Purple
in Blog
Abstract
Walking around
in Blog, photo-journal
Walking around │ NEX-7 & Sony Zeiss 24 [SEL24F18Z] │ 24mm, ISO 1600, f/2.5, 1/800, RAW
I really had no idea what to call this image*. I suppose that's not really important. "An image is worth a thousand words", after all. I've also heard that a good photograph never needs a title, or explanation. If it does, it's no good. I'm not sure I agree with that notion... especially for abstract art, sculpture...
DSC03359
This thing was churning out a colossal amount of water, and was lit up rather brilliantly.
It was part of a larger restaurant complex not far from Tokyo station, and the Imperial Palace.
DSC03362
You can see just how large these buildings are - in the bottom right you'll see Charlotte for scale (she's a towering 5ft tall).
I noticed a huge crack in one of the large, old walls behind the restaurant building, and my guess is that this crack appeared around 2 years ago, during the great earthquake in 2011.
Crack
Quite a crack. I could have put my hand in there. It's good to be reminded that earthquakes can happen at any time, without any notice (I'll go into this another time). Humbling, yet encouraging. Make the most of now.
*EDIT (20/2): Well, I've finally remembered what I should have called this photo: Nautilus.
Rust
in Blog
Rust │ NEX-7 & Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm F1.4 │ 35mm, ISO 100, f/2, 1/60, 0EV Autumn is definitely on the way, with rainy showers a frequent occurrence. Temperatures have dropped to as low* as 17℃, though it's around 25℃ when stood in the lunchtime sun. Today is a national holiday "Health and Sports day" (体育の日), which commemorates the opening of the 1964 Summer Olympics being held in Tokyo, and exists to promote sports and an active lifestyle (though I'll be finishing my day out with a beer).
Yesterday, we visited Kamakura (鎌倉), mainly to visit the Giant Buddha (大仏). On our way, I saw the rusted old building in the above photo. The rusting, shop sign and corrugated iron really stood out to me, and as I am trying to get more into street photography, I thought I'd take a snap. The shop is URADANA, (website, twitter), specialising in rather funky and cool clothing. If you're in the area, please check it out :)
Of course, I couldn't say I visited the Giant Buddha of Kamakura, and not post a photo of said Buddha.... so here it is (and it's very rusty to boot):
Obligatory Wikipedia information:
The Great Buddha of Kamakura is a monumental outdoor bronzestatue of Amitābha Buddha located at the Kōtoku-in Temple in Kamakura,Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan. The bronze statue probably dates from 1252, in the Kamakura period, according to temple records. It was preceded by a giant wooden Buddha, which was completed in 1243 after ten years of continuous labor, the funds having been raised by Lady Inada (Inada-no-Tsubone) and the Buddhist priest Jōkō of Tōtōmi. That wooden statue was damaged by a storm in 1248, and the hall containing it was destroyed, so Jōkō suggested making another statue of bronze, and the huge amount of money necessary for this and for a new hall was raised for the project. The bronze image was probably cast by Ōno Gorōemon or Tanji Hisatomo, both leading casters of the time. At one time, the statue was gilded. There are still traces of gold leaf near the statue's ears. It is unclear, however, whether the statue constructed in 1252 is the same statue as the present statue.
Details
- Weight; 121 tonnes (270,000 pounds)
- Height; 13.35 m (43.8 ft)
- Length of Face; 2.35 m (7.7 ft)
- Length of Eye; 1.0 m (3.3 ft)
- Length of Mouth; 0.82 m (2.7 ft)
- Length of Ear; 1.90 m (6.2 ft)
- Length from knee to knee; 9.10 m (29.9 ft)
- Circumference of thumb; 0.85 m (2.8 ft)
The statue is referred to as "The Buddha at Kamakura" in several verses that preface the initial chapters of the novel Kim by Rudyard Kipling (1901). The verses were taken from the poem of the same name the author wrote after visiting Kamakura in 1892. The poem appears in its entirety in "The Five Nations" of 1903.
*In the UK, a mid-morning October temperature of 17℃, would never be referred to as low.
Call Me Maybe
in Blog
Lens: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm F1.4 Camera: NEX-C3, ISO 200, f/1.4, 1/125, RAW
The weather in Japan is in that strange transitional phase between the end of summer and the beginning of autumn. The temperature has dropped by about 10 degrees or so from last week (it's just 21℃ today), and there are frequent heavy showers, lightning and echoing thunder.
I spent the majority of my day off walking to various camera shops around Tokyo, marvelling at the intricate designs and high prices. I took a bit of a detour between shops and thought I would check out the Robert Indiana sculpture I've not visited so far this year. I noticed this old chap reading a mail on his phone, and I rather fancied it was from someone special, and perhaps he'd call them.
Maybe.
Day off
in Blog
Lens: Voigtländer Nokton Classic 35mm F1.4 Camera: NEX-C3, ISO 200, f/1.4, 1/640, RAW
It's my fourth day off in 2012, the last being when my brother came to visit. Tomorrow, my parents come to visit. It'll be their first time to visit Japan (or Asia for that matter), and I still can't quite imagine them being here. They're being kind enough to bring over a little something I ordered last week, which will be explained in more detail when it's here ;)
Why the photo of my MacBook Pro? Well, the damn video card has packed in, or something. I can only basically see in 256 colours or some other kind of awful inverted hell. Only just about bearable for text, completely useless for any photography. Arse. I snapped this photo and then used the iPad camera connector to import the photo onto my iPad, from where I could upload to Dropbox and sync to my laptop instantly. Had I the recently announced NEX-6, I could have sent the photo wirelessly. However, though the NEX-6 is a significant step up from my current NEX-C3, there are features other than wifi which I desire in my next camera :)