Travel Shot: Portrait of a Statue

Obaa in Katsuren-jo Museum

 

 

This beauty was so irresistible, I just had to do it.  Take her picture, I mean.

When you first step into the museum and, spot her, you'd think she was a real live human.

Before, hiking up the hill to see the castle, it's a good idea to stop by the museum.

There's a gift shop and information booth there and soft drinks are available.

It's a good idea, to use the restrooms before, climbing the castle ruins, too.

It was the first time, I ever saw this Obaa (grandmother) sitting in the place.

She looks as if, she just walked out of the fields and, was sitting to rest for a minute.

While waiting for the ladies, to finish powdering their noses, I had some fun.

This photo was taken with the Pentax K3 and a 50MM lens at f/2  1/40sec.

Then, I sat down next to the Obaa, kicked off my flip-flops and, gave her a hug.

The timing was perfect only, I wish there had been another photographer in the room.

It would have been so nice, to have captured the look on my wife's face, when she saw me.

She was thinking, I was getting romantic with another granny, while she was in the restroom.

It's a wonder, she didn't have to powder her nose, again ! 


More UNESCO Castles in Okinawa

Okinawan Folktale: Did the Bride Become a Calf ?

Beautiful Chiru-gwa

 

 

Mother worried about her single daughter Chiru-gwa and, who she would marry.

All the well to do young men wanted her hand in marriage.

She would seek the advice of God, by praying outside Sonohyan Utaki.

Sketch by Marin Oshiro

A deadbeat of a man called Tara, learned of the mother's praying at the utaki.

He devised a plan, to insure, Chiru-gwa, would become his wife.

Early one morning, he hid in the bushes, behind the stone gate, of the sacred site. 

The mother was bowed with folded hands, praying in front of the gates.

From within, came a deep voice, telling her, "God speaking, listen to me, carefully.

On your journey home today, you will meet the best man for your daughter, to marry."

The mother, thanked God, bowed and started on her trip towards home.

Rounding a bend in the road, she met a smiling Tara.

Everybody knew he was a no good slouch but, the word from the heavens must be followed.

Chiru-gwa, would soon become Tara's wife.

A Wedding Was Arranged

 

 

One moonlight night, Tara dispatched a palanquin to bring home his bride.

The two men carrying her got tired and stopped alongside the road to take a rest.

Having had way too much to drink, they soon fell asleep.

Along came the King and his entourage, returning to Shuri Castle from a day on a hunt.

The King wanted to know, who was inside the palanquin.

He was told, there was a bride, crying in there and, two drunk men snoring in the grass.

He asked Chiru-gwa, why she was crying, felt sorry for her and, invited her to the castle.

He told the servants to place a calf in the palanquin and, they departed.

Next Morning 

The palanquin bearers woke up with the sun and, hurried along with their load.

A large gathering was waiting to meet the bride, at Tara's House.

When he opened the palanquin, a frightened calf, jumped out.

The crowd laughed.  They figured this was God's way of rewarding the idiot, Tara.

He became angry and took the calf to Chiru-gwa's mother and, said he didn't want it.

The mother was saddened and, worried, God may have done this to her daughter.

 

A Message from the King 

A servant from Shuri instructed Chiru-gwa's mother to bring the calf to the castle.

She bathed and brushed the calf, to present it to the King.

At the castle, she was greeted by the Queen.

The Queen exclaimed, "Mother" and hurried over to kiss her.

Chiru-gwa had become the King's bride.

REFERENCE:

Okinawan Folk Stories ISBN978-4-99009-146-0 P.160

Condensed from: The Bride Who Became a Calf  



MORE FOLKLORE

Ten Photos From an Incredible Day in Iris Fields

 Weather Forecast Wrong Again

 

After listening to all the weather gurus predict a lousy day, I came up with a plan.

Take the wife to the iris fields.

For the past five years I've been shooting photos of the flowers and she's never been along.

She loves the photos she sees as I develop them and always says, "I want to go with you."

Flower photography is work, for me.  She thinks I'm having fun when I go up there.

So, I figured, alright.  We're probably going to get rained-on so, It will be a quick trip.

 It was a little bit cloudy and hazy when we first arrived in Kijoka.

A lot more flowers were blooming than what we saw yesterday.  That surprised me.

Busloads of tourists hadn't started crowding the fields, yet.

Just a few die-hard photographers were in the fields taking photos.

This guy was good.  He could shoot without being distracted by his wife.

That's the sign of a real pro.  Nobody's allowed around me when I'm shooting.

 My goal, is to find an iris that looks like a dragon sticking its tongue out.

So, I wander off where nobody can bug me.

 Here's what I did.  Gave Mrs. RyukyuMike the Canon G 12

With that camera in fully Auto Mode she stays busy, while I go my own way.

This is one of the photos she shot. Not too shabby for a handheld point and shoot.

That other cameraman took his wife out and shot her in the field.

Then, he let his bride shoot him.  What a guy.  Huh ?

After about an hour I was getting hungry and, tired of shooting flowers.

So, I had to figure out where I lost the wife.

Once I found her I said, "Look Honey.  There's cosmos over there."

That got us closer to the car.  And, I said, "Aren't you getting hungry?"

"We should get out of here before it rains and go find someplace to  eat."

She agreed.

It wasn't just an incredible day in the iris fields; it was an incredibly lucky day for me !

UPDATE:  

Everyone should take the time to visit my "Always Entertaining Friend"

OKINAWA SOBA and Checkout his Iris Photos from 2013 

On Motobu Peninsula with the Sigma 50-500mm Lens

This photo of rice harvested and hanging out to dry was taken with the Sigma 50-500mm.

RyukyuRusty and I went to the Motobu Peninsula to get some information.

Normally I wouldn't use such a large lens for this type of photo.

It was cranked all the way down to 50mm for this shot.

A little farther out, at 138mm, I took this photo of a family doing the harvesting.

For some reason it looked like a husband and wife team hanging up the rice crop.

We see couples working the fields together all the time.

Rusty and I got going in different directions checking out the area.

When we met again he said, "See the bamboo poles fall when the wife put too much rice on the rack?"

"Nope, I missed it.  But, I bet she caught holy hell from the farmer," I said.

Lucky me, I found these scarecrows taking a break and shot a photo of them at 50mm.

While developing today's photos I discovered there wasn't any wife in the above pictures.

And it made me feel like a real dummy.

Do you suppose a person could make a decent living being hired as a scarecrow ? 

Tick in a Bellybutton (Photo) Just What I Needed !

Oh, baby, you have no idea how long I've been waiting for this. Not just a tick in a bellybutton,  but, two of them.  Not just any bellybutton, either, that's my bellybutton and I can do anything I want with it.  Hah !

The timing could have been better, though.  I just got back in town after spending a day in the hot sun, along with Doc.  We went to a place most Americans call The Cave of the Virgins, to take photos. 

You don't get to go in the caves.  It's a sacred site, Okinawa War memorial and a shockingly, sad story. 

I'll post that for you after I get all my research done and have as many facts as I can possibly gather.


So, back to the ticks.  Doc dropped me off at my office.  He noticed, before I did, the door was already open.  The wife decided to clean the place.  She was in there, tables turned up, swabbing the floor with whatever women swab floors with.  Grr, I wanted to download photos and get developing.  I dropped my camera gear off where it looked like it'd be safe and said "Hi, Sugar" or something like that.

Then, in order not to get roped into a conversation or work, I started doing what any respectable man would do.  I made believe I was doing something important.  I started looking at my bellybutton.

When you find a tick in your bellybutton, it's best not to tell your wife.  Trust me, I know, somehow. 

People even ask YAHOO WHAT TO DO when they panic over ticks in bellybuttons.


Don't panic.  Here's what I did.

I decided I needed an iced coffee.  That was my excuse to go across the street, get out in the sun again, and have a closer look at the tick I spotted.  This way nobody in my immediate family would have to freak out and call an ambulance or have blood pressure going through the roof.

Outside in the bright sunlight I could see a lot better. Ah, the great outdoors.  I hit the jackpot.  There's two of them in there.  Just little guys but, if I take real good care of them, they should grow up in just a few days.  I need them to get bigger for my project I've been planning.

See, up there in Mad Mike's Reviews, I mentioned I want to do a Swiss Army Knife Review.  And I even talked about using it to remove a tick from a bellybutton.  We'll have step by step instructions and photos.  This is the kinda stuff I love to do.  The real deal.

Just, don't anybody mention what I'm working on around the wife, OK ? 

She'll freak out and have me going to the emergency room or have me sleeping with the dogs!

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Flower Photos: Azalea This Ain't No Shrub, It's A Bonsai Tree !

Look what I found yesterday.  This bright-colored bunch of flowers grows on a tree next to a red-tiled roof in Okinawa, Japan.  This beauty isn't a whole 20 seconds walk from my house.

So, when the rain stopped for a few seconds, I grabbed the wife and the camera.  She thinks she knows everything so, I asked her to tell me what that tree was growing all those flowers.  She says it's azaleas.

Well, I told her she must be crazy. Azaleas grow on little bushes. 

I shoot them at the Azalea Festival up in the mountains and Azalea Season was over a long time ago.

Look at the size of that freakin plant.  It's a tree. 

That's me, with the camera, across the street.  I'm not exactly a midget, ya know.


It turns out, the wife really isn't crazy. They have Bonsai Azalea Trees that bloom in the month of May, in Japan.  How did women get so smart about flowers, anyway?  It drives me crazy.

Now, mind you, this is rainy season and I plan on getting some high-quality photos of those azaleas, with a pretty blue sky background, first chance I get. That might take some time.

To really get a great shot I'll have to climb the wall and sneak into the garden where the Laughing Buddha statue sits.  I know the people who own the place but, they don't wake up early enough in the morning to let me in through the gate. 

So, I'll just have to pretend I'm a criminal and climb the fence the old-fashioned way.

Just in case you want to learn more about Azaleas, I found the AZALEA SOCIETY OF AMERICA
and, another place, I'll call the THE AZALEA BONSAI TREE CHANNEL because they're the first ones who agreed with me. That Azalea ain't no shrub, it's a Bonsai Tree!

Flower and Tree (Photos) Golden and Pink Trumpets in Okinawa, Japan

This gets better all the time. Just as soon as my head cleared from researching those Golden Trumpet Trees another breed of them started popping out of the tree branches. Only these ones are PINK !

The wife told me about them. She said they were Ipe Trees and told me where she spotted them. So, first thing I did was harness up three dogs and hiked down the road without a camera, just to have a look.

The pink flowers I saw were growing right near some other trees that had Golden Trumpets on them.  They were across the highway from me.  Between the traffic and some construction going on along the highway, I decided, I wasn't running across the street to look any closer. The pink flowers looked too small to be Ipe tree flowers, to me.

So, I went home and did what any respectable man does.  I told the wife she's nuts.

"They ain't Ipe flowers and they ain't even close to being Ipe trees. They're different, Hah !"

Well, it was International Women's Day yesterday so, I decided we'd go on a little romantic walk.

That way, she could take her dog and I'd only have the two Huskies, of mine, to walk.

Plus, I could show her women ain't as smart as men, when it comes to looking at trees. Hah, again !

Well, sonovagun, when you get close enough to see the little pink things they are just like the yellow ones, only smaller.

Today, I went back and took photos so you can see for yourself.  I wish I could have climbed up in the trees and grabbed a few of each.  That way I could get them out of the wind and place them side by side for a better comparison.  If only there weren't so many construction people watching.

The pink flowered trees have larger leaves than the yellow ones.  Even the wife agrees with me on that.

Most of the leaves on the Golden Trumpets have blown away so, what you see in these photos are the pink flower's leaves.

In my never ending quest for truth, I found THIS ON WIKIPEDIA so, I guess it's safe to call the trees TABEBUIA . They are definitely Ipe Trees.

It sure would be nice to know what the scientific name is, though. I bet the Pink Trumpets and Golden Trumpets have different names. There has to be some way to convince the wife she was wrong.

Maybe we'll just have to go back under the cover of darkness.  I'll hold the ladder and send the wife up to snatch some branches of the Golden and the Pink Trumpet Trees.

If we happen to get caught, I bet the judge knows the Latin names for those flowering trees!