When Wildlife Calls Get Out of Town (Photo Essay)

Today I got on the road with RyukyuRu.  We went to do some photography in the city, again.

Starting at UNESCO Shuri Castle I recomposed a photo I had done before at night.

Then moved outside the castle gates to shoot another UNESCO World Heritage property that is missed by most visitors, even though they walk right by it on their way into the castle.

It is the Stone Gate of Sonohyan Utaki.

That is the entrance to a sacred site where worship took place when Okinawa was known as the Ryukyu Kingdom and the property is still considered sacred to most Okinawans to this date.

To make sure I don't get this Utaki, or shrine confused with another one we have in the east  I caught a quick shot of this plaque.  I'll keep it on file along with the Stone Gate photo and have all the information I need for research in both Japanese and English.  You never know when it may come in handy.

Now, taking photos of castles, shrines, festivals is alright with me.  It can even be a challenge for me at times.  That can be fun but, I really enjoy being far away from any city a whole lot more.

Before we got to that bridge in the first photo, wildlife called me.

RyukyuRu was locking up the car or checking his GPS while I was off setting up a tripod.

When he caught up to me I sort of whispered "Woodpecker" and pointed in the direction I spotted it.  These characters don't hold still for very long.

That's where Continuous, or Burst Mode comes in handy.

After I knew I nabbed a good shot of some wildlife, we could have headed home.  I was happy.

But, we decided to investigate this patch of woods and found all kinds of things to shoot.

We'll have to get back there one of these days.  He can drop me off in the early morning,  go shoot castles, sacred sites, temples, waterfalls, or whatever else he sees along the trail.  Then, come back and pick me up at sunset.  When wildlife calls just get me out of town.

Butterfly in Blossom a Thursday Photo

Even on a cloudy day with an 80% chance of rain predicted you can find something on the mountains of Kunigami Okinawa, Japan to take a photo of in the wild.

After spending three days this week in the city of Naha it felt great getting out of town and up into the hills along the northwest coast.

Some crickets, a snake, a spider and this butterfly landing on a pink blossom were my targets today and I figured LadyE would probably like this shot best for her series of worldwide travel photography titled

 

TRAVEL PHOTO THURSDAY.

In just a minute, I'll be over there checking out all the other travelers' photography.

Foreign Interference at the Naha Okinawa 2011 Tug-O-War

Most of you know, I like to throw a few photos on my blog every day and show off my island.

And, I pretty much like to keep things on the light side.

There's no humor in what I've got today so, if that's what you were looking for, I apologize in advance for disappointing you.

What this photo shows is the view from the reviewing stands at the 2011 Naha Tug-O-War.

The two ends of the Guinness World Record rope (male and female) are being joined.

Some foreigner, I'm guessing by the hair color, decided it was more important for his child to view the joining of the male and female ropes than all the folks in the reviewing stands.

There are over 50 photos I took attempting to capture the joining of the ropes but,  it was impossible to see because of, what I call, foreign interference.

Now, I'm lucky.  I was standing on a ladder at the reviewing stands.  I got a better view.

Two of my fellow cameramen were at different locations so,  I can get photos of the event if I need to.

As a matter of fact,  I can even get a close up shot of the bad parent using a child to obstruct everyone's view but, wouldn't want to give folks the idea that I'm vindictive, or anything like that.

Mind you, I shoot photos at many events and am well aware of people accidentally popping into view when a photographer is trying to compose a photo.  It happens.

This scene was not one of those accidents.  This went on for well over ten minutes.

Yesterday I spoke to a member of the Naha Tug-O-War Committee about this and was asked to blog about it.  So, here I am and I'm not happy.  But, someone needs to speak up.

Cultural insensitivity,  ignorance, or just plain stupidity,  I have no idea what it is.

What I think someone should do is apologize to the Mayor of Naha for this foreign interference.

Er, ya think I should just get vindictive ?

VISIT MY WEBSITE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Pretty Girl in a Tree and a Balanced Rock (Photos)

Sometimes my busy schedule has me stumbling upon the most unusual photographic subjects.

Today was one of those days. 

I'm a little bit pressed for time, right now so, this won't be my usual blog post.

Here's a photo of a pretty girl I met in a tree in Naha Okinawa, Japan on my way to a Chinese Garden.

Of course, I asked permission to shoot her.  She'll get the best photo. You know.

Don't ask me how this stuff happens.  A girl was sitting in a tree with an Apple laptop.

  And, within the hour, I ran across this balancing rock so, I shot it, too.

There's really no time for me to tell you much more because ahem, ahum, I'm really busy right now. 

Just this pretty girl sitting in a tree and the balancing rock caught my eye and I shot them.

If you were me, what would you have done?

2011 Naha Okinawa Tug-O-War Photos

Here is an assortment of photos from the 2011 Naha Tug-O-War

The photos above were taken using a

 CANON G12

MANFROTTO TRIPOD

PENTAX K5