What a day Saturday turned out to be in Okinawa, Japan. It started off with Doc, my shooting buddy and I going to some Pottery Fair to shoot photos. It was a bit chilly and windy outside so I figured, OK.
I'll just take my short lens and tripod, go along with Doc and pretend I'm having a good time. So, that's what I did.
Only, when Doc wasn't lookin', before we even got to the pottery, I shot a bird (Photo) and you'll get to see that later. Our mission was to shoot pottery and that's exactly what we did.
See, I shot some cups. These aren't your average cup, though. These babies are handmade, hand-painted, fired in a woodburning kiln, red clay, glazed, I'm not sure, microwave-safe, works of art called Yachimun, cups. They're made in a town named Yomitan.
In Japan, sometimes, people get so good at artwork like this, the government designates them Living National Treasures !
So, I went around shooting the pottery very carefully, setting up my tripod and camera, excusing myself, being polite, asking for permission to move some pieces, sometimes, and just acting like I was a professional cameraman, doing important stuff. Folks were really nice to me and let me do pretty much whatever I wanted. They probably thought I was enjoying my work but, the truth is: Pottery shooting, just doesn't turn me on. I'd rather be somewhere else shooting birds. So, after about 35 shots of Yachimun, cups, bowls, tea pots, plates, sake flasks and some I-have-no-idea what the other stuff was, I said "Doc, let's go shoot birds".
We found a spot along the East China Sea where the birds could use an Air Traffic Controller there were so many of them. Well, not really, I wouldn't want to see an Air Traffic Controller here because they'd have airplanes flying into the birds and be landing the planes in the rivers, so pilots could become heros for not blowing their horns and telling the birds to get out of the way.
The weather warmed up a little, the sun was shining and the tide was just right for all kinds of birds to be out flying and fishing. The only thing that could have made it a better day would have been me bringing along the 500mm lens. It really didn't matter, though, I was out where I belong and doing what I like to do.
These guys put on a great show for me. and I had the best day of the whole month, so far, just being there watching them. I filled up a couple of Gigabytes of SD cards and when I got home, downloaded and started processing them. I haven't even put a dent in the pile of photos yet. But, I was up until 3AM trying.
Now, I really have nothing against pottery. It's all good stuff. But, give me a choice and I'd rather spend the day outside at the beach, in the jungles or up in the mountains with my camera. That's what I do.
I think all wildlife should be declared National Treasures, not just in Japan; everywhere. That's right.
Here's Saturday's Photo Count: BIRDS 535 POTTERY: 35
Where would you prefer to spend your Saturdays with the birds or looking at pottery?
