Wordless Wednesday

Rain Can't Stop Cherry Blossom Lovers

Wet and Breezy on the Mountain

 

 

Just to keep everyone informed, another trip was made up Mt. Yae, yesterday.

Luckily, Map It Okinawa Dude was driving; that's too far of a hike, for me.

The higher up that ear-popping mountain, you go, the colder it gets.

Wind blowing and rain falling make photography more challenging than usual.

 I figured it would be a good idea, to jump out of the car and snap a few photos.

Here's an image taken from almost the exact spot, I stood at, two weeks ago.

The shot couldn't be duplicated because, too many vehicles were coming up the road.

Standing with a tripod, in the middle of the street, can be dangerous.

 These young ladies, were out there in the rain, taking pictures and, doing selfies.

They saw the old man, with a furry face and posed for me.  Good girls.

 Where a Pentax camera, come in handy, is when it's raining outside.

Other than, keeping raindrops off of the lens, I didn't have to worry about it getting wet.

 The cell phone, I use is water resistant, too so, I snapped this photo.

The folks at the camera store know, I put their stuff through some rough tests.

They should send me free stuff and, see if it can be broken. I'd do a bang-up job for them !

 The trees, sort of blossomed sporadically, this year and, I wouldn't say they are at full bloom, yet.

Maybe it's fifty percent at full bloom, at this point; there are lots of barren cherry trees.

 It would have been, much more enjoyable, up there on a sunny day.

Maybe in the next weekend or, two the whole mountain will busting out in pink flowers.

Some of my camera-shooting friends live up there in Motubu.

They should do like, I do.  Sneak out of the house before the women wake up.

And, spend the whole day, snapping photos of cherry blossoms.

When, there's no blue skies, to add to the scene, I climb high and shoot down into the valley.

The colors and contrast make an interesting scene, I think.

Once my clothes were soaking wet and I was half frozen, it was time to get out of there.

Do you, love cherry blossoms enough, to visit them in the rain ?

10 Images Prior to Kin Town's Sakura Matsuri

Let's Call It a Sakura Report

 

 

There will be a Kin Dam Matsuri held this coming weekend in this location.

Plenty of nature activities are planned for those with families and, that's a good thing.

In case anyone's wondering, a matsuri happens to be a festival, in Japanese.

Instead of watching snow fall, folks around here, enjoy viewing sakura, this time of year.

The pink flowers in photo #1 are the same ones you see in photo #2.

It just took me awhile, maneuvering around with 420MM of lens, to take the first shot.

Both sides of the road, leading towards Kin Dam, are lined with these sakura trees.

So, I looked closely for the pink, red and white flower blossoms. 

 Driving an automobile, you might not notice any flowers blooming.

That's why, it's a good idea to walk.  Say, "Yeah, there's one, over there!" if you spot some.

That's what I do, anyway.  And, take pictures.

Everywhere the festivals are scheduled, this year, it seems, someone jumped the gun.

The flowers are blooming a week or two, after the events have started.

It makes me wonder.  Who plans these events, the dam people or the weatherman ?

Flowers, listen to Mother Nature and, blossom when it's the right time.

They don't necessarily follow the city office plans or, the calendar.

Maybe, what they really need is some sort of Nature Guru, to schedule these things.

That way, you could have flower festivals, when the things are blooming !

On weekends, where nothing else is happening, hold chug-a-lug contests.

Barbecuing and drinking beer is more fun than, watching flowers, anyway !

Providing the weather cooperates, this festival should be fun, even without flowers.

The live band performing, has some of my friends playing onstage.

So, guaranteed, I'll be there to support them and, have a few drinks with the gang.

Leaving the area, I looked back and, took this shot with Kin Dam in the background.

And, I said, "Dam."

Flower Photo: Simple Sakura

Just a Cherry Blossom

 

 

Not to worry, about Teru Teru Bozu; the thing miraculously survived yesterday.

Even though it rained most of the day, a few minutes of sunshine, were spotted. 

Being the kind of creator I am, the wicked rascal got a pardon. And, the sun shined today.

About 100 cherry blossoms were taken, on a four hour camera walk today.

Standby for some sort of Sakura Report, on Kin Town, tomorrow.

Camera:  Pentax K3

Lens: Pentax 300MM with 1.4 converter - Focal Length 420MM

Exposure:  f/5.6   1/125  ISO 200 W/Camera Flash

Location:  Kin Town, Okinawa, Japan

Date and Time:  JAN 31  2016  1:56PM

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Checklist: Sakura Photography Tomorrow

5 Things to Remember

 

 

Normally, you wouldn't catch me going back up north during cherry blossom season.

Some guests want to go and shoot photos so, I'll be getting ready.

Before leaving the office, I decided to make this checklist, to remind me of a few items.

1. Weekends are the most crowded days for people and traffic. Don't go unless you have to.

2. Weather forecast: 70% chance of rain. Bring an umbrella and waterproof jacket.

3. A stepladder puts you above the crowds.  Bring one.

4.  Japanese White Eyes (Mejiro) love sakura (cherry blossoms). Bring along a big, fast lens. 

5.  If it rains all day, take Teru Teru Bozu off the mailbox and, throw him away !