Life in Japan - Pictures galore !! Arcades, Temples, Rainy days, etc

[GaijinPunch]

Those are good -- like that first one.

If you're just going to use Lightroom, one nifty trick is the split tone tab. Set the shadows to a shade of teal, and the highlights to something somewhere between yellow and orange. Play w/ the saturation levels (10 is usually noticeable). Since Lightroom has no RGB curves layers, that's the easiest way. Ironically, Photoshop has no split tone layer. :|

Fun Fact: While the English Photoshop runs about $700 USD in America, it retails for 100,000 yen in Japanese shops. What a fucking rip off.

[Yakumo]

thanks. I like the first one too. I took a few pictures of that guy before I got the one I wanted.

Good tip on Lightroom. I have been playing around with some of the settings but have yet to try your advice. Just reading what you wrote makes sense though. It is funny that Lightroom has no RGB curves but Photoshop does :)

No surprise on Photoshop costing a shit load more here but THAT MUCH MORE!!! That is a fucking rip off. 100,000 yen is not far off twice as much as the US price.

[GaijinPunch]

Japanese just love getting gouged. It's crazy.

[GaijinPunch]

The rest of what I've processed so far. Need to get back out.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8008/7554698836_f6808c01fa_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554698836/)
Girl in Shinjuku Station 05 (Cinematic) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554698836/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7272/7554701896_6d3b563105_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554701896/)
Waiting for the Signal (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554701896/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7554702370_41739d64c2_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554702370/)
Tochou 04 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554702370/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7116/7554703858_79395ae8a3_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554703858/)
Shinjuku Station Boy (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554703858/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7113/7554699992_bbb014bd29_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554699992/)
Shinjuku Dildo Building 4 (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554699992/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

The best shop name EVER!
3755

Yakumo

[HEX1GON]

The best shop name EVER!
Yakumo

LOL! Even my mother laughed at that. She asked if it was a real store :P

[GaijinPunch]

There's a shop called Beaver in Shibuya. :|

[Yakumo]

LOL! Even my mother laughed at that. She asked if it was a real store :POh yes, that's the shops real name. I actually told the staff what it meant and you should have seen their faces turn red :D

[Yakumo]

A few shots taken with my new phone.

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/7667972742_f20a767eed_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667972742/)
shopping for icecream (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667972742/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8028/7667972990_f189b43a93_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667972990/)
Mekari Shrine close (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667972990/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8019/7667973270_2c70869d46_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667973270/)
Sea Post (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667973270/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8144/7667973582_41a26aeb9a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667973582/)
Mekari Shrine (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667973582/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8152/7667974020_b2cb6592e5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667974020/)
Kamon Bridge (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/7667974020/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

And a nice video taken on the phone in 1080p

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A3uNOgGRKhI

Yakumo

[SuperGrafx]

Thumbs up as always, Mr. Yakumo

[Yakumo]

:) I'm happy others enjoy our photos.

[GaijinPunch]

Not been getting out much. Maybe I'll do that that this week.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8153/7554698972_12eeac57a9_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554698972/)
Sleepy (3) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7554698972/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7262/7680566014_de67e5c036_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680566014/)
Summer Bubbles 01 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680566014/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8024/7680565214_cbf103c90f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680565214/)
Summer Bubbles 03 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680565214/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7257/7680568694_b7f4c7862b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680568694/)
Mt. Fuji Bird (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680568694/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7280/7680566502_f54c36d3c3_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680566502/)
Singing in the Park 01 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680566502/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7124/7680566902_9a12861fee_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680566902/)
Shibuya Sewer (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7680566902/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[graciano1337]

Any more pics from Mt. Fuji? It looks like you reached quite an elevation.

[GaijinPunch]

Any more pics from Mt. Fuji? It looks like you reached quite an elevation.

Only a couple. I dehydrated at station 8 (about 80% the way up) and never recovered. Got the shits, shakes, nausea (but fought that off as I knew I had to keep the fluids down). I sweat through my entire backpack, so my last dry shirt was not dry by the time I got up there. :( So, I wasn't really in a picture mood on the way down (alone). The toilets were worse than Thailand as well.

[Legion]

Sorry to hear that Gaijin Punch...
I actually got more energized the further up I went - maybe due to all the cardio pushing my illness aside and stimulating me for once. It rained a few times on the way up then went really hot on the way down so perhaps that helped wit the fluids too (on the way up).
A friend though gets altitude sickness and felt like dying on the way up.

[GaijinPunch]

I'm usually fine on mountains -- I snowboard and whatnot. Note I was carrying an extra zoom lens at 1.4k (stupid, in hind sight, but I knew it would make it the jog tougher) and some other stuff. Perhaps that's what pushed me?

[GaijinPunch]

Some B&W. I wrote a Javascript to resize these in PS but I don't like the results. Gotta figure that shit out.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7746863394_70563ccc61_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746863394/)
Kokusai Forum From Above(BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746863394/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8302/7746863112_bfb806fd41_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746863112/)
Reading in the Kokusai Forum (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746863112/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7252/7746861582_d79fda9fc0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746861582/)
Taiko (1) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746861582/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7259/7746860202_3cdf86bfe0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746860202/)
Waiting in Yukata (1) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746860202/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7746859806_1e3c3b7602_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746859806/)
Young Girl in Yukata (1) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746859806/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8285/7746862436_4baf0a7411_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746862436/)
Kokusai Forum Vertical (1) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746862436/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7248/7746862820_ff707bc7c4_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746862820/)
Kokusai Forum Vertical (2) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7746862820/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

Beautiful as always. That place really reminds me of the areas in games such as Mind Jack and Binary Domain. Two games set in a futuristic Tokyo where everything is shiny metallic colours and glass. I love that look.

[Legion]

Id like to go there - I dont know that place

[GaijinPunch]

Kokusai Forum, in Yurakucho - can't miss it.


Two games set in a futuristic Tokyo where everything is shiny metallic colours and glass. I love that look.

Ah, cool.. unlike the real future where everything will be run down, a la Kowloon in Shenmue II. :D:D:D

[SuperGrafx]

Kokusai Forum, in Yurakucho - can't miss it.



Ah, cool.. unlike the real future where everything will be run down, a la Kowloon in Shenmue II. :D:D:D

lol! :)

[ave]

the real future where everything will be run down, a la Kowloon in Shenmue II. :D:D:D

The Kowloon apartments in Shenmue II feel like the creepy alternate world in Silent Hill 2, no kidding. Does it really look like that?? Dear God.

Great pictures by the way! I remember Tokyo International Forum all too well, took similar pictures when I was there. With a much worse camera though, a Canon PowerShot G1 from 2000. A time when digital DSLRs hadn't even been hit mass production I think :P

http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/1656/img3362u.jpg

http://img440.imageshack.us/img440/9437/img3370g.jpg

http://img32.imageshack.us/img32/7906/img3367cl.jpg

http://img837.imageshack.us/img837/3060/img3369xb.jpg

Coincidentally, these pictures were taken almost EXACTLY five years ago, on August 22nd 2007. Oh boy, how I miss Japan.

[GaijinPunch]

It's one of the few buildings in Tokyo which is interesting based on it's structure alone. Architecture here is really drab up until like 10 years ago, and even then out of the ordinary buildings are rare.

[Yakumo]

No photo today but a video. Mainly because I couldn't get the setting right for taking nice firework shots. But the video is better anyway plus the DSLR takes fantastic night videos with no noise on the image.


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qVCjLMBGvz8&feature=youtu.be

watch on YouTube for full 1080p excitement.

[Johnny]

Great pictures. I know that forum from GT4 photo mode. =]

[XerdoPwerko]

So... I finally made the trip.

http://photobucket.com/Xerdo_in_Japan

I suck at taking pictures, and my camera leaves much to be desired... but I finally went over there.

For every thing I took pictures of, there were like five things I couldn't.

Still, my album is full of pics of the trip I took (thanks to the Japanese school attended by my best friend, who might show up in some of the pictures. She's quite the dashing young lady, and like a little sister to me)

So, sorry if most of my pictures suck, but I did want to share with you guys, that after years, I finally went there.

And yes, it is the promised land for geeks in the world.

[Superbitsandbob]

As someone who is very interested in Japanese culture but has never been, this is a wonderful thread to look through. Some fantastic photo's.

Not sure if this is the right thread but would anyone have any camera recommendations for someone who is using a digital (Canon Powershot SX220) but wants to take the next step up? I guess budget is the big thing and I'd probably want to start at the lower end to see how I got on.

[GaijinPunch]

Well, if you like Canon, you basically have 3 tiers

3: Rebel/Kiss
2: 50D/60D/70D [soon?]
1: 7D*/5D/1D/1Ds/1DX

I know nothing of Tier 3, as I've never messed with those.

My thoughts on Tier 2:
If you want something on the cheap, I think the 50D is a great camera and can be had used quite cheaply for the quality it outputs. $500? Maybe less now. The successor to the 60D is surely not too far down the road, so that would drive the price down further. I like it better than the 60D as it still uses CF instead of SD, and is largely metal instead of plastic. The screen is far better than the 40D, which helps when you're trying to figure out if you're in focus or not.

Thoughts on Tier 1:
The 7D gets an asterisk b/c it has a cropped sensor like Tiers 3 & 2. (Google that to see the differences between it and the full frame sensors of the rest of that tier). It is a good camera for sports & wildlife as it is built for speed. I believe it's about $1200-$1300 new, and of course cheaper used. It could have a successor reasonably in 12-18 months, but maybe longer.

The 5D, 1D, and 1Ds have many "mark" upgrades. All of them are pretty pricey though so if you're starting out, overkill. I will say this though. For me, the biggest feature I "needed" after finally understanding how the camera worked and what I wanted was ISO performance. You will not see brilliant ISO performance on any Canon body until you get into the 5D range. once you have it, it's hard to go back. ;)

[Superbitsandbob]

Thanks for the help. Time for some reading and studying I think.

[Yakumo]

A photo of the local tower, it's basically used as a convention center most of the time while at the top there's a gift shop.

It's known locally as the "Giant Penis". I guess you can see why.
http://img823.imageshack.us/img823/6793/komanotower.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/823/komanotower.jpg/)

Yakumo

[graciano1337]

eh, it's average. :P

[Kao]

Oh, so close... and yet so far away.


http://i.imgur.com/0FwiN.jpg

[Zoinkity]

Could that be a more bland, generic building?
It doesn't have to be a sparkling piece of archetecture, and kudos for not leveling the place needlessly, but they could add a little color. Even the logo is monotone.

[Kao]

I guess, but I think it has a certain appeal as it is! ha ha And what'd be the point of coloring it up, anyway? It's tucked away behind several other office buildings, along a little alley of a street and some train tracks!

[Martin]

Long time no post.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/7887253368_49932709eb_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887253368/)
Girls dancing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887253368/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8445/7887251764_186b0ca4d5_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887251764/)
Girls walking (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887251764/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7887250060_2c20bc9ce4_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887250060/)
Moon & lanterns (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887250060/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7137/7834148040_df1665d405_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7834148040/)
University of Tokyo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7834148040/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7267/7820386972_9fd41dc86e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7820386972/)
Docomo Tower (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7820386972/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8422/7766162178_77bb35cb54_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7766162178/)
Shibuya Crossing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7766162178/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7766162456_3509527a0d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7766162456/)
109 Building (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7766162456/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7109/7757091512_1f22ce9ea0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7757091512/)
Vines (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7757091512/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8432/7739554702_54f4cddec0_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7739554702/)
Lanterns in the forest (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7739554702/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

Cool pics, Martin.

[Martin]

Cheers GP,

Huge thunderstorm this afternoon in Tokyo, and the evenings are drawing in. It's pretty dark by about 7pm, and this reflection in the puddles caught my eye. The green-shift of the spotlight caught the green in the black asphalt, and I just snapped this quickly on my way to the train station after a hard day's work.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8322/7943426968_67aab02a1e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7943426968/)
Spotlight after rain (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7943426968/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

I like that picture. Much post production done on it?

[Martin]

Thanks Yakumo.

I took the RAW photo and corrected the white balance (it was too warm due to the type of lights), then I pulled down the yellow still further. I added a slight darkened vignette (i.e. darkened the edges of the photo) but that was just something I tend to do (see the above photos); this image didn't require it because it was so dark around the edges anyway.

[Yakumo]

it really has come out nice. You could use that image as the background to some Sci-Fi or horror movie.

[GaijinPunch]

You will find the WB is almost always way too warm for night shots, assuming your'e using auto. However, it's an easy change so I never change it. ;)

[Martin]

Yeah; I concur. I did use a different preset to auto, but it was still a little too warm. I basically wanted the yellow tone removed to give the B&W effect. I'll be getting a new camera soon which allows for dynamic changing of the white balance on an ad-hoc basis. More knobs to fiddle with.

[GaijinPunch]

Which camera? iPhone 5?

[Martin]

Noperino. My iPhone 4 is sat in the bottom of a bag somewhere and I won't be getting an iPhone 5 :p

[Martin]

I'm in Okinawa.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8317/7976379519_02e5709578_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379519/)
Cape Hedo (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379519/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8178/7976381274_cb4fa8c1f1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976381274/)
May Peace Prevail on Earth (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976381274/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7976379932_025314436e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379932/)
Overgrown (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379932/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8297/7976379386_21a3212a99_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379386/)
Hermit (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379386/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8307/7976379004_11c25a5bbc_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379004/)
Driftwood (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976379004/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/7976378130_8c2cbb3175_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976378130/)
Shiisaa [Okinawan Lion Dog] (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976378130/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8440/7976377844_4da1197356_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976377844/)
Very welcoming graffiti (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976377844/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/7976375044_005e4c0999_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976375044/)
Small shrines (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976375044/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8461/7976371497_1931ac987b_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976371497/)
Can (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976371497/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7976373258_657976fd8d_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976373258/)
Tetrapods (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7976373258/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

Great shots -- the graffiti in Tokyo is so fucking awful. Glad to see there's at least one good one in the country.

[GaijinPunch]

Been a while since I posted.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8296/7750064730_5cda00af7f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750064730/)
Your Hand in Mine (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750064730/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8428/7750065010_73d0986b31_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750065010/)
Young Girl in Yukata (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750065010/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8433/7750065552_3f2d318404_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750065552/)
Water Fight (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750065552/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8283/7750066662_78c391c7c0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750066662/)
Taiko (3) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750066662/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7110/7750066502_a62a4a216f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750066502/)
Taiko (4) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750066502/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7278/7750068150_b5579d5272_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750068150/)
Students (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750068150/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8282/7750068682_d250bee8bc_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750068682/)
Shinjuku Traffic (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750068682/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7750070260_f8e0124f0b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750070260/)
Purple Geta (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750070260/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8289/7750069628_b160c78840_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750069628/)
Shinjuku Cityview (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750069628/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8290/7750071098_f1c45b7ea5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750071098/)
Pondering (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/7750071098/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

Excelent photos guys. I'm loving the Okinawa stuff and I really like the water shot by Gaijin Punch. What shutter speed do you use for that shot?

[GaijinPunch]

I would have to check, and don't have the original here. My guess was that it as F4 in sunlight, so probably 1/1000th at least.

[veganx]

I've watched that bonus documentary from Tekken Tag Tournament 2 which follows one of the directors of the game through Tokyo.

And it's always the same feeling: I need to live in Japan. It seems like you're living inside a dream all the time. Always something unexpected happens. A guy dressed like a Panda or Pyramid Head just walking down the street!

This guy went to a bar named Cap Bar, a bar that is run by Capcom.
There's the hadoken and shoryuken drinks.
A brain cake out of Resident Evil.

Japan is the most awesome place in the face of the earth, it just missing halloween eheheheheh.
Which we don't have here either :(

[GaijinPunch]

It has halloween. Trying to figure out what gear of mine I'm going to wear.

[Yakumo]

I would have to check, and don't have the original here. My guess was that it as F4 in sunlight, so probably 1/1000th at least.Thanks for that. I'm still learning the tricks. It sure takes a while.

[veganx]

It has halloween. Trying to figure out what gear of mine I'm going to wear.


But it's not cultural, is it?
I mean I'll use christmas as an example. All the streets use a santa claus decoration, different lights and so on.

I never went to a halloween on the US but as I see people redecorate the whole city.
There are witches and skulls all over the city.

Does the same happens on japan? Is it celebrated on october ?

[Martin]

Halloween here is bigger than it is in the UK! Tokyo is massively decorated - stay tuned for loads of photos to prove you wrong :) Stuff is in shop windows already! Christmas starts early here, just as in the UK, i.e. November.

[GaijinPunch]

It's not widely celebrated but apparently it's bigger here than at least Australia, and now I'm hearing the UK. There's a Halloween parade in Omotesando and Kawasaki. I hear the Kawasaki one is better (more cos-play-ish... less kids) so I'll head to that one w/ the camera. Roppongi Hills (which is largely gaijin-driven) has a children's parade for the entire weekend. The majority of the participants are Japanese though.

[veganx]

O.O!

Hey guys, as I see none of you were born in Japan.
How did you managed to live there?

Is it hard to get a citizen agreement to live forever in Japan?

[Zoinkity]

Less "Christmas" and more "Lover's Day". Hallmark could learn a thing or two about commercializing holidays from the japanese.

[GaijinPunch]

Less "Christmas" and more "Lover's Day". Hallmark could learn a thing or two about commercializing holidays from the japanese.

I think the Japanese just took the American idea and hyper-intensified it. Like just about everything else.


Hey guys, as I see none of you were born in Japan.
How did you managed to live there?

Is it hard to get a citizen agreement to live forever in Japan?

There's a few threads on this even here, I think. Getting a working visa is not that hard but they generally require you to have the visa before entering*.

*Or you just lie, come in on a tourist visa, and find a job. That should give you an idea on how loopholes work in Japan.

[Martin]

There was a matsuri (festival) just down the road

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8451/7995106614_cd7264a1ca_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995106614/)
Nakanobu Nebuta Matsuri (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995106614/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8174/7995106984_33f4bf283e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995106984/)
Float Nakanobu Nebuta Matsuri (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995106984/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

This one was about 4m tall

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8443/7995107340_cbace967ec_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995107340/)
Samurai vs Dragon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995107340/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8447/7995109370_5cabea2371_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995109370/)
Nakanobu Nebuta Matsuri (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995109370/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

and a local chef

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8033/7995103029_aae55ef134_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995103029/)
Chef (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7995103029/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[ave]

*Or you just lie, come in on a tourist visa, and find a job. That should give you an idea on how loopholes work in Japan.

That applies to almost any country though. From the immigration office I know of many cases where people just came to Canada without any idea of what they wanna do. Then they found some random job and bang - you got yourself a work permit. Doesn't always work of course, and you're fucked if your boss fires you. It's really sort of the dangerous way to handle things and, depending on your responsibilities (i.e. family) it can also be quite careless and stupid.

[Yakumo]

Martin, you've got some excelent colour on those matsuri shots. I take it they are altered in post production?

[Martin]

Martin, you've got some excelent colour on those matsuri shots. I take it they are altered in post production?

Only half were corrected for white balance... half way through the parade I changed it on the camera as things were too yellow. That's it.

[GaijinPunch]

I almost went to that event. Forgot the name -- but, it was in Setagaya, right? Should have gone.


That applies to almost any country though. From the immigration office I know of many cases where people just came to Canada without any idea of what they wanna do.

I can only speak for the two countries I live in. That stuff generally doesn't fly in the US as the working visas are limited, and always run out very soon after being allotted. In Japan, the norm is to also work while your visa is being processed. Gray at best (I'm sure it's illegal actually) but everyone does it. For being a country so against immigration, they are really weird about enforcing strict guidelines.

[Martin]

Yeah, on the Asakusa line. Was a good event!

I've made a photography website (link (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com)), which contain some of the images I've shown here, plus others. I'll continue to post in here, and I have a blog on the site I'll be updating regularly.

I hope you like it :)

[skarpo01]

I can only speak for the two countries I live in. That stuff generally doesn't fly in the US as the working visas are limited, and always run out very soon after being allotted. In Japan, the norm is to also work while your visa is being processed. Gray at best (I'm sure it's illegal actually) but everyone does it. For being a country so against immigration, they are really weird about enforcing strict guidelines.

True. Also when you get your working VISA for the US, you still have to go through an interview at the US embassy with a consular officer. At this point, the consular officer can decide to approve or dissaprove your visa. This means that although you were given a visa by your employer, there is still a risk not to be allowed to work in the USA.

This is why most people from Europe give up after a certain period of time trying to work in the USA (usually when they ask for a visa renewal) and instead go to Canada or Australia...

[GaijinPunch]

US also a limit of how many executive years you can reside on a working visa, at which point you will have to leave and start over (usually with a break in there -- twelve months minimum perhaps) or get a green card. The green card is of course a bit harder, and costs more for the sponsor.

[skarpo01]

US also a limit of how many executive years you can reside on a working visa, at which point you will have to leave and start over (usually with a break in there -- twelve months minimum perhaps) or get a green card. The green card is of course a bit harder, and costs more for the sponsor.

You are right. I'm from France and I've been working on and off in the US for quite some time now and usually when you get a working visa, it is valid for a maximum of 3 years. Although it is supposed to last 3 years, the VISA only lasts the duration of your initial contract with your employer, because once the contract is over, if you are looking for another job, you have to go through the procedure and fill in all the paperwork once again.

The problem is actually to get a VISA renewal, because the more you go to your local embassy, the harder it gets to get a VISA because they ask you more and more questions about why you want to go back again to the USA... They also have a file with all your personal informations and they know everything about you, so if you try to say bullshits or lies, you are screwed.

Getting a VISA for the US if you are a student or a tourist is very easy but that's a whole different story when it comes down to employment. That's why I said that most people give up working in the USA, because all the paperworks are just a hassle and such a pain in the ass. But I guess this is meant to discourage people who want to go to the US and have nothing to do there...

[Zoinkity]

To be honest, it's a foolish system designed specificly to make it difficult to immigrate. One of the many sets of laws we've needed to properly address this past half century...

I'm not sure why we americans have this silly notion that the people who came on the previous boat are somehow more enititled than the ones on the current boat, but there you go.

[XerdoPwerko]

As a 30 year old single Mexican male, I can tell you, getting a Visa for the U.S., even a Tourist Visa, is a labyrinthine ordeal, a twisted dance of spite and sorrow.

That is why I couldn't take any flight that would pass through L.A. when I went to Japan. You have to pay for the interview at the American consulate (and it's a few hundred dollars, if I recall correctly) for the privilege of standing in line, being judged like cattle, and told you won't get a Visa - and this has to be done MONTHS in advance, as their decision takes a long time, apparently.

I was very, very surprised when, in Narita Airport, they just stamped my passport and let me through.

[skarpo01]

Of course, you have to pay every step of the process, even to make an appointment at the embassy you are charged 20$... Worst part of it is that if your visa is denied you are screwed, you can't get your money back!

[neozeed]

Amazing pictures Martin, They almost looks as if you could reach out and touch them!

[ave]

To be honest, it's a foolish system designed specificly to make it difficult to immigrate. One of the many sets of laws we've needed to properly address this past half century...

I'm not sure why we americans have this silly notion that the people who came on the previous boat are somehow more enititled than the ones on the current boat, but there you go.

The US make it incredibly hard to immigrate - hence why me and my family went to Canada instead :P
What pisses me off a bit is that they make it hard for just anyone - not just for people who have no qualifications. If I recall correctly, you need a US citizen who acts as a guarantor for you as well as $150,000 (??) per person in liquid capital to be eligible for immigration (and lots of other small things of course, such as perfect health, a job contract,...).

While it wasn't easy to get a visa in Canada either (permanent residency, that is), it was easier. And still, after the financial crisis of 2008, Canada started picking on everyone who is not "perfect" - for example, suffering from asthma or diabetes is a potential reason for them to refuse your application. I think that's crazy from an ethical point of view, but I can understand it and economically it does indeed make a lot of sense.
However, one can argue that Canada acts quite contradicting. They let tons of Somalians into the country as "political refugees", no questions asked, and all those fuckers do is drug trafficking and pushing up the homicide rates. And then there are people like me and my parents - educated, no charges for anything, healthy.... but even a 1 month gap in my mom's vita could've prevented us from entering the country because "maybe she was in jail and doesn't tell us". She sold donuts in 1974 during college... what the fuck man, who keeps a certificate of such a job from 38 years ago? Well, we did :P

Sorry for the long OT, just a little rant on immigration things from my part.

[Martin]

Amazing pictures Martin, They almost looks as if you could reach out and touch them!

Thanks for the comment :)

I'll publish when I can on my blog (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/blog) too.

[GaijinPunch]

I'm not sure why we americans have this silly notion that the people who came on the previous boat are somehow more enititled than the ones on the current boat, but there you go.


In a nutshell, b/c the current Americans have paid for the infrastructure more or less, and there's not nearly as much land to give out. And b/c immigrants mooch of the system and don't work and all that shit.


The US make it incredibly hard to immigrate - hence why me and my family went to Canada instead :P
What pisses me off a bit is that they make it hard for just anyone - not just for people who have no qualifications. If I recall correctly, you need a US citizen who acts as a guarantor for you as well as $150,000 (??) per person in liquid capital to be eligible for immigration (and lots of other small things of course, such as perfect health, a job contract,...).

Hmm... for which type of visa? Student visas are easy to get (relatively), but for your parents, it would be quite difficult. The main question generally asked with you're immigrating is, "why?". The next is, "What do you have to offer". Don't even bring up guarantors. Japan has redefined those fucking things. Ironically the poverty line here is VERY low. I think you can make 2.5 million yen a year and live in Tokyo and still qualify for permanent resident if you've resided long enough.

And, as you've stated, the US also takes quite a few refugees as well. Before everyone just goes and shits on America, note that it is far more secluded than a European nation, yet, is not very homogeneous. I can't find any statistics now, but it is hard to statistically say the country is anti-immigration.

[Martin]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/8021178626_13897bb0f8_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8021178626/)
Call Me Maybe (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8021178626/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

I suppose less to do with Japan-centric stuff:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8450/8017594215_3f64349f95_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8017594215/)
Day off (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8017594215/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

and then an extra...

http://f.cl.ly/items/142e180b1j3d0c02433D/Geist%20Force.jpg

[GaijinPunch]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8173/8024818204_2c864d6f55_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024818204/)
Hachimanguu Aki Matsuri (02) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024818204/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8034/8024815866_91a200d41a_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024815866/)
Hachimanguu Aki Matsuri (04) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024815866/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8170/8024823846_a394f392e6_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024823846/)
Awa Odori 2012 (03) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024823846/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8311/8024822288_3b04680e8b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024822288/)
Awa Odori 2012 (09) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024822288/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8319/8024821431_7f6e050826_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024821431/)
Awa Odori 2012 (18) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024821431/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8312/8024823500_397ec77373_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024823500/)
Awa Odori 2012 (02) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024823500/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8321/8024824566_48ace32c16_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024824566/)
Awa Odori 2012 (05) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024824566/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Zoinkity]

The one terrible part of US immigration policy that does need to be changed is the mandatory return to your native country after 3 (?) years as a permanent resident. It's a schizophrenic policy: on one hand, you want the person to become established and successful, and on the other you force them to leave mandatorily for a year before accepting their return as a permanent citizen throwing all those years of work out the window.
Why such a mandate is in law is highly questionable, and its hard to say it wasn't inserted specificly as a deterent. Either way, it's foolish and I'm in full support of a change.
You also get into some weirdness when you talk about certain states. I think it was 15 years ago when Florida dropped the 'impact fee' for moving into the state--right around the same time that spitting on someone because they were a northerner was considered a hate crime.

That said, you're certainly right that the US isn't anti-immigration and temporary visas are pretty easy to get. So many people focus on Mexican immigrants they often fail to realize how much seasonal help comes from Europe. There's always a huge influx of Polish, Irish, and Italian workers in Chicago for the construction season, and after talking to some of them it was basically just a small fee and travel expenses.

[GaijinPunch]

Agreed... it's more retarded than most bullshit rules I see in Japan (although it's much longer than 3 years... for some visas anyway). The dumbest is making people return after their 4-year university stint is over. The law should require immigrants to pay some type of deposit, which they will get back after completing 4 years of work/internship in a US company. It makes no sense to train someone and send them somewhere else to earn tax revenue for another country. Makes about as much sense as pussy with hair on it.

[Yakumo]

Some people like a hairy pussy :p

I bet that stern looking guy in y our 2nd photo does :) you can see it in his face. He's thinking "Hmm, hairy pussy, nice". Or maybe that's the beer talking?

[GaijinPunch]

I wish it was the beer talking, but there are some sick mother fuckers out there!

[Yakumo]

That is true.:dejection:

[Martin]

Awesome shots GP.

I should have looked out for you ;)

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8029/7887253368_49932709eb_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887253368/)
Dancing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7887253368/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

Haha -- crazy.
Although it looks like you were down quite a ways. I was actually on my way to dinner, and just hung out right at the front.

[Martin]

Went for a walk up Mt. Takao

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8309/8042274817_ee789f0129_z.jpg (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/2012/10/01/mt-takao/)
Mt Fuji from Mt. Takao (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/2012/10/01/mt-takao/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8036/8024768671_8054872b05_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024768671/)
Conservative (04) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024768671/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8031/8024766845_3197afeb92_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024766845/)
Conservative (03) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024766845/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8024768912_26635eb516_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024768912/)
Conservative (02) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024768912/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8169/8024766808_23f2f3b62f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024766808/)
Conservative (00) (BW) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8024766808/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

Sorry, where was that? I guess more about Koreans and the bloody island again.

[GaijinPunch]

Sorry, where was that? I guess more about Koreans and the bloody island again.

It was at Yasukuni Shrine on August 15th. Lots of tension rises on that fateful day.

[Martin]

Cool shots GP.

Pissing with rain last night, but today is lovely.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/8050206839_ac8f81b875_z.jpg (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/2012/10/03/rain/)
When it rains... (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8050206839/) by martindesu (http://martindesu.tumblr.com), on Flickr

[graciano1337]

wow, i REALLY want to visit Japan.

[Yakumo]

@GaijinPunch, Ohh, the 15th. Yep. A day to let off all that tension for sure. Nothing happened down here though.

@Martin, I also love rainny days. We've had nothing but sun sun and more sun down here though. It's quite nice now with no humidity and a cool breeze.

[Martin]

@Yakumo yeah this time of year is really nice. A couple of months and then I'll be freezing my arse off and drying up. I'm looking forward to Autumn though, as the trees here turn such gorgeous colours. Expect some photos ;)

[GaijinPunch]

@GaijinPunch, Ohh, the 15th. Yep. A day to let off all that tension for sure. Nothing happened down here though..

Oh, I'm sure it did. The missing Koreans just haven't shown up in the news yet.


wow, i REALLY want to visit Japan.

Sorry, dude. Country's full.

[Yakumo]

hehehe, there's actually a Korean comunity in Shimonoseki. They even have their own Korean Town so to say.

[Martin]

I celebrated with yaki-niku & kimchi.

[graciano1337]

Oh, I'm sure it did. The missing Koreans just haven't shown up in the news yet.



Sorry, dude. Country's full.

oh well, these photos shall suffice.

[Yakumo]

not really Japanese orientated but they were taken in Japan :) Today, I took my son to the Aquarium in Shimonoseki. I only had my phone with me at the time but it did manage to take some pretty good shots.

http://imageshack.us/a/img687/8440/aqua2p.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/687/aqua2p.jpg/)

http://imageshack.us/a/img17/9722/aqua3h.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/17/aqua3h.jpg/)

http://imageshack.us/a/img213/6440/aqua4o.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/213/aqua4o.jpg/)

http://imageshack.us/a/img211/4051/aqua5.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/211/aqua5.jpg/)

Yakumo

[Martin]

Nice Fugu there, Yakumo.

I took my manual focus lens to Kamakura yesterday:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8065206002_8b068562cf_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065206002/)
Rust (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065206002/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8314/8065205975_ffb26267fe_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065205975/)
Daibutsu (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065205975/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8453/8065447178_1483d9cf69_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065447178/)
Spider (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065447178/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8176/8065443951_cb1b118775_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065443951/)
Manga bag (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065443951/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8457/8065442667_6fba5305ed_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065442667/)
Wall (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8065442667/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

Oh wow, I haven't seen that Budda since I was 18 (now 36). I like the colour on black&white train shot. How did you do that?

[PrOfUnD Darkness]

I would like to know too. Probably using the mask feature from photoshop...

[GaijinPunch]

Selective saturation. Duplicate layer->desaturate it (and adjust to your liking) -> Use eraser tool on what you want to be in color.

What's your manual focus camera, Martin? I've actually been looking into (and even buying) manual focus lenses for my Canon. I got one this one (http://www.cogitech.ca/Rokkor/index.html) but it doesn't go to Infinity on my 5d2. :(

[Martin]

@ Yakumo, something like what GP said - if you search youtube you can also find out. Some cameras can also do things like this built in.

@ GP - what lens do you have on your 5d2? I don't see a picture or anything...

I have a Canon FD 50mm f/1.4 and a Voigtländer 35mm f/1.4

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8172/7943428086_7db3a732b1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7943428086/)
Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm f/1.4 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/7943428086/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://f.cl.ly/items/3E1x2e0n2Q1T0G2a0F1O/2012-10-09%2009.43.48-1.jpg

[Yakumo]

Selective saturation. Duplicate layer->desaturate it (and adjust to your liking) -> Use eraser tool on what you want to be in color.Oh man, how stupid I am. That is so simple and actually something that I've done a million times in different situations.

[Martin]

Asians sure love cats...

http://25.media.tumblr.com/tumblr_mbkwi6utr21qbtu1po1_500.jpg

[GaijinPunch]

Nice shot.
What is your body? Canon FD lenses are amongst the most difficult (and pricey) to mount on EOS bodies. For mirrorless I hear it's easy though.


what lens do you have on your 5d2? I don't see a picture or anything...

Pro-tip: mouse-over "this one" in my post above.

[Martin]

I have an NEX-C3 and an NEX-7 (2 weeks old today).

r.e. the url, this forum does a shite job of letting you know it's a url (http://cl.ly/image/3b3e0H0j3D1h), but that lens is lovely. If you ever want to donate it to a worthy cause, please don't, and just sell it to me ;)

[GaijinPunch]

How is the NEX-7? I hear it's great. I don't want multiple mounts though. Will likely wait for the Canon mirrorless, which is coming out soon.


If you ever want to donate it to a worthy cause, please don't, and just sell it to me ;)

Well, I have two. ;) Need to figure out which one I don't want. It's a rather pricey lens, but technically I got a good deal. They sell for $600+ in the US, but I got it for $550 shipped from said country. Heavy mofo too. The shipping was really $50. I'd let one go for that if it interests you.

[Martin]

How is the NEX-7? I hear it's great. I don't want multiple mounts though. Will likely wait for the Canon mirrorless, which is coming out soon.

I love my NEX-7. Canon mirrorless is out now, isn't it? I see tons of adverts for it... but I think it's a bit crapola tbh.




Well, I have two. ;) Need to figure out which one I don't want. It's a rather pricey lens, but technically I got a good deal. They sell for $600+ in the US, but I got it for $550 shipped from said country. Heavy mofo too. The shipping was really $50. I'd let one go for that if it interests you.

Yeah maybe. Could always meet up for a street photography session ;)

[GaijinPunch]

Sure, just lemme know. The $550 includes a Canon mount adaptor (which runs $80).

LMK when you want to meet up. Seems like you'll be giving me the lesson.


mirrorless

I'm going to wait to see it. It's substantially cheaper than the NEX-7, and I personally hate Sony. I have terrible luck w/ their products, so with the exception of the Playstation line, I have none of their stuff. I think it's due out next week, and I'm not going to be a first adopter. My main benchmark for such a camera will be high ISO performance. Most are assuming it will be excellent. The screen only thing might be a turn off. I will probably have to use it and a NEX-7 at least before I commit. Using my existing lenses is a huge plus.

[Martin]

Photography is the person behind the view finder/LCD and hardly the camera at all - you know that ;)
Ansel Adams took fantastic photos - before phase detection autofocus and mirrorless cameras. I am sure that the Canon will be awesome - I think it's the same price (within a few yen) as the NEX-7... but if you have some lenses for the Canon setup, I would personally also stick with Canon. I was in the market for a completely new system, and just happened to jump onto the NEX platform. I used to loathe Sony, but I'm over that these days and just want to go to places and take photos ;)

[GaijinPunch]

Well, in my defense, none of Ansel Adams subjects moved, most of his stuff is well lit, and I assume he had a tripod in any case. My stuff is all the opposite of that. True, photography is the photographer, but the photographer also has to pick his tools wisely. That being said, I'm not sure if my cocks-for-fingers hands are going to go well with the EOS-M solution (which has everything triggered from the LCD).

I've heard good things about the NEX-7 (even in Canon forums) but it's substantially more. In the US, the EOS-M & 20mm F2 (equivalent to 35mm on Full Frame) is $799. The NEX-7 w/ the kit lens is $1145 (in Japan) or $1025 for body only. Even more in the good ole' US of A. The EOS-M is a bit more in Japan (of course, b/c that makes more sense!) but still way cheaper than the NEX-7.

[Martin]

You're right about Ansel Adams. I suppose I just meant there are loads of people out there buying a Canon 5dmkiii and take absolutely terrible photos. But it's all subjective anyway! I'm not a pixel peeper, but the 24MP sensor on the NEX-7 is handy crop-wise. The NEX-7 has an electronic view finder, which is nice. I'd still recommend the EOS-M for you.... we can take this discussion offline though ;)

I don't think I'd be teaching you much at all - I've been a fan of your photos for years now.

[MangledLeg]

As someone who is a real newbie and still learning at photography/DSLRs and traveling to Japan soon with my wife, can anyone recommend any good resources I can read up on to start taking better photos? I still feel a bit daft when using the manual settings, but I've finally started using RAW and am blown away by how much control you have over everything and how well it can correct the auto results I normally get from a camera :) We've only got a 18-55mm kit lens on a 550D, so nothing high-end or anything, but we're really happy with it compared to the compacts we've used in the past.

In the past I've found that night shots in particular have been tricky, but I haven't done much urban photography at night so I guess Japan's as good a place as any to learn on the fly :)

Seeing the amazing shots by the Assembler members is inspiring and intimidating at the same time!!

[Martin]

Jesus Christ, Japan...

TEPCO couldn’t get battery during Fukushima meltdown; went to hardware store the next day (http://www.japantoday.com/category/national/view/tepco-couldnt-get-battery-during-fukushima-meltdown-went-to-hardware-store-the-next-day)

and right around the corner from me posting this right now...

86-year-old ex-cop found dead in house after killing woman with sword (http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/suspect-holed-up-in-house-after-attacking-woman-with-sword)

[GaijinPunch]

Daily facepalms, living here.

MangledLeg: Go crazy with Google, and actually use your camera. Set it to manaul, and do a bunch of series. Look at what happens when you change settings. Here's a few exercises.

-Set your camera in A mode (aperture priority) and a normal ISO. Start at F8 or something and go down to as low as the lens goes. Make sure it's the same shot.
-Keep it in A mode and do a similar test with moving target(s), but leave the aperture and change the ISO
-Do something similar in full manual, changing only the shutter.

After you look at a series of samples of the minute (and not minute) differences you will get what's going on.

I find aperture priority mode the most usable. I generally know the depth of field and ISO I want, but the shutter speed changes constantly.

[Yakumo]

Jesus Christ, Japan...

86-year-old ex-cop found dead in house after killing woman with sword (http://www.japantoday.com/category/crime/view/suspect-holed-up-in-house-after-attacking-woman-with-sword)There's more to that police story than some news programs mentioned. Basically the woman was a complete bitch. You can find more about her on the news tonight I expect. Still, the ex-police officer can't be forgiven for what he did. Probably why he took his own life.

[Martin]

Yeah, I watched it all on the news last night. They'd been bickering for years. Bitch or not, I don't think his actions were exactly ideal. Total nutter!

Having said that, it's two fewer people to shave off the inverted pyramid demographic distaster that is Japan:

http://japan.foreignpolicyblogs.com/files/2011/05/1.gif

[Yakumo]

Man, that doesn't look good. I'm glad I have a British pension as well as the Japanese one. The funny thing is that the Japanese say you can't have a British pension while the British said it's perfectly fine, just don't tell the Japanese :D Same thing when I asked about dual nationality for my son after the age of 20. Japan said no, UK said sure, no problem. Just don't tell the Japanese, hahaha. Ah, the UK has it's problems but still makes me laugh at times.

[Martin]

I'm not putting anything into a British Pension scheme, purely on the guesswork that the whole British economy will collapse and there won't be anything left for us when we're that old. I'm putting money away into various other places, and will manage it all myself. At least I can claim back a large percentage of my Japanese pension when I leave here. I'm paying into one right now, and won't be using that money here when I am 60+ (if I make it).

[GaijinPunch]

Man, that doesn't look good. I'm glad I have a British pension as well as the Japanese one. The funny thing is that the Japanese say you can't have a British pension while the British said it's perfectly fine, just don't tell the Japanese :D Same thing when I asked about dual nationality for my son after the age of 20. Japan said no, UK said sure, no problem. Just don't tell the Japanese, hahaha. Ah, the UK has it's problems but still makes me laugh at times.

You should be able to legally pay into a single pension and then receive either of them. That's assuming your backwards country has a social plan setup like they have w/ the US, which I assume they have. You can try to collect both, but that is fraud (if you get caught). The ultimate would be your son collecting both of your pensions after you die.

[ASSEMbler]

Japan is going to either need to make child rearing cheaper somehow, or import a ton of young non-Japanese.

Of course we all know they won't do either.

The charts show the movement from countryside to the cities.
As population gets older, you will see more glut in real estate, and
prices will drop perhaps making it more affordable to live for younger people.

However, with the huge debt and taxes, I don't see how Japan can avoid a twilight effect
and serious decline in industrial output.

[GaijinPunch]

Japan is going to either need to make child rearing cheaper somehow, or import a ton of young non-Japanese.

Yep.



Of course we all know they won't do either.

Yep.



The charts show the movement from countryside to the cities.

At least last year, there was a flow out to the rural areas, but you can blame this on the tsunami, and could have been a blip. Tokyo real-estate is a tricky beast, and it doesn't always make sense. Tokyo (still) has some of the highest land prices in the free world. Drive 50 miles outside of the city and it's free. :|

My personal opinion is they need to keep the inheritance tax in check, or severely devalue land prices. Pretty sure the exclusion is only 40 million yen on the entire estate. You can maybe buy a closet and a toilet for that price in Tokyo. The result is land being owned for generations being sold off, sometimes in fire sales.

[ASSEMbler]

Yep.



Yep.



At least last year, there was a flow out to the rural areas, but you can blame this on the tsunami, and could have been a blip. Tokyo real-estate is a tricky beast, and it doesn't always make sense. Tokyo (still) has some of the highest land prices in the free world. Drive 50 miles outside of the city and it's free. :|

My personal opinion is they need to keep the inheritance tax in check, or severely devalue land prices. Pretty sure the exclusion is only 40 million yen on the entire estate. You can maybe buy a closet and a toilet for that price in Tokyo. The result is land being owned for generations being sold off, sometimes in fire sales.


I expect in 30 years to see many areas with high amount of vacant / ghost buildings or apartments in major cities.
Not Tokyo for sure, but the industrial cities will be hit hard.

Japanese buildings are also quite shit in quality as they are used to tearing everything down every 15 years.
Once this sleepiness sets in you will see large amounts of uninhabitable abandoned buildings that no one wants to buy,
and no one will tear down. The owners will die and the buildings will slowly become forest-like ghosts among used buildings.

Monks will be in such demand, people may not be buried for weeks waiting on ceremonies.

I don't see Japan as being able to come up with robotic solutions before then past leg and arm suits that allow you to be mobile
longer, they already have these for sale.

They know if they allow a large amount of asian guest workers in, they will outbreed them and they will die by dilution.

The Japanese prefer to dwindle and remain Japanese to the end.

The Okinawan way of communal living when you get old seems like a good solution as well.

I think in the end they may become more like the Japanese of the past when the cycle is done.
Far less concerned with image, consumables, and 新発売.

[Martin]

I expect in 30 years to see many areas with high amount of vacant / ghost buildings or apartments in major cities.
Not Tokyo for sure, but the industrial cities will be hit hard.

I lived in Manchester for 8 years, and there was a huge housing boom during 2000-2006... and a huge number of apartment buildings were finished, and people were making money, hand over fist. However, in 2008, the economic crisis sent everything (literally) south, and the newly finished buildings had no tenants. There are entire districts with just a few people living in massive apartment buildings.


I think in the end they may become more like the Japanese of the past when the cycle is done.
Far less concerned with image, consumables, and 新発売.

Well, many people have changed their ideals since the 80s crashes, but then it's swung back again.

TBH, God knows what the world will be like in 5-10 years, let alone 30.

.... anyway, I need to get out and take some more photos

[ASSEMbler]

.... anyway, I need to get out and take some more photos

Indeed, you take lovely pictures.

[GaijinPunch]

I'm mainly of your school of thought, Assembler. There's a lot of ways it can play out, and I hate being a pessimist, but I've been exposed to Japanese group mentality for most of my adult life. I'm a realist.

I have not figured out how it works financially, but the current trend in the central area of Tokyo, is if you have a house you don't want, you lease the space to a parking lot. They will tear it down, and you get a cut... or they get a cut. Not sure. Can't tell you how many old houses (yes, houses, not offices) have been turned into 3-car parking lots. While no other Japanese city has the population Tokyo has, the central areas (including the nearby residential areas) of all of them are crowded, and could always use more parking.

[Martin]

After hours in Tokyo

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-Dhea1UFlj78/UHbIcY9nnaI/AAAAAAAAIoE/QiH2Z0NgUUU/s600/DSC07041.jpg

https://lh3.googleusercontent.com/-kbCMGPkREQ8/UHbIdQ7NqfI/AAAAAAAAIoQ/ZFrieEyGh_U/s600/DSC07047.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-AhB27KJbD7I/UHbIe8FWdII/AAAAAAAAIoY/nxD4YOVl5RY/s600/DSC07050.jpg


Indeed, you take lovely pictures.

Cheers!

[Martin]

Wibble Wobble

http://www.jma.go.jp/en/quake/images/japan/20121012140115391-121357.png

[GaijinPunch]

Yeah, that kinda sucked.

You should submit some of your photos here, Martin.
http://metropolis.co.jp/features/photo-of-the-day/

Hey -- look at beauty for today. ;)

[Yakumo]

Some lovely shots in that link, GP.

I've just hacked the firmware on my GF2. Finally I have it in English which will make life much easier for quick sets ups plus I've boosted the video capabilities and auto focus speed. I'm just off out to shoot a video in the dark to see how much noise reduction I've gained.

[ASSEMbler]

Some lovely shots in that link, GP.

I've just hacked the firmware on my GF2. Finally I have it in English which will make life much easier for quick sets ups plus I've boosted the video capabilities and auto focus speed. I'm just off out to shoot a video in the dark to see how much noise reduction I've gained.

Very jealous right now.

[Yakumo]

Very jealous right now.You'll be even more jealous when I tell you I paid 20'000 yen (254 USD) for the brand new GF2 with lense over a year ago. Man, that was a good deal. I was lucky that day. If you do get one, ASSEMbler, make sure you upgrade the standard body firmware to Ver1.1 before you update the lens firmware and then apply the hacked ver1.1 body firmware. You can custom the hack too. Sop you have decide what you want to hack or add to the camera.

[ASSEMbler]

We didn't get the sexy colors here, just some shit rubber black coating...

[Martin]

Yeah, that kinda sucked.

You should submit some of your photos here, Martin.
http://metropolis.co.jp/features/photo-of-the-day/

Will do! Cheers


Hey -- look at beauty for today. ;)

;)

[MangledLeg]

MangledLeg: Go crazy with Google, and actually use your camera. Set it to manaul, and do a bunch of series. Look at what happens when you change settings. Here's a few exercises.

-Set your camera in A mode (aperture priority) and a normal ISO. Start at F8 or something and go down to as low as the lens goes. Make sure it's the same shot.
-Keep it in A mode and do a similar test with moving target(s), but leave the aperture and change the ISO
-Do something similar in full manual, changing only the shutter.

After you look at a series of samples of the minute (and not minute) differences you will get what's going on.

I find aperture priority mode the most usable. I generally know the depth of field and ISO I want, but the shutter speed changes constantly.

Sorry for the late response - haven't been on the last few days. Just wanted to say thanks for the tips - I've played around with A mode the most of the manual settings when trying to get different emphases on close-up photos, but I haven't gone nuts with the camera in full manual mode for a while. Will take the time to practice and take multiple shots at different settings and compare how they turn out. Thanks again!

[GaijinPunch]

;)

I think some jack ass voted it a 1-star, as it was 4.5 w/ three votes. Probably someone else that posted a photo this week that wants theirs printed.

[Yakumo]

The missus and I celebrated our 10th wedding anniversary yesterday so we went to our favourite "trendy" restaurant. It's one of those with dark lighting and retro atmosphere. I took a few shots with my phone while the missus popped to the ladies room.

http://imageshack.us/a/img526/8642/drinks1.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/526/drinks1.jpg/)

http://imageshack.us/a/img528/1/drinks2.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/528/drinks2.jpg/)

Yakumo

[GaijinPunch]

No better time to take some pics than when your women goes to take a shit.

[Yakumo]

hahahaha, too true. That way there's no "Put that phone/camera away" speech.

[Martin]

I saw this little Kosagi on Saturday in one of the many gardens here in Tokyo:

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8089604801_9d856b31b6_z.jpg (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/2012/10/15/kosagi/)
Koasgi (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8089604801/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8049/8089606090_c9f4c09056_z.jpg (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/2012/10/15/kosagi/)
Kosagi (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8089606090/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8047/8089604645_134345d433_z.jpg (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/2012/10/15/kosagi/)
Kosagi (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8089604645/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[Legion]

Martin - amazing spot and great pictures!

It's been a while but here is my contribution.
Sorry my camera is only a pocket one - the canon s95

This is Shirarahama Beach in Shirahama

46554656465746584659

[Martin]

Thanks Legion - awesome rock and nice work on framing it around the setting sun :)

[Martin]

Thanks for the tip (http://metropolis.co.jp/features/photo-of-the-day/oct-19-2012/), GP ;)

Saw a juicy one today:

http://f.cl.ly/items/2k260h3H2K2G0N0M1x1b/DSC07113.jpg

[pool7]

As much as I hate spiders, I have to admit that's an awesome picture!

[GaijinPunch]

Martin, does your last name start w/ a V?

[Yakumo]

Thanks for the tip (http://metropolis.co.jp/features/photo-of-the-day/oct-19-2012/), GP ;)congratulations on getting photo of the day!

Nasty spider though. Actually, a few weeks ago I nearly touched one the size of my hand. I was coming back from 7/11 at night. Went to open the front door to the house when the entrance light came on. There, 1cm from my hand was a massive hairy spider spread out right across the door handle. I almost shit my self. I fucking hate spiders. I had to go in the house through the back kitchen door.

[Yakumo]

Saw some quality poor English this morning on the way to work.

4675

[GaijinPunch]

Nothing wrong w/ that. Keep Clean Your Tooth is my daily mantra. Nightly even!

[Yakumo]

Hehe, you know what would be funny if they had a tramp with one perfect tooth showing for their logo rather than ripping off the Roddy character.

[GaijinPunch]

I see a whole array of Rody characters.

[Yakumo]

I was on the 28th floor of the luxury Rihga Hotel in Kokura yesterday for a "yawn" conference. Still, the food was great as was the view. The problem was, no camera as always. Only the phone.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8476/8105250217_1c3a970947_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8105250217/)
28th floor Regal Hotel, Kokura, Kita Kyushu - 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8105250217/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

Same area but at sunset. Notice the big TV screen on the building to the left of the sun?

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8056/8105264378_bb37c3ab37_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8105264378/)
28th floor Regal Hotel, Kokura, Kita Kyushu (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8105264378/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

This picture shows a lot of man made land filled with a steel factory, new hostpital and park.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8189/8105250381_321c545feb_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8105250381/)
28th floor Regal Hotel, Kokura, Kita Kyushu - 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8105250381/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

[Martin]

Cool photos, Yakumo :)

Bullet train slithering through Tokyo:

4709 (http://www.martinirwinphotography.com/2012/10/21/bullet-train-in-tokyo/)

[Yakumo]

Seeing the train photo reminds me that the next time I go to Hakata I should video or take photos of the train station that runs right through a department store! I sometimes use a high rise car park next to it which has you driving up a spiral road that practically touches the train station. It gives a fantastic view of it going in to the 3rd or 4th? floor of the department store. I tried to find some pictures of it on the net but there doesn't seem to be any apart from this one small shot. You can see on the left side of the building two "roads" One is for buses and the other is the train track.

http://imageshack.us/a/img42/3184/4975380.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/42/4975380.jpg/)

Uploaded with ImageShack.us (http://imageshack.us)

[xmog123x]

I just wanted to thank everyone for making these cool pics, they're my motivation for moving out of this shithole country that I love. Next stop is UK, to earn some cash and then it's Japan for me and my girl.

[GaijinPunch]

Chances are excellent it will be an entire police state by then.

[GaijinPunch]

Nice in in Metroplis, Martin. Voted you up. Apparently my last one got printed. Gotta go get a stack before they're worth millions.

[Legion]

Martin - amazing spot and great pictures!

It's been a while but here is my contribution.
Sorry my camera is only a pocket one - the canon s95

This is Shirarahama Beach in Shirahama


46554656465746584659

guys how do i attach the pictures directly instead of having them clickable links? sorry faq 101

[GaijinPunch]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8329/8137970909_fc7588b446_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137970909/)
Pimp with a Turd (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137970909/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8194/8138001170_12f2b6a54b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8138001170/)
Star Gazing (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8138001170/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8464/8137972729_2ecebf8d08_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137972729/)
Bubbles (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137972729/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8471/8137972901_067f0abc3e_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137972901/)
Boots (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137972901/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8054/8137972089_c5f7962bd3_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137972089/)
Fire 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137972089/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8333/8137975005_1a96228f77_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137975005/)
Yoshinoya in the Rain (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137975005/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

What's with all the hipster style clothing? Was it some sort of festival?

[GaijinPunch]

Sure was:
http://burning-japan.com/

Based on the real burning man which was dope. Can't post those on the interwebs just yet though. ;)

[Yakumo]

That looks kind of Groovy :p No, seriously, I'd probably go to that if I was up in Tokyo.

[GaijinPunch]

From what I remember of it, it was fun. It's rare to see Japanese people let their hair down so low. The organizer was naked most of the time, despite the fact it was pretty cold. Unfortunately he was a man.

[Yakumo]

guys how do i attach the pictures directly instead of having them clickable links? sorry faq 101By clicking on the link circled in this image

4848

[geotrig]

:encouragement:wow some great pics

[Legion]

Thanks Yakumo I will bear that in mind in future
I have to wait till i get a good picture to post.
The quality bar is so high in this thread now!

[Yakumo]

I visited Chofu yesterday for some reason witht he family. Being an old town it was a good chance to grab some shots.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8202/8152941553_1baf9f8e0f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152941553/)
forest walk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152941553/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8349/8152942163_cf53ff6333_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152942163/)
choufu temple path (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152942163/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8061/8152969596_3c9bf24f7c_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152969596/)
choufu temple gate 1 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152969596/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7261/8152942745_e756b3a7b5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152942745/)
choufu temple gate 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152942745/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7276/8152970742_37e65edb02_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152970742/)
creepy-gate (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152970742/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8340/8152971152_2aa47ebce5_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152971152/)
creepy-steps (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152971152/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8341/8152944107_198c7d28f4_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152944107/)
choufu creepy grave (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152944107/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8349/8152971344_327e7d0aec_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152971344/)
creepy grave 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152971344/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7125/8152943165_bbfe0f1929_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152943165/)
Jump! (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8152943165/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

Sweet shots. Looks like a fun day. Also looks like you guys have been enjoying some of this rockin' weather we've had. My conclusion: Spring will suck. :(

[Yakumo]

Sweet shots. Looks like a fun day. Also looks like you guys have been enjoying some of this rockin' weather we've had. My conclusion: Spring will suck. :(
Thanks. I must admit that I'm not really a fan of my own pictures. I tend to think they are crap for the most part

Yeah, the weather has been great until today. Now it's cold, wet and pretty dark outside. Looks like the autumn weather is finally coming. Still, the red leaves of autumn should make for some fantastic photos.


Thanks Yakumo I will bear that in mind in future
I have to wait till i get a good picture to post.
The quality bar is so high in this thread now!
Don't worry about it. Personally I don't think my stuff is all that great. It doesn't matter how bad or good you think it is. Just post for us all to enjoy :)

[GaijinPunch]

Your photos are fine. Example, the 2nd to the last one: I took a few similar ones recently and they all sucked b/c there was no sunlight. Not only do you have sunlight, you have partial sunlight which adds contrast. Only thing I'd have done differently is maybe squatted down, and lined up the thing in the back, but it's fine without.

Just remember to keep going, and look back at your old stuff. I look at shit I took a year ago and I can clearly see the difference. It's just like everything else: you get better as time goes along. There's about a million and 2 photo blogs out there. Read them for pointers on how to shoot specific subjects. You'll be hard pressed for urban settings in Fukuoka, but you've got some pretty unique nature in Japan in the autumn, so I would capitalize on that. And yes, the red leaves in Japan are pretty fucking awesome. The hard part is avoiding the crowds. I think the Royal Family sends off some high frequency waves soon telling all Japanese where to convene, a la insects. Stay away from those areas.

I've recently gotten a macro lens which I really should not have purchased. However, sometimes you just gotta pull your pants down and say fuck everyone. Not really going crazy w/ Macro shots but it is making me look forward to going out and using it for starters, and as it's manual focus only, it provides quite the challenge. The difference is it's made for manual focus so it's about a million times easier to hit than manually focusing on these recent AF lenses. You'd think for $2000 they could make a nice focusing ring, but it's always some piece of shit plastic turd.

[Yakumo]

thanks for the input. That 2nd to last photo was taken through a gap in the gate show in the 5th picture down. It was also take with my phone using Pudding camera believe it or not. My GFII had ran out of battery power by then. I do agree that a squat would have made a much nicer picture but unfortunately that wasn't possible.

I hear you on the plastic focus ring. I was looking at some new lenses the other day in Kitamura camera. For the price of some of them you'd expect a nicer finish. I'm looking forward to seeing what you can come up with, with your macro lens.

[GaijinPunch]

Haven't unloaded anything yet, but I will.

If you want to get jiggy with a proper manual focus lens, many can be had quite cheaply. I know at least for Canon bodies, there is a chip which runs like $20 USD you can put on an adapter (which is probably $10 USD) which will cause the focus lights to beep when it's in focus. These with a pimped out focusing screen give you a LOT of control. A stick-shift driver should be able to appreciate that. ;)

[Yakumo]

hahaha, indeed. Having full control is something I really like. I'll look into that. The beep would come in handy since looking at a view screen isn't always 100% ideal. Saying that it does zoom the image you are focusing on so you normally can get a pin sharp shot. I like to use the manual focus when using the video option. 12mp in 1080 HD looks very nice when in focus. Just a shame the auto focus for video is a bit slow.

[GaijinPunch]

Well, if you use video on a DSLR, it's manual all the way. Even if it works, you've got sound issues. The new mirrorless cameras feature autofocus (I think) but not sure how they manage to get over the sound since the lens & mic are so close.

Read around about focusing screens. Basically the stock ones with even prosumer models suck shit b/c 95% of those buyers will never use manual focus. Canon's pro line (1D, 1DS, etc) have the old school style focusing screen. I got the Canon one for about 3500 yen. It's a huge step up, but manual focusing at anything wider than F4 requires me to have the beeps. It's just not good enough for something with a really shallow depth of field unless you're right up on it. Live View has a 10x magnification which is a life saver if you don't mind using LiveView for your still shots. It's a last resort for me.

Manual focus is a fucking waste of time w/ kids, btw.

[PrOfUnD Darkness]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8333/8137975005_1a96228f77_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137975005/)
Yoshinoya in the Rain (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8137975005/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

Great pictures! Did you use any filter on them?

[GaijinPunch]

I dicked around w/ a curves layer (raised the reds & blues [=purple] in the shadows) and as usual, desaturated in post. The photo was taken w/ an old 50mm Nikon from the 60's or 70's.

[Martin]

Nice shots GP and Yakumo. I'm back in Tokyo now, after a sweet time in Thailand. I just need to find time to take photos in JP now ;)

[GaijinPunch]

That's the challenge.

Get any good lady boy shots? You know my motto: You have to respect a girl whose dick is bigger than yours.

[Yakumo]

I was out drinking last night and didn't leave the bar until 7am. On the way home this happened just after I had crossed the street!! I almost shit my self. Luckily that guy walking past at the time got out of the way. It was a good thing the city center is pretty dead at that time on a Sunday morning or there could have been a few fatalities I think.

4947

[GaijinPunch]

What the fuck happened? Looks like the bridge collapsed. Geeze Louise.

[Yakumo]

There was quite a bit of rain and wind so I'm guessing the tards that put up the scaffolding around the building didn't do a good job so the weight of the rain plus the high winds blew it down on to the monorail track and pavement below.

[GaijinPunch]

Some night shots...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8207/8172288798_536dd01108_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172288798/)
Umbrella on a Footbridge (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172288798/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8172290016_bdb865c30b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172290016/)
Escelator (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172290016/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8200/8172262173_87bd07d3f9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172262173/)
Late Night Smoke (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172262173/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8172289056_14e1b6abe6_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172289056/)
Traffic (Cinematic) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172289056/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

2 questions. How much did you pay Miss Late Night Smoke for a quicky and when did you enter the world of Blade Runner for the last pick? Fantastic stuff as always. I really do like the lady and Blade Runner shots.

[Martin]

That's the challenge.

Get any good lady boy shots? You know my motto: You have to respect a girl whose dick is bigger than yours.

Thailand was awesome thanks. I've been up to my neck in work since i got back though, so I haven't had much time to put together a "best of" album yet. No ladybody/street shots really; just focussed on having a good time and snapped whenever i remembered.

Cool shibuya photos GP. Always funny seeing places I see every day in your shots ;)

[GaijinPunch]

The chick was free -- I think she knew I was shooting her. There were a lot of people in teh way though. It was a 100mm lens, and all I had with me. Some people talk shit about that type of street photography, but whatever. The lens is fucking sick. No question. The Blade Runner shot is not far from where I currently live, but closer to where I used to live. It's right by Hachiman station, and the sign is from one of the longest construction projects in the history of man: giving Yamate-doori the largest sidewalk in the free world. :|

[Martin]

May as well throw these up here - quite liking the detail and my manual focus ability is improving...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8343/8181955878_63db8b5939_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8181955878/)
Rose (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8181955878/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8339/8181983322_1121c088bb_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8181983322/)
Rose in colour (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8181983322/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[sensitive boy]

NIce and interesting keep it up dude

[Yakumo]

That's something I've never taken picture off before, flowers. I'll have to give it a try sometime.

[Martin]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8484/8187715626_171ed11842_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8187715626/)
The Beginning of Autumn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8187715626/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr


NIce and interesting keep it up dude

Thanks! :)

[GaijinPunch]

That's something I've never taken picture off before, flowers. I'll have to give it a try sometime.

Don't go on a windy day unless you want to pull your hair out in fits of frustration.

[Yakumo]

Good words of advice there. Nothing worse than blurry shots due to wind.

[GaijinPunch]

Some autumn colors. Taking a while this year... but the weather has been so awesome I'm not going to bitch!

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8479/8172291848_0932bfab6b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172291848/)
On Our Way to Brown (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172291848/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8346/8172263509_0cba252216_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172263509/)
Red Leaves (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172263509/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Martin]

Nice shots. I'm going leaf hunting this weekend (hope the weather holds). Last Saturday was balls.

[GaijinPunch]

Sunday was great though. Went to Kamakura. Leaves not that red, but still got some shots I happy with. I need to go back there on the first train instead of arrive at 2:30. :-/ Yoyogi Park is kind of that bullshit orange-ish color at best right now. I'm predicting the very last days of November will be the peak this year, due to global warming if you're a liberal, or due to God hating homosexuals if you're conservative.

[Yakumo]

There's a fantasic spot just up the road that I'm hoping to take pictures of this weekend. It's always too dark by the time I get home. I just hope the weekend won't be too late.

[Martin]

Spent this morning photographing some hot ladies in AKB...

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8069/8201031157_652f3b8dc1_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8201031157/)
Old Lady (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8201031157/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

I rarely do street photography, but it's something I'd like to do more of. GP does a cracking job of it, and inspired me to bring my camera to work this morning. Fanking ya.

[Yakumo]

oh man, that's one hottie you got there :) Actually, that's a fantastic shot but I can tel the woman was thinkig WTF :p

I don't have the balls or a long enough lense for street photography. I'm buying a pancake lense next for some nice macro and night shots.

[Martin]

Cheers Yakumo, but that was with a 35mm lens! Manual focus, to boot! I set it to focus 5m in front, and managed to pull off this shot. Well chuffed!

[GaijinPunch]

The best thing about old people is they're easier to hit with manual focus. ;) That and of course the blow jobs being better.

And yes, Yakumo, you don't need a long focal length. In fact, a lot of people frown upon it. Personally I think as long as a you get the shot, who cares. But, for the better part of a year I've been using my 24-70. It's a nice walk around lens, but it only goes to F2.8, and honestly, zooming is sometimes a hindrance. If you get in the mindset of your fixed focal length, you think ahead. Not nearly as hard as you'd imagine.

My latest lens is 100mm, which is nice to have for street, and honestly, it's the best lens I've ever touched. It's also manual focus only. So, I do miss some shots on occasion. But relying on auto focus for street photography is extremely frustrating. Especially in the later hours. Honestly I'd rather have a 35mm or 50mm on my full frame. The latter will give a focal length similar to martin's shot above (which is quite nice, btw). For streets on Tokyo, unless you're in the large spread out areas which are amazingly few, you'll need something short. The only times I feel like more than 100mm would be necessary (for street) is at the various hodousha tengoku spots, which AFAIK are only Ginza, Akihabara, and sometimes Shinjuku (but w/o that much traffic). Even in those times, people will get inbetween your lens and the subject. Maybe not so bad in the sticks, but most people in Tokyo (even the gaijin) have their heads up their asses. Literally. It's amazing how a culture whose country name shares a character with 'harmony', often lives it at home.

[GaijinPunch]

Case in point. I was walking around, testing out the new lens (w/ no other on me). I'm happy w/ both of these shots, but would rather have had a wider angle, by at least 30mm. Back was against the wall for both.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8062/8172294458_1a4b58578f_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172294458/)
Cafe Di Espresso (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172294458/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8204/8172265735_dc0d5d6f54_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172265735/)
Keitai at Night (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8172265735/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Martin]

Considering I was literally pacing it to the office this morning, so at not to be late, I was pleased with these. Camera by the hip, taking shot whilst coughing (to hide the sound).

At the weekend I might try actually going around taking candid photos properly, but this technique served me well this morning.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8490/8202423414_6f45ee694e_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202423414/)
Brisk Walk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202423414/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8206/8202423300_329426e69a_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202423300/)
Moshi moshi (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202423300/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8065/8202423200_754faa197f_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202423200/)
Pinstriped hair (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202423200/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8062/8201329975_b3fa841a15_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8201329975/)
Just let me send this... (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8201329975/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8203/8202422922_6d90194754_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202422922/)
About to turn (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8202422922/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

As always, good info in this thread about lenses. I'm currently using A Panasonic : LUMIX G VARIO 14-42mm f/3.5-f/5.6 (micro four thirds) however I want to buy a Panasonic pancake 20mm lens : f/1.7 - f/16. This would be great for low light shooting without a flash, has pretty good Bokeh and a nice field of view. There's also a 14mm pancake lens in the Micro Four Thirds range however that has an aperture of f/2.5 - f/22. Better for videos and it has a much faster auto focus than the 20mm due to it being internal. What do you guys think of pancake lenses? I'm mostly after one for size reasons and cost is pretty reasonable.

Great photos by the way. i see your points on the photos you took gaijinPunch and I'm liking your suggestion of shooting from the hip, Martin. I'll give that a shot this Friday :)

I was having a play around with aperture today. The following photos were taken with manual focus without flash at 25mm range f/5.6 ISO800 with a shutter speed of 0.6 seconds.

http://img31.imageshack.us/img31/6171/1020849.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/31/1020849.jpg/)

http://img96.imageshack.us/img96/1774/1020850f.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/96/1020850f.jpg/)

http://img87.imageshack.us/img87/769/1020854.jpg (http://imageshack.us/photo/my-images/87/1020854.jpg/)

There was no post production done other than resizing the images.

[Giel]

The thing with street photography is that I personally always get a bit self conscious about snapping people on the streets, especially in Japan. In China I had a lot less trouble with it, probably since they were always very blatantly taking pictures of me, up to the point where I would get cameras and phones as close as half a meter of my face whilst waiting at the bus stop.

Oh the many times I faked photographing a building, street light or a tree just to get away from the obvious glances of people who realized I was in fact snapping them. Favorite case ever was when I was taking pictures of people crossing at a traffic light, and only later at home did I realize that an old guy crossing was completely onto me and trolled the shit out of the picture, sticking his tongue out to me and making a weird face :D .

For me it's one of the reasons why I'm considering picking up a Canon 70-200, to get a bit more distance and hopefully make my shots more undercover. I would miss some of the bokeh though.

[GaijinPunch]

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8059/8206367587_d74b0ce3fe_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206367587/)
Try (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206367587/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8206368661_abebe2a1cb_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206368661/)
Super Hangon (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206368661/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8483/8207456112_e1ec983e80_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207456112/)
Sega (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207456112/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

Oh man, a Super hang-on cab. It's been years since I've seen on of those.

[Johnny]

Great pictures GaijinPunch!

And i agree with Yakumo. It's probably 15 years since i've seen one of those.

[xmog123x]

GP, those are going on my wallpaper! They are effin great. I like the 'asian metropoly shitload of lights and dust' effect :D

[GaijinPunch]

Sure, no problem. LMK if you want higher res. ;) Been meaning to do an arcades theme for a while . I might follow through on that...especially since it's going to get cold! I went into an old favorite in Taito and it got kinda shitty, so no pics from that. :(

The Super Hangon wasn't even in a "major" arcade. It was a large Sega one, but obviously not anything to be bragged about on the interwebs.

[Yakumo]

I was out and about today so here come the photos.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8484/8209681063_dc9d041893_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8209681063/)
What Country (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8209681063/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8337/8209681329_bb55d364aa_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8209681329/)
Autumn Road (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8209681329/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8488/8210769550_75d55dd7a6_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210769550/)
Autumn Leaf - yellow (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210769550/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8349/8210769772_a37401bc25_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210769772/)
Elderly walk (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210769772/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8198/8210769954_5c8eccc6bf_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210769954/)
Autumn Leaves - Red (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210769954/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8060/8210770428_d973339002_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210770428/)
Autumn Leaves - Red3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210770428/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8340/8210770820_6e51cf5611_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210770820/)
Elderly walk 2 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210770820/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8203/8210770920_03bde24a66_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210770920/)
Elderly walk 3 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210770920/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8064/8210771054_3e0b7ebc83_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210771054/)
Elderly walk 4 (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210771054/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8068/8210771192_69b9916f36_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210771192/)
Autumn Leaf (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8210771192/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8480/8209683345_3db56bce7c_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8209683345/)
yummy mac (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8209683345/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

Definitely Fall down there. Strange, no? Isn't it substantially warmer in Fukuoka?

That Mac looks retarded.

[Yakumo]

I live in Honshu but yeah, It's only about 100km from Fukuoka city. It has been pretty cold, so much so t hat there has been frost on the car in the morning but the last two days have been pretty warm. I was out with just a t-shirt and sweater on today. No need for a coat or jacket just yet.

That's my local Mc, my house is just around the corner. In fact all those shots are taken from the area I live in. Pretty nice place to be honest.

[GaijinPunch]

I'm one of those douche bags that thinks feeding a child Mac is abusive. :)

In a rare move, here's some stuff that's far less urban than my usual offerings.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8348/8207463914_15116416bc_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207463914/)
Big Buddha (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207463914/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8477/8206374187_af4d174774_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206374187/)
Big Buddha (2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206374187/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8346/8206372557_3bba66e3b2_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206372557/)
Drop (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206372557/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8490/8207460546_1d74b49fbc_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207460546/)
Fall in Kamakura (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207460546/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8341/8207460052_c3de8ed0c9_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207460052/)
Lots of Monks (2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8207460052/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8485/8206368505_c56c0ef69b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206368505/)
Surfer on the Beach (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8206368505/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Martin]

Kamakura - nice ;)

I agree with the McDonalds sentiments, GP.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8058/8219468188_67f7de8169_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8219468188/)
End of Fall (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8219468188/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

We got to Kamakura at like 2:30, which means sunlight for a whopping 90 minutes. If I go back, I will either spend the night the night before or leave my house by 7AM. Kind of a bust, otherwise.

I think I eat McDonald's fries (you call them chips!) about once a year. That's my max.

[Yakumo]

Nice Kamakura shots and that one of the gardens is beautiful with all the colours.

[Martin]

Cheers, Yakumo.

And thank God you explained what fries were, GP!

Walked to AKB after work...

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-3kxiRe0jvM8/ULNf0-MrKTI/AAAAAAAAKas/AC-GK7-3T0E/s900/DSC01756.jpg

https://lh5.googleusercontent.com/-yJzj0g2pCWE/ULNf1pEdrGI/AAAAAAAAKaw/7v0knF7XmsQ/s600/DSC01758.jpg

https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-HhTfl5Zd4G0/ULNf2jG64-I/AAAAAAAAKa8/IhF5_D2UKLc/s703/DSC01760.jpg

[GaijinPunch]

And thank God you explained what fries were, GP!

Potato Fry L-Saizu here.



Walked to AKB after work...

What in the cock for? YOu know you don't get to punch any of them in the face in there... that's the only reason I can think anyone would go.

[Martin]

Potato Fry L-Saizu here.

"Potayto furai, eru saizu" with my accent :p


What in the cock for? YOu know you don't get to punch any of them in the face in there... that's the only reason I can think anyone would go.

The missus works in Tsukuba, wahoo, so she gets the TX. I walk from Bunkyo to AKB to meet her ♡

[GaijinPunch]

I would most likely choose the Gundamn Cafe next door over it.

[Yakumo]

I'd rather stick my dick in a vending machine than go to either :p

[Martin]

Fucking hell guys, I only walked past the bloody place! We took the train from AKB/Akiba/Akihabara/Hentai Town... I didn't go to the sodding café!

Calm yourselves.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8345/8222332773_8e327b1359_z.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8222332773/)
Japanese Maple (http://www.flickr.com/photos/martindesu/8222332773/) by martindesu (http://www.flickr.com/people/martindesu/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

Hehehe, only joking with you. Lovely tree by the way.

[Martin]

Cheers!

They were a bit late this year up here in Tokyo... how about your end?


Hehehe, only joking with you. Lovely tree by the way.

;)

[Yakumo]

We've had the red for about 2 or maybe even 3 weeks. The trees are starting to become a bit bare now.

[GaijinPunch]

Oh, there's red. Just not much.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8060/8224575506_ace83fd669_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8224575506/)
Kouyou (01) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8224575506/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8063/8223500985_2cc3073ea0_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8223500985/)
Kouyou (03) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8223500985/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[Yakumo]

I was out drinking the other day so I took a few shots while out. A shame that I was too drunk to remember I had manual focus on. So only two shots worth keeping.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8208/8243373897_575933ac49_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8243373897/)
City Shrine (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8243373897/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8479/8244441842_188d81c7d4_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8244441842/)
Deserted Snack Bars (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8244441842/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

[GaijinPunch]

My two above were manual focus. Manual focus only lens, at that. ;) Gotta learn to treat your lens like it's your knob, and start twisting it.

[Yakumo]

hehe, trust you to say that. I do like to use manual focus which is why it was set to that but after a few drinks you sort of forget all about taking photos. Saying that I found a fantastic feature the other day for razor sharp auto focus with good bokeh by using the touch screen. Not as fun as manual set up but it does give amazing results.

[GaijinPunch]

The extremely unfortunate truth about DSLRs is that the view finder manual focusing is far more accurate than through the viewfinder. Not nearly as fun for me though.

[Yakumo]

Do you mean the screen on the back is not as good as the traditional viewfinder? I agree with you there. Unfortunately I don't have that option on my camera unless I want to buy the "Live Screen" that sits in to the flash port.

[GaijinPunch]

I wouldn't say "not as good". It's just not as accurate... at least for most DSLRs. The LiveView is a direct look at the sensor. The viewfinder is not. It doesn't take into account if the lens will front focus or back focus. I installed a split prism focusing screen to help w/ my vintage lenses. It does, a lot. I have two older ones that both seem to front focus very slightly. You can notice this at F1.4 if you look at a chart. I'm not sure if it's far off enough to give a shit practically. At least not for most of what I do. The lenses were relatively cheap as well. I thought it was the focusing screen, but I put in my Zeiss and it was spot on. Need to try a couple of others to make sure.

Basically if I set aperture to it's widest, and take a photo of like a brick wall diagonally where you see a lot of the lines, I aim the focus at a specific line and shoot. You should only be able to make out one line in perfect focus. I do this through the view finder, then w/ the Live View. Both show me focusing on a line, but when you look at the images, only the Live View one is lined up perfectly.

Those lenses are pretty ancient, so no point in having them tweaked.

[fireaza]

Hey fellas, can I make a photo request? Instead of the neon-lit streets, can I get some photos of the "tucked-away" parts of Japan? You know, alleys, old buildings, places like that. Places with age and character, I like that kinda stuff. Which is probably why I enjoyed the hell out of the movie Tekkonkinkreet.

[Yakumo]

Ah, that will be my area then. Only around the corner there is a really old place. Then there's Chofu which is dubbed "Samurai Town. You'd love that place.

[Martin]

Hey fellas, can I make a photo request? Instead of the neon-lit streets, can I get some photos of the "tucked-away" parts of Japan? You know, alleys, old buildings, places like that. Places with age and character, I like that kinda stuff. Which is probably why I enjoyed the hell out of the movie Tekkonkinkreet.

Challenge accepted ;)

[GaijinPunch]

More pics less smilies.


old buildings

This is somewhat of a challenge. Finding the odd building which is older than 35 years and hasn't been torn down is indeed rare. Something about having your capital flattened twice in a 30 year span with the constant threat of a 3rd time always overheard and you don't really employ anything remotely related to "renovation". Having said that, I think there's a candidate in my neighborhood that might have a resident. It's quite the shithole, but not an interesting picture.

[fireaza]

Something about having your capital flattened twice in a 30 year span with the constant threat of a 3rd time always overheard and you don't really employ anything remotely related to "renovation".
Having Godzilla stomp your city every 30 years you probably would make you give up on maintenance :P

35 years is fine, it's not the design of the building I'm interested in, it's the way the structure as aged. You can look at it and wonder about it's history based on it's how it looks.

[GaijinPunch]

Well, I can tell you for certain Japanese buildings aren't really built to last, and even less so built to battle the elements.

[Martin]

Most buildings in Tokyo are torn down within a decade or two, and are concrete and look quite horrible.

There are some older places, but they are not on paths frequented by my daily routine.

Here's one I took this morning:

http://f.cl.ly/items/1X3Z230p0L0B0C3g2T2n/CampusYellow.jpg

[GaijinPunch]

To put it into perspective, they're renovating the Metropolitan gym/pool. It was the only indoor olympic pool in the area, and was a whopping 21 years old.

[synrgy87]

i suppose it keeps the construction trade going, which can't be bad for the economy, also means buildings keep up with technology better i suppose. thankfully the consoles and games last longer than the buildings :)

[DefectX11]

Any suggestions for a white guy going to Japan? I've decided to break away from the Family trip to Mexico and use my portion to go to Japan, as a graduation trip.
I'll probably have 2 weeks.

Places to go, things to see, eat, etc?

[GaijinPunch]

i suppose it keeps the construction trade going, which can't be bad for the economy, also means buildings keep up with technology better i suppose. thankfully the consoles and games last longer than the buildings :)

You would think so, but I've found that unless you live in a VERY new building (and thus, very expensive) you must crank the heater to stay warm in the winter. They simply do not understand what the fuck insulation is here. Serious WTF bullshit. While it does help the economy to an extent, they break and fix things that don't fucking need it ALL the time. It's a bit of a nuisance, and the city loses it's charm. All the temples people go see are reconstructed. None of them are that old. They rip down entire forests and replant. :|


Any suggestions for a white guy going to Japan?

Yep -- peruse this part of the board. Tons and tons of threads that will serve you.

[synrgy87]

You would think so, but I've found that unless you live in a VERY new building (and thus, very expensive) you must crank the heater to stay warm in the winter. They simply do not understand what the fuck insulation is here. Serious WTF bullshit. While it does help the economy to an extent, they break and fix things that don't fucking need it ALL the time. It's a bit of a nuisance, and the city loses it's charm. All the temples people go see are reconstructed. None of them are that old. They rip down entire forests and replant. :|


sounds like what they do here only with the roads and public works, they tend to do stuff like that for no apparent reason seemingly just to waste the money they get from the EU (european union) so they can get more and it just becomes a pain as they never or rarely fix anything that actually needs fixed

[fireaza]

Most buildings in Tokyo are torn down within a decade or two, and are concrete and look quite horrible.

There are some older places, but they are not on paths frequented by my daily routine.

Here's one I took this morning:

A pretty photo, but I'm looking for something even more hidden away :)


Any suggestions for a white guy going to Japan? I've decided to break away from the Family trip to Mexico and use my portion to go to Japan, as a graduation trip.
I'll probably have 2 weeks.

Places to go, things to see, eat, etc?
Akihabara, duh :P If you're into temples, Nikko has lots of those, including the famous "hear no evil, see no evil, speak no evil" monkeys. There's also a crazy-ass winding road to get up there, you pretty much have to bring your car to a stop and turn on a dime :D

[Martin]

Even more hidden away will require a special trip, which requires some time, which I don't have yet ;)

[Yakumo]

If it's not too cold tonight I'll grab a few shots of really shitty places and dark old allies.

[Yakumo]

Oh well, the camera battery had died but here's a shot I took on Saturday.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8063/8261122146_bd989c836c_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8261122146/)
Kokura - Kitakyushu Outter City (raw) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8261122146/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8261122468_c4273b633b_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8261122468/)
Kokura - Kitakyushu Outter City (retro) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/yakum0/8261122468/) by Yakum01975 (http://www.flickr.com/people/yakum0/), on Flickr

[synrgy87]

all the black and white one needs is a godzilla or other random monster stomping through it. but i like it it actually reminds me of belfast for some strange reason :)

[GaijinPunch]

I think these are going to be the last of the fall colors.

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8502/8260726792_e33d18220c_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260726792/)
Orange (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260726792/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8360/8260726954_2de42b71de_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260726954/)
Kouyou (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260726954/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8503/8260727824_2a01b7b7ff_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260727824/)
Morning in Yoyogi Park (1) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260727824/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8207/8260728148_e71e7377cf_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260728148/)
Earth in Miraikan (2) (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260728148/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8345/8260729270_4ef7712cda_c.jpg (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260729270/)
Checking out the Earth (http://www.flickr.com/photos/paul_england/8260729270/) by gaijin_punch (http://www.flickr.com/people/paul_england/), on Flickr

[fireaza]

all the black and white one needs is a godzilla or other random monster stomping through it. but i like it it actually reminds me of belfast for some strange reason :)
There we go:
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/fireaza/godzillaattack.jpg

[rod_wod]

We got to Kamakura at like 2:30, which means sunlight for a whopping 90 minutes. If I go back, I will either spend the night the night before or leave my house by 7AM. Kind of a bust, otherwise.

I think I eat McDonald's fries (you call them chips!) about once a year. That's my max.

fries are not the same as chips really..chips are thick & fries are thin but you can call then both fries or chips

[synrgy87]

yeah chips are chunkier,

fireaza you made my morning with that pic i was going to do it myself but didn't lol

other pictures as per, are quality, love the big earth and the autumn colours