Sunday Camera Walk in Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

 Springtime Can't Come Soon Enough

Lately, I've been skipping the long walk to a secluded beach for catching the sunrise.

It's better to drink lots of coffee in the warmth of the kitchen before packing up to hike.

It's 7 AM and a few minutes before the sun appears rising over the ocean.

At 8:02 this Light-vented Bulbul made an appearance.

It would be 9:02 before this Grey-faced Buzzard posed for me before the Kin Powerplant.

It was 9:53 when a Zitting Cisticola let me take a rushed shot with the camera.

Finally, 20 minutes from home (and breakfast) a Brown-eared Bulbul showed its face.

The time was 10:41 and I wanted to be home before noon!

After all, Sunday is supposed to be a day of rest. Eh?

Sample Images: Pentax 560 MM Lens

 Some Bird Shots

It will take a month or two for me to write an honest review of this monster lens.

I decided it would be a good idea to post a few photos before they get buried in my files.

This Northern Shoveler, launching into the sky was taken on the morning of November 22, 2020.

Using  1.4 Teleconverter the focal length of this image was 784 MM.

The Great Egret image was taken December 8, 2020, shortly before 9 AM.

Focal Length: 560 MM

Other Equipment

A Gitzo tripod and Wimberly Gimbal with Arca-Swiss quick release plate.

Unless walking a short distance, shouldering the contraption, a backpack is required.

My favorite spots (hiking) for wildlife photography are kilometers away from home.

I backpack the big lens, while I shoulder the tripod and camera with a 300MM lens attached.

Nearing a location where the big lens will be needed, I unpack and build my big rig.

One of these days, I'll have an assistant photograph the old guy hiking with all his gear.

Meanwhile, just use your imagination!

Kin Town Thermal Power Station Images

Monday Morning Camera Stroll

More than eight photos were downloaded today but they weren't power plant photos.

The original plan was to shoot some bird photos with 70 -700 MM of glass.

That smokestack at the power station is sort of a landmark in town so, I shot it.

For wildlife, the lens would be stretched all the way out to 700 MM.

But, scenes like the power plant smokestack, required more of a wide angle.

It's been a long time since I've taken a long walk with a heavy lens and tripod.

So, I left the office well before sunup, to take advantage of the cool air.

My first shot of the power plant was taken at 5:59 AM.

Not far past the Kin Town Library was the location used in this composition.

At that hour, lighting wasn't terrific so, ISO had to be bumped up to 1600.

Just when you think the weather couldn't be better, it gets worse!

But, we have a saying in Okinawa. If, you don't like the weather, wait for 5 minutes.

It always changes. Another thing you could do is drive over to the other side of the island.

It was 6:34 AM when this scene was captured.

At 6:36 AM I had to zoom in to catch this Cattle Egret flying towards the smokestack.

More images of these birds (close up) will be posted at a later date.

By 7:22 the sun was higher in the sky and, I got the urge to do this.

Put some banana trees in the foreground, to show the smokestack isn't in the city.

At 8:03 this composition was made showing some pine trees in the foreground.

We don't get Autumn coloring in the landscape around here.

Just some of the pines turn reddish from Pine Beetles. A year-round event.

A bypass, under construction, posed in this photo for me.  It was 8:29 AM.

Hopefully, the construction will be completed this year and, I can walk across the top of it.

That would give a great view of the bird locations and the sea at Blue Beach below.

This photo was taken at 8:39 while hiking uphill alongside the bypass being fabricated.

Knowing the sun would be blazing hot after 9 AM, I was headed back into town.

The image at the top of this page turned out to be one of my favorite.

That was composed at 8:50 and, half an hour later, I would reach the office.

Which photo would you select if, you had to select one as a landmark for Kin Town?

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 !

10 Animated Images from a Summer Festival

Eisa Matsuri

 

 

 

The month of August, has to be the best month of the year for festival-goers.

Every summer, Kin Town has an Eisa Festival.  This one happened yesterday.
 
Luckily it didn't start, until the weather cooled, after 5PM.

Eisa began as a dance performed during Obon and was called Bon Odori (dance) years ago.

Bon Odori is still performed throughout Japan during the Obon season.

In Okinawa, the dance was modified and, it is performed throughout the year.

The young men and women practice the moves, months in advance of this matsuri.

Besides the drums, speakers blast music from the sanshin players on the stage.

The village district banners (hatagashira) are carried on bamboo poles.

Only one camera, lens and tripod were used for this event.

The idea being, I wanted to travel light and be able to move quickly.

The team from Nakagawa had girls, wearing pink flip-flops and yukatta.

Yukatta is another word for summer kimono.

One of those Eisa gals, in pink, happens to be my #1 granddaughter.

After, I captured a few hundred photos of her, it was time to take a break.

The camera got switched off so, I could do some socializing with the beer drinkers.

Travel Photo: Scene from Namisato

Most of the time my cameras are set to spot focus on the eyes of wildlife.

After shooting all morning it was time to head to town for lunch.

When this scene caught my eye, I had to stop and take one more photo.

The metering mode was switched to pattern, in order to have sharp focus on the entire area.

Camera: Pentax K3

Lens: Pentax DAF4--300mm

Exposure:  f/11  1/100   ISO 100  

Date and Time:  MAY 21, 2015 at 11:16AM

12 Photos from a GPS Waypoint Trek in Kin Town Okinawa

What the Heck is a Waypoint ?

 

 

This is something I have been experimenting with for the past week.

With a camera and a handheld GPS gadget, you can record where you have been traveling.

Each time you take a photo, take a reading with the GPS device and, save them.

Today, I just used the Canon G12 and a Garmin Etrex 20.

The rock is a landmark in Kin Town; remains of a castle wall, maybe.

The purple berries caught my attention so, I shot them to see what flowers blossom, later.

Up to this point, the trek was mostly along city sidewalks.

Now, it was time to go off-road for a little while.

It would be nice to know if the satellites, in the sky, can find me when I go in here.

Each time, I stopped for a photo, I entered a GPS waypoint on the handheld gadget.

Things were slightly wet and slippery in the woods because of recent rains.

The fresh air and smell of composting leaves in the forest felt good.

Cabin fever sets-in after a few days of being house bound during rainy season.

This park bench gave me an idea.

Get out of the woods and buy some iced coffee and sandwiches, it made me think.

This little journey was through a sacred site called Tomusuzu Utaki.

 A little ways down a hill from the Utaki, is this convenience store.

Once a few sandwiches and coffee were packed away, it was time to go back in the woods.

There are some mysterious sights along these trails through the woods.

A Kin Town pamphlet says there are records of this site dating back to the 18th Century.

It says, before World War II people prayed here for prosperity.

Have a look at that cup in the center of the photo.

It has been placed at the entrance of a cave and, someone put it there recently.

Another bench looked like a nice place to rest with my lunch.

But, I decided to carry it back to the office and, eat there, where nobody could sneak up on me.

Do you suppose, someone comes out of that cave and, drinks the sake from that cup ?

When the hairs on the back of your neck, stand up, it's a good idea to move along.

This stone marker is in front of a special tree at Kin Temple.

With over 100 trees called cultural assets, I GPS marked it and took a photo.

One of these days, we will GPS them all.

This is Kin Kannon-do, a Buddhist Temple in my neighborhood.

It doesn't matter what your religion may be. Everyone is welcome here.

Back at the office, I download the camera and the GPS device and, do some magic.

If everything worked, as planned, these images will have been Geo-tagged.

Look at Google Earth and, you can follow the trail, I took today, without getting wet !


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10 Photos from a Two Hour Flower Walk

3 Minutes of Blue Skies Shining on Me

Not especially high tech, at computer stuff, I tried something new today.

There was a huge (6000x4000 pixel) photo of a bridge in blue skies, I was saving.

It had a speck of dust, up in this blue portion of sky.

There are all sorts of Adobe programs that can be used to remove dust.

And, I own a bunch of them but, never tried dust removal on any of my photos.

Dust on a camera sensor or, a spot on a lens, shouldn't be there, in the first place.

So, whenever, I see a spot on one of my images, I just throw it away.

And, go figure out where it came from.  Then, fix the problem.

This Was a Special Photo

 

 

 

It was high time, I taught my self, how to do digital spot removal.

So, I did some online research and read my Dummies book.

Then, opened the photo with my Adobe Elements.

Thinking, I knew what I was doing, removing the dust, here's what happened:

The bridge disappeared along with the dust !

Everything (eventually) turned out alright and I gotterdun.

But, can't show you the image, just yet, because it's going to be in a contest.

Anyhow, the incident reminded me of this tune.

There's no sense, letting some good old blue skies go to waste.

Enjoy the Willie Nelson song and music. 

Nice to See the Cops Today on the Sesoko Island Bridge

This is the view from Sesoko Island, looking towards Okinawa.

The photo was taken at 6:45 and, I would walk to the halfway point before dark.

The idea, was to take photos of fireworks around 8PM.

The fireworks display was taking place at Expo Park in Motobu.

It was fairly challenging, shooting a camera.

Too many people decided to drive over the bridge and park on it to watch the show.

That didn't bother me.  It was the traffic jams they were causing and the glare of headlights.

Along came the police with their loudspeaker and, they chased everybody away.

It made me so happy, I wanted to buy those guys some donuts !

Activities at a Preschool Happyokai (発表会) in Ginoza Okinawa

Watch the Action from Your Air-conditioned Room

 

 

Thinking it would be a Tanabata Festival sort of event, held indoors, I carried a flash.

In a school auditorium, packed with kids and parents, I'd have to shoot fast.

The first surprise was, we would be outdoors on a hot and steamy summer night.

It was shortly before 7PM when I took this photo.

Happy to be outside, I left the external flash and spare batteries in my pocket.

Natural lighting, suits me best and, being in the open, I could move around a lot easier.

Parents, who know me, were asking me to take plenty of photos.

Normally, I would do that, anyway. I try to get pictures of everybody's kids.

It's hard enough for me to identify my own family members at events like this.

The kids , were Eisa dancing with frogs on their heads.

And, it looks like they are beating laundry detergent bottles.

 The only way, to make sure, you get a photo of your friend's kid, is shoot everybody.

Then, load a bunch of photos up and let Auto Awesome, put them together.

That way, parents can look at the motion GIFs and try to find their kids.

These children, must be older. They have real drums.

It's important, to make sure, all the boys and girls get their picture taken.

So, I try and make sure, no one is left out.

That teacher, in the red kimono, really knew how to get those children dancing.

There's a model release, in my camera bag, she could sign.

It's too bad, Mrs. RyukyuMike and I, didn't stay longer.

We left the Village of Ginoza and headed back to Kin Town.

A daughter, called, while we were soaking up the air-conditioning and some suds in a bar.

And, she said, after all the children went home, the parents and teachers continued.

They continued the celebrating Tanabata, while the children were sleeping.

Groan

If we had stayed, I might have had a few beers with them.

And, if I got the courage, I'd have asked that gal to teach me how to do that dance !