Ten Photos From The 2012 Okinawa Azalea Festival

The hills in northern Okinawa, Japan for the 2012 Azalea Festival came to life yesterday.

There was a marching band that came from far away to entertain the crowds.

So, while they were getting ready to play,  I sneaked off to shoot some flowers.

There are lots of hills to climb with azaleas sprouting all over them.

Traveling in the People Avoidance Mode was the best way to shoot the azaleas.

So, that's what I did.

A few times, it looked like a storm was going to come from offshore but, it never happened.

Looking at all the unopened flower buds, I'd say, there will be a few more weeks of Azaleas.

It's real easy to spend three, or four hours walking the hills.

And, if you get tired, there are plenty of places, along the way, to take a break.

Going up and down all those hills is great exercise but, it can wear you out.
 

Like, I even met this lady, dragging her cat along on a leash.

SHE WAS HOT !

The cat, I mean. 

So, she laid down and took a catnap.

When I had my fill of Azaleas, I went and joined the crowd.

Some Okinawa dance and sanshin music in a festival tent was where I ended the day.

The 2012 Okinawa Azalea Festival was fun but, it wasn't like that time I ran into the 

PRETTY GIRL WITH AN ALIEN

Maybe, I'll go back to take photos of the azaleas next week, again !

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SANSHIN DAY IN OKINAWA AND THE ISLANDS ARE ROCKING !

OKINAWA SANSHIN DAY: A PHOTO ESSAY

See more photos and get directions at MAP IT OKINAWA

Visit my Homepage for THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

Today is Sanshin Day in Okinawa and the Islands are Rocking !

March 4th is Sanshin No Hi (Samisen Day).  That's a day of celebration all over Okinawa.

The sanshin is known as a samisen, to some folks.

Last year, I did a photo essay about the Sanshin.

This year, I'm going to show you my favorite performer with his sanshin.

Watch this You Tube Video.

Then, you'll understand why I say "The islands are rocking" !

Limited Offer: March Maddness Sale of Mikes Ryukyu Gallery

FOLKS DON'T MISS OUT ON THIS ONCE IN A LIFETIME SPECIAL OFFER !

Most times rednecks like us don't make this much money in ten years.

Not even the real industrious ones ya see sneakin' out the back doors of banks.

That there screenshot, up above, came off the internet last night, probably while a lot of lazy folks were sleepin', or (big city dwellers) occupyin' streets.

Now, whoever dun the calculations and come up with an estimated worth for Mike's Ryukyu Gallery at $263,637 USD might have been leaning on the side of generosity, just a tad.

So, I'm going to round it off to, let's say, something like just a quarter million dollars.

LIMITED OFFER

The March Maddness Sale of Mikes Ryukyu Gallery (dot) com, website, blog and whole kit along with a kaboodle of photos (that's a lot) goes like this:

Understand, we got to get the money in the bank before April Fools Day.

So, all bids must be made by March 15, 2012.

Place your bid by hitting CONTACT ME on MY HOMEPAGE.

The highest bidder, who bids over $100,000 but, under $150,000 USD by midnight EST March 15, 2012

WILL BE THE PROUD NEW OWNER OF MIKE'S RYUKYU GALLERY

and this redneck boy's gonna go buy a fishin' boat to get around in, by golly !

Friday Photos: Stained Glass in Okinawa From A Safer Angle

This photo was taken going in to the Okinawa International Orchid show in 2012.

The camera, a Pentax K5, was mounted on a tripod and a shutter cable release was used.

Stained glass is a great subject for photography.  I've had better shots of the stuff that went somewhere in contests but, this one I'm only using here for comparison.

This photo was taken at a safer angle than those I shot last year.

It just doesn't have the perfect lighting required to be a contest winner.

This photo taken in 2011, of the same stained glass, was made using the Pentax K10D.

It was much later in the afternoon and the light spread evenly through the scene.

This shot won't go anywhere in a contest, either.

The composition is off and, the the shot was taken in a rush, without a tripod or cable release.

So, we have one photo with lousy lighting and fairly good composition.

Then, one with good lighting and lousy composition.

Why didn't the cameraman take his time on the second shot ?

That's because, while I was lying on the floor trying to compose the shot

 a busload of girls in short skirts

WALKED OVER ME !

The 2012 photo was taken from a safer angle.

Wouldn't you agree ?

VISIT MY HOMEPAGE FOR THE PHOTO OF THE DAY

The Three Bird Hangover Cure: An Extremely Short Photo Essay

This is a true story.  These three birds cured a hangover today somewhere on the island of Okinawa, Japan.

Around 3AM this morning I was in my office and knew I would be late for the 9AM camera trip that DOC GRAFF and I usually do every chance we get. So, I sent him a text message letting him know I was tied up with some very important Orion Beers.  It would be best if he showed up later than usual by driving slowly to come get me. We got a late start.

The first bird photo was taken after 2PM.  That's an Osprey looking for a fish.

Down in the mangrove forest we split up, going separate ways along the river bank.

There is a little baby duck in the center of this photo. Chasing little baby ducks that don't want their picture taken is hard work.  It makes a body sweat.  That's a great cure for hangovers.

It takes lots of patience and many snaps of the shutter, me telling the bird to show me his eye, get out of the shadows and into some better light, maneuvering around and all kinds of contortionist stuff while I'm singing (way better than Tom T. Hall) "I LOVE LITTLE BABY DUCKS" before I actually catch the bird's eye close to where I want it.

That's probably the reason my shooting buddies always split off from me when we're on the trail.  
Talking to birds is bad enough, without singing at them, to make people think you are crazy.

After I caught up with Doc, we headed back towards the car and along came this bird.

It's commonly called a Water Turkey, Snakebird, or Darter; scientific name Anhiga anhiga.

We've never seen these Anhiga birds flying around where we were at before so, this bird had me feeling like I was on cloud nine.

But, just in case those three birds didn't completely cure the hangover, along came the Osprey again and he pointed his eyeball right at the sun for me.

Try the Three Bird Hangover cure next time you get a wicked one.  It really works.

Or, you could do what I'm planning on doing tonight.  Don't drink !