Cherry Blossom (桜) Photos: The Okinawa Challenge

The Weather Doesn't Always Cooperate

 

Today we went up north in Okinawa to check out the sakura for our followers.

Folks planning their weekends like to know how the cherry blossoms are coming along.

There was scarce sunshine, few blossoms and plenty of cold wind.  It even rained a bit.

After checking the situation at UNESCO Nakijin Castle we did some off the beaten path stuff.

Nakijin-jo is having their Sakura Matsuri grand-opening this weekend.  I'd wait.

Ya'll know the Map It Okinawa dude and the crazy places he finds, right ?

He was out in the middle of nowhere, going up a river, to see where it went.  I waited.

That's when the rain started.

It occurred  to me, I hadn't shot a cherry blossom, all day.

That's when I got the idea to shoot some sakura, under challenging conditions.

These few sprigs of cherry blossoms were next to the shelter, I'd be hiding in.

So, I played around with spot focusing on some of them.

And I moved around to give the scene some background, other than grey skies.

This technique can be used anywhere.

It's a good idea, to get your camera off AUTO Mode and play with aperture settings.

Decide if you want the background blurred or, sharpened.

This photo was taken with on-camera flash.

Fooling around with shutter speeds and flash settings gives all sorts of results.

There's no way, I'm going chasing sakura without coming home with some flower photos.

 This cherry blossom photo turned out to be one of my favorite shots of the day.

There's something about a sakura on a rainy day, that I can't explain.

One photo (taken with flash) like this, in the rain, has received over 12,000 views on this blog.

When the weather takes a nasty turn or, the flowers aren't in full bloom, take the challenge !

RELATED POSTS: 

See Cherry Blossoms (桜) in Winter 

Cherryblossom (桜) Festival Okinawa, Japan (Photo Essay)

2012 Nago Cherry Blossom Festival A 12 Photo Essay

NOTE: The best sources, tell me Mt Yadake is at about 50% bloom.

Visit Okinawa2Go! Project for daily updates on Facebook.

More tips and tricks for your camera travels in PHOTO TIPS

Editor's Picks (Photos) for the Month of Jan 2013

Female Priests of Okinawa

 Mountain Tiger Butterfly

Mejiro in Sakura (桜) 2013

At the Butterfly House in Okinawa

White Wagtail (Montacilla alba)

January is only half way over but, I probably won't enter any more photo contests.

 Sakura (桜) Season has started and, I plan on being busy.

The Cherry Blossoms are turning the hills brilliant colors and I don't want to miss them.

So, don't count on me hanging around here when I can be out with the cameras.

In the event any more Editor's Picks turn up we'll see them at the end of January 2013.

Some Kinda Freaking Frigatebird in Okinawa (Photos)

It Was Supposed to Be an Easy Day

Last night a guy sitting in a bar, watching TV, said "Albatross".

The birds they were showing looked like this one, to me.

So, I asked the guy if he's ever seen one of them in Okinawa.

And, he says, "Nope".

Well, I told him, he just gave me an idea for my blog.

These photos were taken back in 2007.

All I had to do was dig through some old files and post them, along with a good link.

That would mean about 20 minutes of work and I'd be done for the day.

The gal behind the counter was nice enough to loan me a pen.

The word, Albatross was scratched down on a napkin and slipped into my pack of smokes.

It's so much fun knowing tomorrow will be an easy day.

Heck, I bought the whole house a round and maybe, had ten more beers, myself.

Then, today happened.

Probably, a few thousand birds, online and called Albatross crossed my eyes.

None of them looked like this one.

Half a day of research is way more than needs to be wasted on one bird.

It was time to get some assistance or, scratch the blog for today.

I voted for HELP !

Twenty minutes after posting them in the Bird ID Forum, the emails started coming.

The bird isn't an Albatross.  It's some kinda freaking Frigatebird.

Moral of the Story

Don't talk to people watching TV in a bar, if you want to have an easy day tomorrow !

UPDATE:  From the Bird Forum.Net--This is a Great Frigatebird !

 

Based upon this information posted by Chris Butterworth,

"It's a 2nd > 3rd stage juvenile, white-breasted morph, Great Frigatebird. 

Lesser has much less white on the underparts and distinct 'spurs' of white running onto the

 underwing coverts and a tawny head at this stage".



More About the Great Frigatebird (Fregata minor) at ARKive

Forgotten Art of Photo Framing--Not a DIY Project

General Rule for Those Selling Photography

 

If you ever decide to frame your photos and sell them consider the costs of your finished product.

Some photographers do their own framing.

A general rule to follow is this:  Sell the photo for five times the amount invested in materials.

When I first started out, I printed and framed all my photos for display, and sale.

Today, I discovered it's a forgotten art.  And it's not a do it yourself project I enjoy, anymore.

GROAN

The weather in Okinawa took a wicked turn, over the past 24 hours.

It seems like we're having the frozen tailwinds of a mini typhoon blowing around here.

 I decided to goof-off today and do some indoor work. 

Down on the corner, a photo studio does digital prints.  So, I gave him some business.

Three prints were made.  The guy loved this bird and blossom photo.

 I figure that was what inspired me to frame it.

The frame is an old one, I disassembled, cleaned-up and reused.

Nobody can imagine the mess I made around here and, I ain't going to show you .

Thumbtacks, tape, pushpins, pens, pencils, rulers, vinegar, spray paint, chunks of my beard,

 ponytail, fingernails, coffee, spray adhesive, splinters of wood and broken glass are everywhere !

Do you know what it's like trying to peel a Fujifilm Color print off your face ?

When you get it loose, it's all wrinkled and doesn't want to lay flat.

Once I remember how to do this, like I used to, I'll show everybody how to getterdun.

The sun is coming out.  So, I better get going. There's a festival in town.

Gotta get the epoxy out of my hair or, wear a hat and go shootin' !

Todoroki Waterfall Okinawa in January (Photos)

Last Friday we made a trip back to visit Todoroki Waterfall.

When the Map It Okinawa dude mentioned going there, I cussed a little.

The last time I took a camera up there, I slipped and fell.  Hard.

So, I decided, this time to stay down near the bottom, while Map It climbed.

 These photos were taken using a Sigma 10-20mm lens on the Pentax K5.

Map It Okinawa was gone a few hours but, I kept myself entertained, no problems.

There was a crew with big TV cameras, filming gals doing yoga. Hah !

If you want to learn yoga visit Waka Yogi on YouTube

She's the expert, a Brand Ambassador for Reebok and was leading the other gals.

They joked and said I looked like some kind of guru.

So, I've been thinking of cancelling my annual beard-cutting, this year.

Maybe, I'll just turn into one of those Yoga-watching Gurus !



To see and hear Todoroki Waterfall, visit OkiNinjaKitty on You Tube