Thursday, March 31, 2005

For someone you do not really like

have fun

Fly vs Fry


In Japanese (and in most of the asian languages) there is no distinction between L and R. So, sometimes, there are some funny typos even in official documents.
The example above is the poster of the Harmonica Society of Waseda University, looking for new members. I would be scared to join a society that wants to "fry" me to the moon!

(sorry for the bad quality of the picture, but the camera in my mobile phone is getting worst and worst. Maybe it's time to get a new keitai?)

Monday, March 28, 2005

Yoyogi Park, on sunday morning


Yoyogi Park, on sunday morning, is one of the most incredible places to be. A lot of people, dressed-up for the occasion, walk around with tourists taking pictures of them.


Like this one, for example


...or these two girls.
There is an incredible number of them, representing all the different possibilities, ranging from traditional clothes to manga characters. They come with normal dressing, they get changed, and then they just stay there, looking for someone to take their picture.
Maybe it is a reaction to the fact that during weekdays they are forced to dress a uniform?
In any case, the incredible variety and richness of these people cannot be described with words, it must be seen with your own eyes!

Friday, March 25, 2005

Graduation day at Waseda


Today is the graduation day at Waseda University. Most of the girls wear kimono, with or without Hakama (traditional Japanese clothing that covers the lower body and resemble a wide, pleated skirt). Hakama nowadays is used only in a few official occasions, just like graduation ceremony.

Monday, March 21, 2005

Bentenjima - Anguilliamo!


Today I went to Bentenjima, near Hamamatsu, in Shizuoka-prefecture, to meet Carlo and other Italian people. Actually, the main reason to go there was to eat the famous "eel of hamamatsu". It seems Hamamatsu area is a wonderful place for eel, and I have to admit it is true. The eel I had there was much better than the ones I tried until now in Tokyo.
In the picture above, the contrast between the modern overpass in the background, and the traditional gate in the middle of the lake/sea surrounding Bentenjima (-jima means island).

Saturday, March 19, 2005

Ichigo-gari!

Today we went in Tomiura, in the south of Chiba-prefecture, for strawberry hunting. What a wonderful day!
On the way to Tomiura, we could see the Fuji-san, the volcano symbol of Japan. There was a little fog so the picture is not really sharp, and the snow seems just a touch of white brush in the sky.



We had 30 minutes of "tabe-hodai" (all you can eat), in the greenhouse below and in a twin one. Several different varieties of strawberries, small and big, sweet and sour. Spettacolo!



And there was also some which was a little bit.. let's say... bigger than usual ;-)


Without too many efforts I was able to eat 89 strawberries, while talking with friends and while taking picture here and there. But for next year I want to reach 100!


After lunch we went to spend a couple of hours doing nothing in front of this beautiful view.

Monday, March 14, 2005

AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED


Today I made me a present: AF DX Fisheye-Nikkor 10.5mm f/2.8G ED.
This is a strange lens, as it preserves all the distorsion at the borders. The result is an incredibly wide field of view (around 180 deg!) but with a lot of distorsion.
I'd better practice more with this lens, it seems so easy to obtain terrible shots!

Sunday, March 13, 2005

Panning - how to


This afternoon I went to Ginza. My original intention was to spend some time in the middle of the crowd, taking pictures of interesting faces and dresses. However, the weather was not that good, so I preferred to move, and start practicing panning, a technique in which you select a slower shutter speed, and follow with the camera a moving object. The result - if everything goes smoothly - is an object/person in perfect focus, while everything else appears blurred. This gives a good sense of motion, like in the example above.

Sunday, March 6, 2005

Snow again!


Hey. It's March but here in Tokyo it is still snowing! What a wheather, this year!