Wordless Wednesday: Silly Sign - Speedo Down

Wordless Wednesday: Handy Artwork Discovered Today

Compliments: Okinawa Prefectural Archives

Miyagi Island Never Disappoints -- Just Remain Flexible

An Unexpected Discovery

 

 

Searching for works of art, wasn't in the plan for today but, look at what I found.

The reason we went out to that island, was to find a castle, we had never heard of before.

Map It Okinawa dude and, I love finding new, off-the-wall places, to tell you about.

We got real close to the castle today but, decided to postpone the excursion.

The next time we go castle hunting, we'll be better prepared and, getterdun.

Nobody warned us about, needing machetes, boots, jeans, snake and bug repellent, to get there.

Thunderstorms and hunger, came along while we were out exploring.

It's a good thing this artwork was spotted and a photo taken, earlier in the day.

A sign, posted nearby gave me some information about the masterpiece.

The work was done by an artist named Yasuto Hibi and, here's what it represents:

"Wood aiming to be a gigantic tree."

Is that cool or what ?

Couple of Vegetables I Met Hanging Around Yesterday

They were Outside a Tent at a Festival

 

 

Someone had a produce stand near the entrance to the Azalea Festival.

They placed these two nudies out in the corner, to sort of, attract customers, I guess.

Vegetable artists like this are far and few between in this part of the country.

If, they'd make it an Olympic event, I bet lots of people would tryout for it.

That doesn't seem as dangerous or as boring as watching bobsleds, going down hills.

These characters, are known as daikon (giant radishes) in Japan.

Can you tell which one's supposed to be the female ?

To show appreciation for this fine art, I had to make sure the subjects got proper exposure.

Without further ado:

Camera:  Pentax K3

Lens:  Pentax 18-250 at 42MM

Exposure:  f/11   1/200   ISO 100

Location:  Taira Okinawa Japan

Date and Time:   MAR 18  2016  10AM

Hay Man -- What Do You Know About Scarecrows ?

Spotted in Northern Okinawa

 

 

Scarecrows are really works of art and, you could become a scarecrow artist.

This one, caught my eye and, I just had to snap a quick photo of it.

Crows aren't really the dumbest birds on the planet so, this probably doesn't scare them.

But, it's an interesting subject so, I Googled it.

Camera: Pentax K3

Lens:  Pentax 18-250 at 39MM

Exposure:  f/11   1/15   ISO 100

Location: Sukunabaru, Okinawa, Japan

Latitude: 26.5733

Longitude: 128.1222

Date and Time: JAN 14 2016  1:07PM

A gal named Patti Wigington can tell you the history of scarecrows.

She's like an expert on Paganism and Wicca at About.com for your information.

Children and drunks, could throw rocks and, do a better job at scaring birds than statues.

Communists are using the things on the Russian/China border for guard duty.  Hah !

At the Telegraph UK, they say some gal put a smoking scarecrow in children's books.

Some parents and teachers got all riled-up over that, wouldn't ya know.

Read about the lives and times of scarecrows at Modern Farmer if, you like.

Over at Rocket News they have the most realistic scarecrows, you'll ever find.

And, learn how to make your own scarecrow, cheaply at The Queso.

From my experience, the best way to scare crows away, is with a double barrel shotgun !

Treasures in the Gold Hall Cafe

Millionaires Rub Your Greedy Hands

 

 

Here are a few photos of the works of art to be found, down inside this cave.

A few of us, took the cameras and, visited yesterday, to take some shots, out of the sun.

 Most visitors, pay their entrance fee and, tour the caves first.

We were hungry so, ate like kings at the dining hall then hiked through the attraction, later.

It's a great way to burn off some calories because, you go up and down lots of stairs.

Some of the cave exists of finished rooms, lined with shelves,

They have pottery, driftwood, wood and stone carvings, all kinds of artworks.

Just in case, you were wondering, I don't know much about art and, stuff like that.

But, I'll bet you ten dollars, that statue on the table, is a Buddha !

Here's something, I know lots about. It's a bar scene, from the caves.

There's some sort of red, hanging lighting and, sake (awamori) bottles, on the wall.

If you keep getting confused over stalagmites and stalactites, I'll help you.

Just remember, stalactites, are the ones, you keep bumping your head on.  I do, anyway.

Wouldn't this make a cool bachelor pad ?

There's a little babbling brook, over where the stalactites are hanging.

Being, it's right near the bar, I imagine the table is a place to set your drink, while drawing water.

Over past the crystals, on the right, that penis-looking thing, doesn't look natural.

It's probably some sort of warning, for the ladies. Don't wash your hair in the spring !

Here's another view of, the finished, part of the cave, with blocks and shelving.

They made this place so, you won't slip on any wet floors, touring the caves.

So, it's pretty much, high heel and flip-flop friendly and, safe for children.

This eagle, grabbing a snake, statue is at one of the cave, exits to the outdoors.

So, there's some natural daylight, shining from the right side of the photo.

Believe it or not, you can get lost, going on a tour through these caves.

They give everybody a map, when, you pay to go inside but, we didn't think we needed them.

Doc and I, have been through this cave, several times.

So, we folded our maps and stuck them in our pockets because, men don't need maps.

But, once we got lost, the maps came in handy !

This stone stampede of horses, has to be worth a million dollars, by itself.

What, you're seeing, is just a sectional shot; it must weigh a ton, if you could pick it up.

If any crazy billionaires, out there, wanna buy some of this stuff, look me up.

The gal, who owns this place knows me and, maybe, we could play Let's Make  Deal !

RELATED POSTS:

Photojournalism: The Ups and Downs

Okinawa Photos Selected by TripAdvisor Property Owners

YOU MAY ALSO LIKE:

CNN TRAVEL: Mesmerized by Okinawa's Dramatic Underground Caves

The Okinawan Bar Way Down the Street from Here

The Place Jogged a Few Memories

 

 

A few months ago, I started taking long walks to shoot the full moon.

Going to the northeast end of town and down to the beach, keep me out there pretty late.

This bar with a wooden front and round windows caught my attention.

It would be a good subject to shoot with some wide angle lenses.

For lunar photography, I'm usually carrying monster lenses to zoom in on the full moon. 

300-700mm of lens, wouldn't work too well in a small place like this.

One night, I stoped by to have a beer on the way home from a moon shoot.

The cameras just got stashed away on the counter.

Something about this place, told me, I had been here before.

It's not a very large establishment. Twenty people would make it crowded.

Just below a round, stained glass window is this room, with a hibachi in it.

That would be called a fire or, cooking box and, this one still looks operable.

Over in the far corner of the bar folks can get a little privacy at these tables.

For some reason, I couldn't shake the feeling, I had been here before.

If they held a contest for people who couldn't remember stuff, I could win, I bet.

 Girls don't want to become one of my ex-wives because, I'll probably forget their names.

Yoko, the gal who owns and operates this bar, does sort of like me.

She can't remember names but, never forgets faces.

She remembered me from visiting this place back in the 1970's.

So, I promised one day, to come back and create some images with a wide angle lens.

 All of a sudden, I looked up at a back wall of the bar and spotted this picture.

Then, I remembered being in here a long, long time ago.

The artwork reminded me and, I'll never forget this bar or her name, again.

She's the girl with the baby and a flower in her hair ! 

Related Post -- Travel Photo: Rustic Bars Have Personality

Trying to Capture the Four Chinese Gentlemen in Okinawa

Here's a Goal for the New Year

 

 

In my never ending search, to learn everything on the internet, I discovered this.

Centuries ago, the Chinese came up with something called the Four Noble Plants.

Nowadays, in the art world, they are called the Four Gentlemen.

Plum Blossoms

Orchids

Bamboo

Chrysanthemums

Well, I got three out of the four, in my photo collection, already.

The first photo is one of some plum blossoms taken a little late in the season.

So, I need to get back out and find some fresh ones and shoot a bit more artistically.

Orchids, they will have plenty of them in Motobu, next week.

February is the month of Okinawa's International Orchid Show.

Bamboo, I can find plenty of places on this island to shoot images of, any day of the week.

Chrysanthemums, are driving me crazy.

Do you know, they have about 150,000 different kinds of Mums ?

After about six hours of looking at them online, I gave up.

There must have been 75,000 images of them, I saw today and I still don't know if I ever shot one.

Maybe, I'm just not a flower type kind of guy.

But, I learned a lot about those flowers while searching. 

The circular symbol, on the tiled roof, behind those cherry blossoms, is a chrysanthemum.

The symbol of a chrysanthemum is popular in Japan.

 I may have to visit a flower shop, because I wouldn't know a mum, in the wild if I tripped over one.

Before 2014 comes to an end, I plan on shooting those Four Gentlemen the right way.

If anybody has a field of mums, growing by their house, give me a holler.

And, if it's a nice sunny day, we'll getterdun.

Blogs Give Tunnel Vision If You Aint Careful (Photo Essay)

It's a good thing my friend Doc came by and got me out of town today.  Photos were prepared for today's blog last night but, I'll do that post some other time.  I was starting to get tunnel vision and that ain't good.

Caves are a great place to go when you want to reverse tunnel vision so, here's where we went, down inside this cave that has a Cafe at the entrance.  You'll hear more about this gem in the future.

They have some really cool photos on the walls of the place and I wish I had the photographer's name so I could give credit but, it wasn't available.  Maybe, I'll find out later.

The art was hanging in a public place where anybody could take pictures.  So, that's what I did.

Looking at other people's art and photography is something I do all the time.  Call it inspiration.

After I got my fill of inspiration I shot this photo of the cave ceiling while Doc was getting us some iced coffees.  I was sure glad he paid.  Can't tell you how much but, it was sort of tourist pricey I think.

Today turned out to be a great day for me.  Besides getting out for some fresh air and photography to cure my blogging tunnel vision, I went to an American bookstore.  And you should have seen my eyes light up when I found this on the shelf.  It was the last copy available of ..........

MACS FOR DUMMIES

That sucker is mine, now.

Is there anything special you do when tunnel vision starts sneaking up on you ?


VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY