Sunday, December 28, 2008

Rainbow bridge

AKA how an unaware bump in the tripod could luckily turn into an interesting picture ;-)

I also have a more traditional picture, taken last year. Please check it out.

Thursday, October 23, 2008

The colors of the night

Same picture, three different versions. Which is your favorite one?




This is the original picture.




The original picture, overexposed by 4 stops, and with a little bit of black clipping. That's all, no other special effect or recoloring.





Same as above, with a little bit more black clipping and full highlight recovery.

Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Bear vs beer

Maybe it's a stronger type of beer?

And the winner is...

... Kang Dong Yoon, 8p. Congratulations!


2nd place for Park Jung Sang, 9p (left); 3rd for Li Zhe, 6p from China, who won against Wang Xi, 9p.

Let the final begin!


The final of the Open Individual is between Park Jung Sang, 9p (left), and Kang Dong Yoon, 8p. Both players are from South Korea, which confirms its leadership in the Professional Go World.

Tuesday, October 7, 2008

Friday, October 3, 2008

The Italian (amazing) National Team

Good luck to everybody!

(thanks Marta&Marco for the idea of the starry background)

WMSG2008: Opening Ceremony

A few shots taken during the opening ceremony of the WMSG2008.
Good luck to all the participants!


4 members of the Chinese Army bring the National Flag on the stage.


Gu Li, the top Chinese 囲碁 player and one of the strongest players in the world, swearing the solemn oath on behalf of all the players.



The beautiful Alejandra, standard bearer for Costa Rica, wearing the national traditional costume.



The less beautiful but nevertheless fascinating costume of... Swiss?

Chinese traditional costume for the beautiful girls escorting the guests on the stage.



The first dance: tying all the world with knots.


The 囲碁 dance. Simply sublime.


The dance representing Chess: a sneaky bishop killing the opponent's king and kidnapping the queen.


Starry starry "sky" with the shining WMSG logo.

The 1st world mind sports games

The 1st WMSG is a multi-event game and for the first time in human history the five mind sports are integrated as one game. The five mind sports are: bridge, chess, go, draughts, and xiangqi, which have the longest history, the widest popularity and widest influence in the world. It is not only a creative pageant in the sport circle but also an abundant content and large scale exchange for the traditional culture of human being and wisdom.






The Italian standard bearer, Francesco (Go) and Irene (bridge).

"Let the games begin!"

Friday, September 12, 2008

Panthéon@dusk


The Panthéon (from Greek Pantheon, meaning "All the gods") is a building in the Latin Quarter in Paris, France. It was originally built as a church dedicated to St. Genevieve, but after many changes now combines liturgical functions with its role as a famous burial place. It is an early example of Neoclassicism, with a façade modelled on the Pantheon in Rome, surmounted by a small dome that owes some of its character to Bramante's "Tempietto". Located in the 5th arrondissement on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève, the Panthéon looks out over all of Paris.
[read more]



Its architect, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, had the intention of combining the lightness and brightness of the gothic cathedral with classical principles. Soufflot died before his work was achieved, and his plans were not entirely followed. The transparency he had planned for his masterpiece was not attained. Nevertheless, it is one of the most important architectural achievements of its time and the first great neoclassical monument.
And its beauty stands out even more at dusk, thanks to the nice combination of the blue sky with the orange light of the sun.

The Pope


Snapshot of the Mass of His Holiness Pope Benedict XVI in Notre Dame, Paris.

Papagirl

Saturday, August 2, 2008

Libellula


Doesn't this hanabi look like a dragonfly?

hanabi, or war zone?



You cut out the beautiful and colored lights of the fireworks, and what remains in the picture looks a lot like a picture taken during a war (Vietnam? Cambodia? you pick one with river and boats)

Edogawa Hanabi

Another wonderful 江戸川花火大会, this year seen from 小岩緑地.

Check also the pictures taken last year from 市川 (the opposite bank of 江戸川):

Saturday, July 26, 2008

Unusual view

A moray and a shark are not that a common view in the middle of the city. But thanks to Sony, you can enjoy them (together with other 700 fish from 48 different species brought from Okinawa) in the beautiful aquarium at the entrance of Sony Building, for the 41st Sony Aquarium 2008 event.

No wonder that this kid is staring at them! ^_^


Still, I wonder how they do not eat each other...

Eyebrowed fish

Have you ever seen a fish with eyebrows? No? Well, it was the first time for me, too.

Go and check the Sony Aquarium 2008 in front of the Sony Building if you want to see if for yourself.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Shinjuku


Tokyo as seen from the 28th floor of L Tower in Shinjuku, looking towards Ikebukuro.

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Let's party! ^_^

Sometimes, happiness is just a couple of M&M's left on a wall nearby the sea ;-)

Thursday, June 5, 2008

Having fun on Sunday afternoon

Every time I go to Yamanakako during weekends or holidays there are always these guys moving around and having with their nice bikes.

Saturday, May 31, 2008

Italy vs Japan

Today it was the opening day of the FIVB Men's World Olympic Qualification Tournament, at the Tokyo Metropolitan Gym. The final match of the day was between Italy and Japan.


In a gym packed with 10,000 people, Japan could count on the support of about 9,998 fans, who never stopped to cheer for their team; the Italian team, instead, could count only on me and Michele. It was an uneven match, for the two of us, but we managed to shout something every time the Japanese supporters took a break.


The match started well for Italy, who was able to secure the first set. But Japan fought back, and took the next two sets 30-28, 30-28. In the fourth set, when the score was 24-17 for Japan, everything seemed lost. But Italy was able to show its real value, resisting for 11 match points , and finally securing the set for the incredible score of 35-33 on their sixth set point.


In the tiebreak, Italy made no mistake, 15-7, to complete an extraordinary turnaround. It was one of the most incredible and thrilling games I've ever seen.