12 Fireworks Photos from the Kyuzo Toyama Matsuri in Kin Town

Away from Festival Grounds

Kyuzo Toyama is considered the father of Okinawan emigration.

Kin Town is celebrating the 150th year of his birth during this annual festival.

Grounded by doctor's orders and heavily medicated, I didn't attend the matsuri.

Having been to this festival dozens of times, I came up with a plan. Stay home.

Under orders, to not leave the house, I simply went up on the roof.

Normally, the bursts of fire would appear off to the west of my position.

This year the wind decided to carry the show off towards the north.

Having the camera and zoom lens mounted on a sturdy tripod made things simple.

It was easy to swing the contraptions around and capture a few good shots.

The camera was taken off Auto Focus and, I focus to infinity.

That way the lens won't be continually searching in the dark for fireworks.

Starting things off, I use an exposure of f/11 1/60 ISO 100.

Hanabi can be tricky and you learn to adjust the shutter speed, quickly.

Some photos were exposed 0.3 seconds, others to 1.6 seconds. I go with the flow.

There are advantages to being up on a roof shooting festival fireworks.

Number One: Nobody can walk in front of the camera and ruin your shot!

My method of shooting is, use continuous firing mode or rapid fire.

That means, I hold the shutter button down and fire bursts of 3 or 4 images at a time.

Everyone has their own preferences for fireworks photography. That's mine.

If, you Google "Fireworks Photography" there are probably a dozen other ways of doing it.

A tripod makes things a lot easier and eliminates camera shake somewhat.

But, I have also steadied the camera resting on a fence, wall, or rock and, done just as well.

An advantage I discovered this time around, to being farther away pleased me.

The wind seemed to clear the smoke surrounding the fireworks, more quickly.

Smoke can ruin some great shots when it clouds-up images.

Hanabi, translated to English, would mean, flower fire. What flower is this?

Maybe a dandelion or one of those weeds growing on your lawn?

Grand Finale

The Mad Moment, when all Hell breaks loose gave me flashbacks.

They must say, "Times up" and load everything they've got in their mortar tubes.

Not very pretty but, this photo shows some buildings silhouetted in the foreground.

I could email you a digital copy for only 5 bucks! 

Google Maps Directions

Wednesday Travel Tale -- It's True

Cameras Take a Back Seat

The car got loaded up with camera bags, lenses and a tripod this morning and, north we went.

Research on future photo projects always has to be done in advance, to insure success.

Every imaginable type of lens would be handy if, a worthy photographic subject appeared.

Birds, rainbows, twisters, beach bunnies, whatever could show up and, we'd get them captured.

But, the priority today would be, gathering information for future assignments.

Both Doc Graff and I know, sometimes you go south on this island, to get to a northern point.

Part of my research today concerns the southern islands so, we headed north.

If, that confuses you then, you haven't been on the islands long enough. Stick around.

Yanbaru Wildlife Center

A trip I'm planning, will take me to the southern island of Iriomote, sometime next month.

There happens to be a critically endangered wildcat down there and, I want to catch one.

Not, to put in a cage, it's something I'd like to photograph in the wild if, possible.

We could have headed south and found information at a travel office in the city of Naha.

But, I'm not wild about cities and, travel folks down there probably, aren't wild about wildlife.

Up in Kunigami, the Wildlife Conservation Center has unbelievable resources.

The brochures above are a sample of materials, gathered today. All are in English.

We stood there for about 15 minutes, sucking down air-conditioning and gathering freebies.

Finally, a middle aged gal, interrupted smiling and said, "Santasan, Please sign-in."

It's a little tricky if, you don't read or speak Japanese but, we know enough to get by.

Before long, the woman was convinced, we don't speak much Japanese.

Try a bit of Okinawan (Uchinaguchi) and, the young lady started cackling. New friends !

Next thing you know, she gave me a photocopied page of contacts for Iriomote Wildlife Center.

The day would have been complete, having gotten this far.  We could have called it quits.

Another bit I've learned on these islands. Keep on having a good day, whenever one shows up.

Talk to Locals

A drive to the village of Oku was next on the agenda, to gather some information.

The only gas station, in town, a small mom and pop store and, a cold drink were in order.

There's a festival that takes place in the near future, we needed to confirm dates for this year.

This event, isn't something the average tourist would probably, want to attend.

It's not widely advertised and, being the heathen I am, they welcome me.

The gal, in the country store, knew this matsuri would happen during September.

But, wasn't sure of the dates the event would take place, this year.

Inside a building, across the highway, I remembered this photo, was hanging on a museum wall.

It's sort of a wet and wild, traditional festival, which only happens, every other year.

The photo above, was snapped with the iPhone camera and, we waited a few minutes.

Along came a young lady, who works in the office by the museum and, I asked about the event.

She had to make a phone call, to get the specific dates for the matsuri.

The action depicted above (Bin-kui-kui) will take place September 10 2017.

We thanked the girl for her assistance, bowing deeply and headed back down south.

It wasn't until I arrived in Kin Town that a real camera was used to shoot brochures !

See: Shinugu Festival in the Village of Oku for more.

Best Burger in Town -- Kin Para (きん ぱーらー) I Found Out Today

Things Just Happen to Me

The past week I've been busy shooting nightlife attractions, until the wee hours.

From this weekend on, I'll be more busy, doing festival photography.

Bar scenes, supermoons, gals prancing, in what looks like underwear, can wear a guy out.

So, I've been getting to the office, a bit later than normal and, skipping  breakfast.

Iced coffee keeps me going for awhile and, I forget about lunch, I'm so busy catching-up.

Around 2:30 this afternoon, I decided to go to town and find something to eat.

Chef Making a Kin Burger

Kin Para, is a fairly new restaurant and, I had never eaten here.

There were no customers waiting so, the guy let me shoot in the kitchen.

There are some small tables and chairs, to sit at but, I wanted a takeout order.

It's blazing hot, for October. I hurried back, walking on the shady side of the street.

Sitting outside in the shade, looking at the rock garden, was where I wanted to be.

It's like 3:30 by now and the smell of that hamburger, got me drooling.

I decided to put the camera away. Noticing a cat watching me, the burger had to go, too.

They don't think nothing of stealing a starving man's lunch. Animals.

The few little, non-absorbent napkins, they give you around here, wouldn't work, for me.

So, I sat at my desk, where there's a box of tissues, that's supposed to be handy.

Japanese folks can eat a hamburger, out of that wax paper wrapping and, not make a mess.

Not me. I'd have cow drippings, splattering all over the room.

Well, I grab the hamburger and, started devouring it. It was terrific. Delicious !

Nobody else, around this town, makes hamburgers like that one.

Munching away, I hardly noticed the cholesterol, sliding down to my elbows. 

When, I was finished the desk looked kind of oily so, I wiped it clean with those tissues.

For now, I'm designating the Kin Burger the best in Kin Town.

Where Is this Place?

Well, I'm trying to get it on Google Maps but, it's so new, it ain't there, yet.

Late afternoon wasn't a good time to photograph, the sign outside the establishment.

So, I might go back over tomorrow morning, to get a better shot of it.

By then, it may be on the map, as well and, I'll do a review.

Meanwhile Check These Places Out

Seventailz is a Gentleman's Club.

And the Zone is a place famous for spicy BBQ chicken and hot women !

Time to go now. I think, I just heard a cold beer calling me !

Okinawa's Cherry Blossom Season Will Soon Be Over

A quick trip to the south of the island was made today, checking out the sakura blossoms.

 In the northern areas, pink flower petals are falling to the ground.

 Once the green leaves appear, flowers begin to disappear.

The image above, was taken in the hills of Yaese, where the Sakura Matsuri was held FEB 7th.

A good place to visit, right now is the back side of Yogi Park in Naha.

While it may not be in full bloom, some great photo opportunities still exist.

The next, big flower festival, to look forward to, will be the Higashi Village Azalea Festival.

That one, depending on Mother Nature, takes place, sometime during the month of March.

Beauty at the Kin Town Matsuri 2015

Yukata Contest

 

 

There were 9 contestants in this yukata (summer kimono) contest.

Some folks go to the festival, just to  see this event and, cheer on their favorite gal.

 It isn't supposed to be a beauty contest so, I won't tell you which beauty won.

At festivals, I try to capture a little bit of all the activities.

These inflated thingamajigs seemed to be the most popular activities for kids.

It reminded me of Disneyland, seeing the long lines of children, waiting to get in to them.

The young taiko drummers put on the most excellent show.

They got the crowd rocking and, earth shaking with their energetic drumbeats. 

The weather was beautiful, too, considering a typhoon just passed the island the day before.

Fashion shows, festival foods, fun and games for  kids; they're all great.

The fireworks (hanabi) is what, I go to festivals to see.

Maybe it's true, beauty is in the eye of the beholder !

10 Photos of Activities in Okinawa Way After Sunset

Great Ways to Beat the Summer Heat

 

 

Some people go to the beach when the thermometer rises.

Others, just find an air-conditioned place to hangout or, go shopping in a mall.

  

What we do in our daily travels, is look for indicators like these paper lanterns.

Festivals, in many small villages, aren't listed in local travel guides.

If you spot paper lanterns in daylight, something will be happening after dark.

And, many times, they string them up, days before the event will take place.

The car, comes to a screeching halt when we find these things in daylight.

And, go poking around, asking the locals, what's going on and, when.

 That's how to find unadvertised things, like this Okinawan Sumo Wrestling.

It took place, after a tug-o-war, held in the evening.

 

Gals, in summer kimonos, danced around a fire on a summer night.

Talking to folks in the village office, way in advance, got us an invite to this event.

 It was the Shinugu Matsuri in a village called, Ada.

An event, called a Shinigu, in Gushiken, Motobu, took place during daylight.

 But, the gals, insisted on having me stick around for the party afterwards.

Right after taking the above photo, I locked-up the cameras. So, no photos after that.

We filled a couple of taxi cabs and, went to some cool bars.

Yellow flip-flops. What a buncha gals.

Driving the lesser known roads, above Nago City, we saw the Orion Beer lanterns.

It was during daylight hours and the event took place the next night.

If we hadn't asked at a little mom and pop store, we would have missed this one. 

 The performers, you see here, danced after a tug-o-war on Hamahiga island.

That's another festivity we wouldn't have known about.

Visiting the village offices really pays dividends.

This event takes place, again, next weekend.

  Okinawa's Obon, happens next month.

But, if you listen carefully, the drums are beating, at practice, all around the islands.

Live Houses are always air-conditioned.

Just when you think Monday night is a good time to rest up, along comes Ridea.

She's coming back from a tour in Tokyo and, I have to see her.

This coming Monday night.

Once things get caught up around here, I have to get a driver.

Down in Okinawa City, there are lots of cool places to hangout at night.

And, the mineo (traditional Okinawan) music, this guy plays, is even cooler.

Why Don't Travel Agents Advertise these Places ?

 

 

Maybe, there is a good reason to, not promote the lesser known events.

If all the tourists, started showing up, it would get too crowded.

And, people in the travel and tourism business, wouldn't have a place to chill !

Travel Photo: Nightlife in Kin Town

The Orion Beer paper lanterns are only strung for special occasions.

This photo was taken last August prior to one of the town's Live House Festivals.

During the summer months, look for lighting like this, all over the island of Okinawa.

If you're not out there covering an event with a camera, it's best to wait for nightfall.

The temperature drops and the sun won't burn you.

Normally, I put the cameras away for the evening and let the batteries recharge.

When work is done, it's time to party.

But, listen to what this dude has to say:

 

Okinawa's Iris Fields Are in Full Bloom Right Now !

Some Photos and a Few Tricks

 

 

The other day, I saw it on the morning news.

Big, bright green stems with purple, yellow and white flowers, dancing in the wind.

But, I'm a warm weather type of person so, I waited for today.

 It's nice to have some blue sky in your photo.

To get up high enough for this shot, I brought along a two-step ladder.

For those who don't appreciate blue skies, I aimed lower.

The petals on lots of flowers, are starting to wilt.

So, it's a good idea, to move around and pick on ones you like.

Sometimes, you can find a young rascal, away from the crowd.

Just focus on the one you like best and, wait for it to quit moving.

When you get home, crop the photo any way you like.

For this photo, I got down low on the ground.

Experimenting with a black and white board for background, was fun.

The black turned out to be my favorite.

So, I threw the white one away.  Hah !

It was a nice sunny day and I had some fun.

If you are already in Okinawa, you best get up to Ogimi this weekend.

It looks like these beauties will be done blooming in the near future.

This will be the final Iris Report for 2014 from this desk.

But, standby for plenty more flower festivals, in the coming weeks and months.








 

Looking Back at 2013: Monthly Memories in Photos

Picking Out These Images Was Fun

 

 

 

A year sure does fly by in a hurry.

Going through the monthly files of undeveloped shots was a good idea.

It reminded me of all the places we've been.

And, assured me, I'll never run out of things to do if all my cameras just disappear, someday.

January

Grey Herons in Tomigusuku

 

February

Cosmos in Kin Town

 

March

Iris in Ogimi

 

April

No model release required

May

Itoman Port from above

 

June

At the Home of a Noro in Itoman



July

Sabani sailing in Ginoza

August

Live House Festival in Kin Town

 

September

Full Moon Festival in Kin Town

October

Grey Heron in flight over Yomitan

November

Unidentified blue berries on Mt. Yonaha

 

December

Observing a ritual in Hedo

The thought had occurred to me, someone could make a calendar out of a year's worth of photos.

Calendar making just isn't one of my acquired skills.

Ain't that a shame ?