Wordless Wednesday -- Noisy Bird GIFs

Related Post: Reminds Me of the Wife

Related Post: Chinese Bulbul, A Bird Found in Okinawa

Animations of the Full Moon FEB 2017 Over Okinawa

Fast Moving Clouds

By Okinawa standards twelve degrees Celsius (53.6 Fahrenheit) is freezing weather. 

Laugh if, you want but, I had to bundle up like an Eskimo, to shoot these GIFs.

Strong ocean breezes at those temperatures make you want to move somewhere else.

It was impossible for me, to get a clear shot of the whole moon last night.

The skies may improve somewhat tonight but, it's supposed to get, even colder.

Late this afternoon, I'll be going to a Cherry Blossom Festival.

It wasn't on my schedule, to go but, I found out something interesting about the event.

Belly dancers will be there. So, I guess I should cover it. The festival, I mean.

What would you rather see, belly dancers or more moon shots ?

Wordless Wednesday: Uchinanchu - Brazilians

Kokusai Street Naha

Brazilian Descendants of Okinawa

Okinawa Obon Eisa at Night

5 Animated GIFs of Evening Dancing

 

 

The streets were alive with music and chants this week and, there's more to come.

It would be impossible to photograph them all but, I gave it about 5000 attempts.

 The girls dance to the rhythm in kimonos and flip-flops.

Energetic drummers, dance and, jump into the air. 

In the early hours, you may see children, costumed and, dancing with their parents.

Some folks, might say, the music is loud enough to wake the dead.

Well, it's a festival, held yearly, to welcome the ancestral spirits back home !

Wednesday night was Ukui (last day of Obon) and, the spirits departed for the heavens.

Catching up on photo processing, I'll be taking the night off and, relaxing.

Tomorrow night, there's a festival, going on in Kin Town.

And, I'll be out shooting Eisa groups, all over again !

Kin Town Elementary School Sports Day

Just a Few Animations

 

 

It never fails, we get an Indian Summer about this time, every year.

Things cooled off during September and the days were warm but, cooler than August.

 It was cloudy and comfortable this morning and, children had all kinds of fun.

This GIF just shows one of the athletic events; a relay race of sorts.

Two of my cameras were downloaded tonight and one is still in with a relative, I hope.

There are several hundred photos waiting development.

These animations just happened to be some of my color and contrast images.

There are many previous posts concerning Sports Days (Undokai) in Japan.

The last one was SEP 13, 2015 and it has links to several others. 

This afternoon, when the Eisa drums got quiet, I got back to my air-conditioned office.

Because, the athletic meet was over and, I felt like it was August, all over again !

More Animated GIFs from the Ishikawa Eisa Festival

It's Silver Week in Japan and this Eisa  Matsuri got the festivities off to a great start.

There are always plenty of activities for children, such as, flying airplanes.

Some of the younger generation, would rather dance Eisa with the adults.

These young taiko drummers put on an extraordinary show.

Senior citizens danced in a circle to some classic Ryukyu music.

The martial arts demonstration always gets plenty of attention.

Before the fireworks display in the evening, it started pouring down rain.

Heading back to Kin Town from Ishikawa, I saw fireworks, through a rear view window !

Relaxing Walk on a Secluded Beach Looking for Driftwood

3 Motion GIFs Composed Here

 

 

The mission was to hunt for some driftwood needed for an Okinawan Folktale.

It took me about two hours before, I realized, there was nobody out there but me.

With a typhoon passing recently, there was plenty of debris washed ashore.

I guess, any piece of wood, could qualify as driftwood.

Several samples were photographed but, it may take awhile longer to select the right image.

 As long as, I was carrying a tripod, I figured a few animations could be composed.

 There is something about the action of waves on the beach that's relaxing.

There was hardly any breeze and the only sound was water hitting the shoreline.

 After walking for three hours, I rounded the bend in the far left of this photo.

A young couple had discovered a road, leading to my secluded beach.

But, when they saw me coming with the camera, they drove off.  Hah !

The next time, I visit one of the stores in the big city, I might buy a hammock.

If, one were to be stashed in those woods, I could spend a whole day at this beach !

Animated Images of Shima ( シマ) -- Okinawan Sumo Wrestlers

A little rain doesn't cancel an event like this for Ryukyu islanders.

An Okinawa wide Sumo Championship was held in Makishi Park of Naha City.

Three of us, armed with Pentax cameras, caught part of the action earlier today.

Enough photos were taken to create GIF animations and, we left the big city.

There didn't seem to be any news crews or TV cameras at the scene.

But, we figured maybe, they wait for the final few matches before showing up on a rainy day.

Tonight's Sports News may show the champions of the day.

And, tomorrows local newspapers may have something about the event.

Learn more about Okinawa Sumo at:

Pocket Cultures

Okinawan Traditional Martial Arts - Shima (Okinawan Sumo) on YouTube

7 GIFs of Birds in or Near Water

Photos Taken March 2015 in Kin Town

 

 

In numerical order as downloaded from the camera, here they come.

The bird in lower left of the frame arrived on the scene as, I was shooting the snipe.

It appears to be a Spotted Greenshank (Tringa guttifer) but, I could be mistaken.

It upset the male, Painted Snipe and, he would soon take off.

From left to right, we have a female and male Painted Snipe, preening.

The red legged birds are Black-winged Stilts.

They kept popping in and out of the frames as, I was photographing the Snipes.

This rascal, appears to be a Grey-tailed Tattler.

The bird is not, standing in the water.  It kept its feet on dry land.

The Latin name for this specimen: Heteroscelus brevipes

The rain started coming down while shooting this scene.

The bird was blinking its eyes but, didn't seem to mind getting wet.

It is a Common Greenshank (Tringa nebularia) and, is a wading bird by nature.

This is the same bird as in the previous photo, shot from a different angle.

The Greenshank was the easiest bird to approach with the camera.

Either it was a photogenic or, just didn't feel like flying in the rain.

A little shower, like this, doesn't bother me, too much.

It cleans the air and, makes things smell a lot better.

It also, makes for some interesting colors, shadows, light and, reflections.

Do you ever shoot your cameras in the rain ?

Checkout the Xmas Lighting on this House !

2 GIFs Had to Be Made

 

 

 

 

 

There was a time, I used to climb up on the roof and hang some decorations.

But, I got tired of going to all that trouble.

The last Christmas season, I did it was probably over 10 years ago.

The wife agreed, I just had to do the roof and, she'd handle the yard and front porch.

Well, she had some lights leftover and came up on the roof, to add to mine.

And, I told her, "The more crap, you put up here, the more, I'll have to take down in January."

Plus, all those lights, add expenses to the electric bill.  Humbug !

She softened me up by, saying, she would take all the lights down at the end of the season.

Well, as quick as New Years, rolled around, I yanked my lights off the top of the house.

Don't tell anybody but, I also threw them in the trashcan.

A couple of years later, the wife, asked me, when, I'm gonna cut my beard.

So, I told her, I would, as soon as, she finishes taking down her Last Century light-bulbs.

These Lights in Nago Got Me Thinking

 

 

 

People are flocking to the place to take pictures. 

After, I shot some photos, I walked over to the house, smothered in Christmas stuff.

The elderly woman, standing there, said she did all the decorating herself.

It took her a week.  And, she has a humongous electric bill from all her efforts.

While, I was standing there, talking, some real cute girls showed up.

Heck.  

There's nothing wrong with a $400 dollar electric bill, when stuff like that happens.

Maybe, I should buy some new lights.

And, see if the wife, feels like hanging them all over the place, again !

Wildlife GIFs: Grey Heron in Flight

November in Okinawa Just Can't Be Beat

 

 

It was a little windy and warm so, the birds probably liked it as much as I did, today.

These photos were taken, where the Okukubi River, meets the Kin Dam.

 Photos of several different species of birds were taken over a period of about 3 hours.

The Grey Heron shots, I liked the best.

They are just magnificent birds, when they are in flight.

And, today, they performed for me, when the lighting was just right.

If you enjoy being outdoors, this is the time of year to visit the Ryukyu Islands.

GIFs from a Summer Festival in Okinawa Japan

Kin Town August 2014

 

 

This is one great thing about storing photos on an external drive.

The GIFs were made from photos taken around 6PM local time and, the sun was shining.

It was hot, back then and I bet lots of folks were wishing the sun would go down.

If you look outside at 6PM these days, the sun has been long gone.

To get my required amount of sunshine, I go back and look at old photo files.

It probably, doesn't give me the right dosage of vitamin D.

But, looking at photos of the sun shining sure makes life feel better !

Moon -- Tide and Wind GIFs from Nov 7, 2014

Not especially fond of clouds, covering the full moon but, they do add something to the photo.

So, I take plenty of extra shots to, make these GIFs.

Earlier in the day, this was how the tide appeared on Kouri Island.

Taking a few steps back, I included these fishing floats in a scene.

That's just to show, we had a little breeze, blowing that day.

These photos were taken with a Sigma 50-500 at various focal lengths.

Happy Veteran's Day to All Who Served or Are Serving !

5 GIFs from a Shougakkou Sports Day in Okinawa

A Great Way to Spend a Sunday

 

 

A sports day at a Japanese school is called an Undokai.

This one took place at an elementary school (shougakkou) in Kin Town.

Entire families, line the athletic field and picnic under tents.

Every time, I attend one of these events, they seem to come up with something new.

Relay races are always part of an undokai.

Sometimes parents or, grandparents get involved in them, too.

The younger children danced with pom poms and put on quite a show.

Taking a sneak peek, I saw how a Chondara gets his face made-up.

That could come in handy if, I ever want to become a clown.

It was hot out there today but, we had a few sprinkles of rain to cool things off.

The best part of any Undokai, in Okinawa, is always the Eisa Dance.

As soon as my camera, let me know 64GBs of SD cards were full, I left the Undokai.

And, got back to the air-conditioned office.

While the batteries are recharging, I think I might go recharge myself, too !

Today I Shot the Contractors Outside My Office

They've Been Making a Racket for Weeks

 

 

It's gotten to the point where a man can't sleep in a place where he pays rent.

Jackhammers and equipment that shake the whole building were at it again today.

It's possible to catch a little nap, when they break for lunch.

But, not the two hours of sleep, my body likes to take.

When they finally quit digging this big hole, I grabbed a tripod and camera.

Two humongous blocks were being lowered into the ground.

It seemed like a great opportunity to shoot some images for GIFs.

 They're really not a bad bunch of dudes. They are out there working in all kinds of weather.

By the end of the year, there won't be any more telephone poles or, wires on my street.

All the wires, you see in the sky, will be going underground.

At the end of each day, they place a safety fence around any holes they didn't refill.

This one, is right outside the gate, I use to go home.

After they made the place safe, I thanked them for letting me shoot.

The crane operator, wound up his cables and went home.

Then the rest of the gang, packed up their tools, hosed down the street and went home, too.

They'll probably be back, digging new holes, tomorrow.

It's going to be nice, when all the work is done.

No wires in the sky, is a cameraman's dream come true.

Maybe, I should buy some beers for those contractors, when they finally getterdun !

Some of the Activity at a 97th Birthday Party in Okinawa

4 Motion GIFs of Events at a Kajimaya

 

 

In the Ryukyu Archipeligo a Kajimaya is a big deal.

Today, I got to attend one because one of my neighbors, attained the age of ninety-seven.

We had a little parade in the streets but, I haven't looked at those photos, yet.

For now, we'll just look at what took place at the party indoors.

The younger generation entertains the crowd with some sort of hilarious dance.

A bit more formal, were these gals, dancing with silver and gold fans.

Everybody likes watching Hula dancers so, we had some of them, too.

 Now, I'm not sure if you should call that blue thing a parasol or, umbrella.

But, the gal in the blue kimono sure knows how to dance with it.

After a few hours of celebrating, the birthday girl got tired.

And, she had somebody take her home so, she could go to sleep in her own bed.

And, that's what they did.

Man, I can hardly wait to turn ninety-seven !