Kabukicho, 2005
I heard from my son that a new hotel and entertainment complex opened last week in Tokyo, the Tokyu Kabukicho Tower. It differs a bit from the usual shopping/entertainment/office building complexes that seem to crop up every few years in Tokyo, which enjoy a burst of gawkers and occasional patrons for a year or two until the next shiny monstrosity arrives - this one has no shopping, not yet anyway. There's a massive food court, two hotels, two live concert/theater halls, a multiplex cinema, and some DJ nighttime entertainment space, the concept of which I'm too old to grasp.The Kabu…
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My First Serendipitous Large Format Photo
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This was the first photo I ever took with a large format camera. I had no idea what I was doing, and have shot large format so infrequently over the years since that were I to today take out any of the three large-format cameras I still own, I would be right back where I was in 2007 when this photo was taken. This photo illustrates how important serendipity is to what I end up regarding as my favorite photos, and I suspect that is the same for many photographers. Without fail, those pictures I take where I think to myself, Oh t…
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Renhō, Yurakucho Station | 2004
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This is Hsieh Lien-fang, more commonly known as Renhō, a biracial (Taiwanese and Japanese) politician who at the time this was taken in 2004 was campaigning for her successful first run as a member of the House of Councillors (Upper House of the National Diet). She later became head of Japan's Democratic Party from 2016 to 2017 and gained notoriety when it was revealed that she had never given up her Taiwanese citizenship. (Japan requires dual citizens to choose a single citizenship when they turn 20 years old.) She subsequentl…
moreKentucky and Environs
My father relocated to Kentucky in 1986, I myself lived there briefly, and my family and I have made frequent trips there over the last 20 years. These photos were all taken in 2009, one of the few times -- sadly -- that I took film cameras with me.
Street (2 new items)
Candid street snapshots from Japan and beyond.
Vase
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I taught English to a group of elderly ladies, twice a month, for over 10 years. For them it was a hobby and diversion and to be perfectly honest I'm not sure the needle of their English ability moved very much in all that time. Conversely, I probably learned more about Japanese culture, language, and history from them than from any other source in all my time in Japan. This vase, one of the most sublimely beautiful objects not in a museum that I have ever laid eyes on, belonged to one of them. This photo -- taken with my Conta…
moreLandscapes (2 new items)
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Street (1 new item)
Candid street snapshots from Japan and beyond.
Landscapes (1 new item)
Cityscapes may be included
Tokyo's Bakurocho
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Spend any decent amount of time walking around Tokyo -- that is, non-tourist Tokyo -- and you'll soon realize that the Japanese approach to zoning differs considerably from the American approach. This is most noticeable in the intermingling of businesses (light industrial, wholesale, and other small mom and pop businesses), and residences (both apartments and single-family homes). (This article is a good primer on Japanese zoning laws and how they differ from the US.)Here we have a small business of which type I forget now, alt…
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Landscapes (2 new items)
Cityscapes may be included
Street (1 new item)
Candid street snapshots from Japan and beyond.
Street (2 new items)
Candid street snapshots from Japan and beyond.
Landscapes (1 new item)
Cityscapes may be included
