JUN 2024 Full Moon Over Okinawa

 It's Been Awhile

The Moon hasn't appeared in my viewfinder since March of this year.

And, it tricked me by showing up way farther south than I had expected.

A few quick adjustments and, by 7:30 PM a final shot was made and, I got off the roof.

June 21st happens to be the first day of Summer.

So, I decided air-conditioning was where I needed to be!

Magnificent Osprey in Flight

Sun Goddess Made It Happen

Walking to the office yesterday, my intentions were, to work all day, indoors, on a story.

It was cold so, I dressed in warm, winter clothes and, almost put socks on my feet.

It looked like it might rain so, I told the wife, I'd put the socks on later.

It started sprinkling, halfway to work and I smiled, thinking about, what, I told the missus.

The socks, would have got wet, on my feet. They went in my pocket, instead.

Rainy Winter Days Are Perfect for Office Work

It may surprise some folks, to hear that, I started doing physical conditioning exercises.

One morning I decided, too much soft fat, was beginning to creep into this old body.

Around the 1st of November, I began doing some simple, flexibility stretching and twisting.

Each week, something new, got added to the regimen. Tougher stuff.

With rain and cold wind blowing, I decided to workout indoors, yesterday.

At least, warm up enough, to where I wouldn't need the jacket, when going outside.

Out back, there are some cement blocks, I use for weight training. Too cheap, to buy weights.

After working up a little sweat, I went out to toss cement blocks around.

The whole physical training session, lasts about an hour, these days. It's good.

My head, would be clear and, writing a story could have been simple.  Then it happened.

Sunshine Busted Out All Over the Place !

Now I, don't want to sound sacrilegious or, nothing like that. Folks believe in all kinds of gods.

Somebody, up there, made the sun shine for me yesterday. Must be a woman. They're the best.

The socks, got thrown on a desk, a short sleeve shirt, replaced the flannel one.

I packed some lunch, grabbed a camera and, walked in the sun, until, it went down.

By the time, I returned, it was dark outside and over 700 photos of birds, got downloaded.

There isn't time for me, to look at all of yesterday's photos. Guess what ?

Sunshine, just busted out all over the island, again.  See ya tomorrow, maybe !

GIF: Lizard Doing Lunch in Rock Garden

A Bit of Outdoor Therapy

The day, was spent catching up on image processing; I didn't travel far from the office.

Long periods of sitting and staring at a computer monitor, aren't good for the eyeballs.

So, every once in awhile, I grab a camera and head out the door.

It's been acting like it'll rain any minute; the rock garden, outback was the place to go.

Just looking at greenery, relaxes the eyes and, gives me a chance to stretch.

There wasn't any sunlight so, shutter speed is a bit slow for the action going on.

But if, you look closely, the reptile, sticks its tongue out and nabs a little green bug.

Camera: Pentax K1

Lens: Pentax 50MM F1.8

Exposure: f/4   1/500   ISO 400

Location: Kin Town Okinawa Japan

Date and Time:  OCT 10 2016  1:33PM

Related Post:  Animated (GIF) Takydromus Lizard

Another Place to View Hydrangea Flowers in Okinawa

They're in Nago But Not in the City

 

 

To get a look at these blossoms, you may have a bit of a climb ahead of you.

Really, not an expert on flower things, I can't tell if the season is just beginning or, ending.

Hiking up the back side of the hill, I saw mostly ferns in a forest, down below.

 Halfway up the hill, I spotted some blooms in a rock garden.

 

  

Hydrangea Cafe was closed at the time I arrived but, the view was interesting.

It got me wondering if this would be a good location to observe sunsets.

It had been a fairly long day traveling the north parts of the island.

Not being a true flower fanatic, I didn't bother climbing to the top of the hill.

A bit of a springtime rain started falling and, that gave me an excuse.

Back down, the front side of the mountain I went and, discovered these pink blossoms.

Rocks, antique harbor lanterns and signs, in a garden are important, to me.

How else, do you think, I would remember to spell "HYDRANGEA" correctly ?

To Find Hydrangea Cafe

My TripAdvisor Review 

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Hydrangea and a Dog

Things Looking Up at Sueyoshi Garden 

Wordless Wednesday

First Official Work Day 2016 in Japan

Holidays Are Over

 

 

The schools re-opened and most people, throughout the country, went back to work today.

Some of them, throw a party at work, to celebrate having a job, I guess.

Well, I try to work everyday but, it was raining so, I couldn't do what I really love.

Nobody, I know, enjoys walking around with a camera in freezing rain.

 Pretending, I was doing something official, I took a few bags of garbage out of the office.

Then, I cut up some wall calendars, to use as writing paper.   

Did you know, you can get four pages out of each month of the year ?

There's no sense, in throwing perfectly good stuff away, when it can be reused.

In case, I never told you; I happen to hate writing.  It's a real chore, that's a pain in the neck !

Outside Is Where I Belong

 

Stuck in an office, makes people like me, miserable so, I had to think of something.

With the blank side of the calendar pages, attached to a clipboard, I got out.

There's a picnic table out behind my office and, it kept me out of the rain.

It's lots more fun, scribbling the old fashioned way than, typing on a keyboard.

Every now and then, I'd get up to stretch and, sniff the fresh air.

My iced coffee stayed cold plus, nobody saw me smoking cigarettes.  What a day !

If writer's block started sneaking up on me, I just shrugged it off.

Go look at all the green stuff in that rock garden for a minute or, two.

For some strange reason, it's relaxing, being out in the fresh air even, when it rains.

Before you know it, I had four pages of writing done.  They'll get typed someday.

There might be 1,000 words on those scraps of paper.  Who knows?

The word counter, will figure all that out, when I get around typing it into a document.

The Picture ?

 

Maybe, I'll print and frame, a great big one, to take home and hang in the kitchen.

Next time, one of those grandchildren complains about homework, I'll let them have it.

"Get used to it little suckers.  Grandpa has to do homework, too."

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

Weather Will Determine Whether or Not

Flower Fields or Museums ?

 

 

These last few winter days, just before spring breaks out, drive me crazy.

Where we will go with the cameras, depends on Mother Nature.

Weathermen, in Okinawa, I don't pay any attention to, because they are unpredictable, too.

On a Pacific island the weather just happens.

If the day turns out like this, I'll be in the iris fields of Ogimi.

But, if it rains or gets cold and cloudy, I'll shoot something like this museum.

Maybe we should call outdoors, Plan A.

And, indoors, Plan B.

When the sun comes up tomorrow, I'll sniff the air and make a decision.

Which type of travel personality do you have, plan A or B ?

Museums Can Be Cool Places to Visit on a Hot Day

Being Outdoors is Fun but Sometimes it Gets Hot

 

 

Not to worry, it isn't as if I'm turning into a couch potato or, anything like that.

The temperatures on Okinawa have been getting up there lately.

During yesterday's travels, plenty of outdoor photography took place.

There were a few fish jumping out of water shots taken.

Some hills, sugar cane fields and even, another island were visited.

When the mercury hits between 33˚C (91.4˚F) and 40˚C (104˚F) I need a break.

Have a look inside the Onna-son Museum.

This place is climate controlled and comfortably cool.

It cost Ɏ100 to spend as long as you wish in the air-conditioned rooms.  Hah !

Making sure, I took my time, I covered every inch of the place.

Now, I have an idea what it looked like, building some of those straw-roofed huts.

And, I saw what it took to make the stone walls at Zakimi Castle.

They didn't have any fancy tools or, uniforms back in the old days.

It was probably a lot more fun being an architect than a construction worker back then.

You could say stuff like, "Let's hurry and get this room done.

Move that rock a little more to the right but, be careful.

We don't want anyone getting their toes crushed.

C'mon guys.  Don't you know it's hot out here ?

We gotta getterdun and go drink some beer !" 

MORE OKINAWA MUSEUMS

Note Local Travelers: Map It Okinawa Gives Directions

 

PHOTOGRAPHY TIP: SHOOT CHILDREN WITH STEALTH

Child Photography takes patience; more patience than Wildlife Photography if you ask me.
The secret to capturing a great photo is to use stealth.
Now, I'm not going to try and give you tips on how Studio Photographers shoot kids, that's a whole different form of art.

I'm talking about catching candid shots of the little critters when they're outdoors and um, pretty much like wildlife because that's what I do.
It's just children are a little more of a challenge at times.

Like a bird may look right into your lens when you're composing a shot but, he probably won't skrunch up his face and stick his tongue out at you.
Children, well, they do whatever kids will do.

Get them used to seeing you around with a camera.
Point it at them enough so they become accustomed to it.
Make sure there's nothing hanging or dripping from their noses, no chocolate on their faces.
Walk around pretending you're shooting other stuff.
Soon, they'll think you're ignoring them.
They'll start ignoring you back. That's where the stealth part comes in.

When they act natural, which children have a habit of doing, sometimes, move to where the light is best for you, frame the shot carefully and quietly: SHOOT THE CHILDREN WITH STEALTH !

Wildlife Photography: Tip #2

Tip #2. Be Aware of Lighting Conditions.

Probably every photographer with a digital camera, who’s been around awhile, has made the mistake of forgetting to check the ISO setting on their camera at least once. After doing a low light or night shoot, we’ve all been caught the next morning wondering why we have shutter speeds in the thousands when the light isn’t so bright outside. Then a little light comes on in our heads. We want to shoot at ISO 100 but, the night before, had set the camera to ISO 800, or higher!

Before I leave home, I check ISO settings, batteries, SD cards and lenses. I look at the sky, wherever I am and can tell you if it’s an ISO 100, 200, 400 or worse day out there, wherever I am. I also, make it a point to preset my aperture and shutter speed before stepping out the door. With wildlife, you want to be able to quick-draw your camera and shoot in a split second. Wildlife won’t pose for you; you have to be ready for them, always. A lot of my favorite wildlife shots were taken before I got to my shooting destination or after leaving it to head home.


This spider was at the edge of the jungle in the path I was taking to do some bird shooting at a beach. Photo taken with Panasonic DMC-FZ50 29AUG2007 9:23AM f/10 1/1000 ISO 100 Focal Length 89mm.

Wildlife Photography: Tip #1

This week I'll attempt to post some excerpts from a piece I sent to Matador Travel Network's Media School. My Five Tips For Shooting Wildlife.

There's a typhoon blowing around my little island so, if I don't get out to shoot some new material, I can kill the week, Monday through Friday just posting a tip a day and answering hate mail from folks who've seen all these photos 100 times before. Here's my intro and TIP #1:

If you enjoy getting up before the sun, going for long hikes and spending hours in the great outdoors, observing what nature has to offer, you might want to consider wildlife photography as a hobby or, even a way of life. Tourist attractions, architecture, landscapes, farm animals, aquariums, zoos, offer some great photographic opportunities and may present challenges, even to the best photographers, but, to me, nothing compares to the satisfaction I get out of clicking my camera’s shutter in the wild.

Tip #1. Use the Burst Mode for Wildlife in Motion.

Memory cards will fill up faster, so make sure you carry plenty. Use Continuous Auto Focus and pan the camera keeping a bead on the subject’s eye, if you can. Your camera may shoot 3-10 frames per second, but use Burst Mode sparingly; long bursts fill up memory fast and your camera will process the shots more slowly. You don’t want to miss the shot where your critter hits the perfect light or pounces on its prey because you’re waiting for your camera to recuperate.

You Are The Boss

CAUTION: YOU MAY HAVE DIFFICULTY LOOKING YOUR EMPLOYEE IN THE EYE WHEN HIS NOSE IS UP YOUR ASS!

Green Tea

Here, Doc caught me shooting Green Tea fields. Awhile back someone did an article with photos on the tea workers in China. Then a few months later, I saw another photographer do a piece on the tea in Korea; really beautiful photography.

Well, I happen to have a sister-in-law who has a job working with the green tea, right here in Okinawa. So, I decided, that's what I'm going to do; a whole year's worth of shooting tea. Not just the plants, I want to get the whole story, from the care and feeding, cultivating, harvesting, processing, curing, packaging, advertising, drying, whatever else they do to get your tea from the fields to the cup on your kitchen table. That's my plan.

This kind of story and photography, you can't just do overnight. It's more like one of those things that could take years. Little bit at a time, shoot baby tea plants, come back a month later and check on their progress. Get the stages of growth. Shoot under different lighting conditions. Catch sunrise and sunsets over the tea fields, people cultivating the plants, harvesting the tea and finding out what they do with it afterwards. Maybe get some photos of the people actually doing the stuff, give a helping hand, eat what they eat for lunch and find out what they drink at night. That's how you get the whole story; just a little bit at a time.

Well, I had this shot of me taken in June of 2008 and I'm still working on my tea story. I've only been out to the tea fields five or six times and still haven't caught the sunrise or sunset, but I will. I'll catch them in the perfect light, catch the sun, the ocean and the blue skies. Maybe even get some shots during a typhoon. I want my story to be better than the other people's tea field stories. I want the owner of the tea fields to order a 4X6 foot wall mural from me when he sees my best shot. He already ordered one from me and I haven't even shot it yet !