, Miyagi Island, Ikei Island, Okinawa, ocean,sky

Waiting for Moon Rise

 

 

One of my favorite spots for photographing the full moon is a tower in Kin Town.

It's always a good idea, to get out and practice a little bit early.

The walk to this observation point only takes about 10 minutes and, I needed some sunshine.

A Gitzo tripod, Pentax K1 and 300MM lens with a 1.4 converter, were used for this shot.


stairs, observation tower, grass, sky, Kin Town

One of the features, I really like about the new Pentax, is the GPS function.

It puts the location, you're shooting from, into Geo-tags on each photo.

That could be confusing, to some people if, they're looking for that bridge.

Latitude: 26.27.174480

Longitude: 127.55.21.92

Those are the coordinates, embedded in the properties of the bridge image.

But, I'm a few miles away from that bridge, using 420MM of lens, to capture it.

Someone, trying to find out the location of this tower, should use those coordinates.

To locate the Ikei Island bridge, it would be better, to find an image, taken with a shorter lens.

There's one, I shot from, much closer, over HERE.

Friday, June 17, 2016

Travel Photo: An Animated Palm Tree in the Breeze

ocean, island, plam tree, motion gif

Senagajima Today

 

 

It's official; rainy season has ended and, Okinawa got blazing hot sunshine.

So, a trip was made to Senaga Island and, I shot a picture to show you.

Several but, the six used to create this GIF, is all I'll be posting for tonight. 

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 15-30 at 27MM

Exposure:  f/11   1/160   ISO 100

Location:  Senagajima, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time: JUN 17  2016  1:13PM

Thursday, June 16, 2016

Packing to Travel Light Takes Practice

sleeping bag, backpack,clipboards, model releases

12 Photos from First Rehearsal

 

 

Today, I decided to start about a week early, getting organized for this trip.

It's an annual event, I've been doing for the past few years, where, I go off island.



bug spray, medicines, socks, tuna, tissues, backpack


 First, the contents stored in the pack, had to be taken out and examined.

There are lots of things,  that will be unnecessary for this journey aboard a boat in June.

Woolen socks, insect repellent and, a can of tuna fish shouldn't be needed.

toothpaste, brush, washcloth, soap, lens cleaner, pack

Getting rid of all the unneeded junk, would lighten up the load, I'd be carrying.

A little bit at a time, I started making room for more important stuff, to pack away.


backpack, Pentax K1, K3, 15-30MM lens, 18-255MM lens,300MM lens

The sailing sabani boat races, I'm attending, will be out in the ocean.

So, all the cameras and lenses, stand a good chance of, getting wet.

The two cameras (above) are the Pentax K1 and K3, I'll be using a 300MM lens, at sea.

For closer up shots, the Pentax 18-250 and 15-30MM will come in handy.


pack, cameras, lenses, chargers, USB for smartphone, clothing


 Battery chargers and a USB wire for the smartphone are important things to carry.

Two changes of clothes and some plastic bags, I'll bring for sweaty laundry.

In case, I get stuck, washing my clothes with body soap, I brought along some clothesline.

Don't giggle at my underwear. Somebody else, buys and folds it Not me.


cameras, clothes, Rolaids, Aspirin


 When all this, thinking about packing, started to get on my nerves, I remembered something.

Get the Aspirins and Rolaids ready, to stuff in the backpack. Just in case.


clothing, cameras, medicines, camera straps

 Some additions (above) were, a spare belt and camera straps.

Normally, I wouldn't use straps, on the camera but, this time they may, come in handy.

Bouncing around on a fishing boat, shooting a camera, can be dangerous.

So, I might rig up a contraption, to keep me from falling overboard.


cameras, clothes, pack,accessories,polarizing lens filter


A circular polarizing filter, was added, in case, I'm shooting on a bright sunny day.

Certain times of the day, there's a horrible glare, off the ocean, to be dealt with.

With that thing, mounted on the end of a lens, glare can be eliminated.


laptop power supply, bag packed

As things started, getting stuffed in the backpack, more things were thought of.

Like a Mickey Mouse towel and the laptop power supply. Important stuff.



Sony laptop,mouse, pad, surge protector

A laptop and gadgets, plus a surge protector, almost complete the required load.

Then, I remembered to throw in a USB wire for the Android.


backpack, jacket, camera bag

Add, a light weight windbreaker jacket and the pack is getting full.

The Lowepro camera bag which, is hardly ever used, got called into action.

That's because, the cameras, aren't in the backpack, yet and it's getting full.


camera bag, backpack sign

The two hours, spent on this exercise, wasn't a total waste of time.

It just taught me, it will take more practice at packing things for the trip.

Just for the heck of it, I reduced the images down, to make a 20 second video:







Wednesday, June 15, 2016

JUN 15 2016 Koregusu for Wordless Wednesday

Capscium annuum L, peppers, Koregusu, Okinawa




Tuesday, June 14, 2016

Rant: About Mongooses

animals, meerkats, captivity, zoo

Meerkats in a Zoo

 

 

These rascals were spotted in a cage at the zoo and, are probably treated alright.

I'm not too thrilled, about seeing any wildlife held captive.

But, sometimes if, it's to preserve a species from going extinct, that's sort of OK.

Animal experts, can teach youngsters about the critters and, know how to care for them.


meerkat, captive, pet store, glass cage

An alert reader contacted me today and, gave me this photo.

This meerkat is in a glass cage at a pet store and, it's for sale.

Unlike its furry friends pictured above, it probably, doesn't have a trained caretaker.

What will surely happen is, it will be bought by someone as an exotic pet.

And, when the cuteness (kawaii) wears off, you can guess where it will go.



Now for the Rant

 

Early in the last Century seventeen mongooses were brought to Okinawa.

The population, increased to somewhere around 30,000 and these critters are destructive !

The brilliant scientists, who brought them here, thought they knew what they were doing.

One jackass professor's name, was pointed out on an earlier blog

A little research was done, to learn more about the meerkat.

I learned that meerkats come from the mongoose family, over at Live Science .

They have more about these pretty colored mongooses at Meerkat Network, too.

If, you don't trust those sources, checkout National Geographic.

Okinawa has enough problems with mongooses, already.

Do You Think They Should Be Allowed to Sell Meerkats in Pet Stores ?

Monday, June 13, 2016

A GIF Created from Cell-Phone Images

Garlic Steak, fries, onions, cooking, chef

Unexpected Lunch Today

 

 

The cameras were left behind because, I had to do some banking business.

Just for the heck of it, I wore a fancy shirt that I had hanging around the office.

Before long, the banking stuff was done and, it was time to start thinking about food.

From Kin Town the Map It Okinawa dude and I, headed to Ishikawa.

No food joints, down there, turned me on so, we went to Onna-son.

Then, headed north, looking for someplace to eat on a rainy Monday.

We decided to stop in here and, sample the Garlic Steaks.

250 grams of meat, fries, onions, soup, salad and rice or toasted bread come with the meal.

All that comes to a grand total of about 15 bucks.

The chef, was kind enough, to let me shoot, while he was cooking my steak.



 The beef, around here, isn't quite as tender as American steaks would be.

But, when it's sizzled with all that garlic, is as yummy as you can get.


Back in the Office


The first thing I did, was get the fancy shirt off my back, to let the raindrops dry.

Then, went to research the place, we had been to for lunch.

It seems to have a few different names so, I'll give map links, to both of them.

Over on TripAdvisor it's called Michi no Eki Food Court.

On Google Maps 道の駅 許田 would be the best way to find the place.


Now, I have to hurry and get on out of here because, unexpected stuff kept happening today.

When, we left that restaurant the next stop was a travel information office.

And, some gal wanted to pose with me, I guess because, she liked my shirt.

What was I supposed to do.  Refuse ?



Later in the Day 


A message came in, saying there's a surprise birthday party going on tonight.

Mr. Map It Okinawa and a few of us got the word from a gal, we like to drink with.

So, it's time for me, to shake the wrinkles out of my special shirt and, get on outta here.




Sunday, June 12, 2016

Just a Couple of Gents (GIF) Eating Noodles

elderly men, Okinawa soba noodles,restaurant, tatami mats

Last Stop at the Folklore Museum

 

 

Off to the left of these guys eating, is a collection of Zippo lighters in glass cases.

Entering the tatami room, I left my flip-flops outside the door and, excused myself.

A waitress, had just brought the two steaming bowls of Okinawa soba, to serve the men.

It's a pretty small dining area and, I had to step back to let the girl pass by me.

She asked if I wanted to place an order bit, I really wasn't hungry.

Speaking Japanese, I asked if it was alright, to take photos of the display.

The old fellows, didn't appear too happy, seeing a foreigner in the place.

But, seeing, I was being polite, respectful and, talking their language, must have helped.

Going back outside, I figured, "What the heck maybe, I'll get a photo of them eating."

They agreed, to let me shoot and, started flipping peace signs.

Then, I asked them, to just at natural and, go on eating the soba.

Click, click, click six times and, I thanked them while going back out the door.

A series of six images, were used, to create this animated GIF.


Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 15-30 at 30MM

Exposure:  f/5  1/250   ISO 800

 Location: さわのや 名護店 Nago City, Okinawa, Japan 

Date and Time:  JUN 10 2016  12:14PM