2014-03-31

7 Days 7 Minutes (2014-03-17) 日本語でがんばりました


00:00 月曜日MONDAY 夜露死苦 (its a wordplay joke... if you get it, you get it.)
01:00 火曜日TUESDAY 銀座の交差点 (Crossings in GInza)
02:00 水曜日WEDNESDAY 新しいおもちゃ (New Toy)
03:00 木曜日THURSDAY 渋谷首都高火事の余波 (Fire on the expressway in Shibuya, the aftermath)
04:05 金曜日じゃないnotFRIDAY 渋谷 (Shibuya)
05:00 土曜日じゃないnotSATURDAY マニー・マークス(Manny Marx) http://mannymarx.bandcamp.com
06:00 日曜日じゃないnotSUNDAY 新しい友達 (New Friends)

The reason i've not updated in a while...

Is because I'm playing with a pre-production Panasonic Lumix GH4



The review will be up on AkihabaraNews.com soon enough.

Last day with it today. Gotta get some last minute footage and shots before returning it to Panny.

I just wish I had the money to buy one of these. Hell I wish I had enough money to pay my my fair share of the bills instead of relying on the cat while I chase my dreams and sink deeper into debt.

2014-03-27

Untitled Two-Man Tokyo Tech Show 05

Next Untitled Two-man Tokyo Tech Show is up. this time we checked out a Sony event in Ginza and I advocated throwing a science fraud under a tank.
 

as always blah blah click on this link too: AkihabaraNews.com

Honda’s New NM4 Concept Bike Straight out of Cyberpunk Anime (AkihabaraNews.com)



At the 30th annual Osaka Motorcycle Show on March 21 2014, Honda unveiled two preview concepts of their new NM4.

Honda's new concept bike looks like it’s straight out of a late 80s, early 90s vision of 2014, and they intend to put it into production. Yes. Get one in red, cover it in stickers, ride around Neo Tokyo being a delinquent. (‘Akira,’ anyone?) 

Read the rest at AkihabaraNews.com 


2014-03-25

Shots #108 Dat Latte


Taken at a Starbucks in Shibuya. 
I omitted the watermark cos it looked bad.
needless to say all the usual rights are reserved


2014-03-23

2014-03-20

Shibuya Stickers ~5 Hit Combo~

I saw these in Shibuya Earlier today. Gotta love Shibuya sticker Graffiti. Which one appeals to you?








2014-03-17

Olympus at CP+ 2014. Girls were there, too. (AkihabaraNews.com)


Promising Return to Form for a Former Industry Heavyweight  
With a large booth showcasing their full range of cameras, lenses and accessories, Olympus came out in full force at last month’s CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging tech show.
In the center of it all was an aviary of sorts, home to spectacular ornithological subjects displaying splendidly colorful plumage. They strutted around as subjects for viewers to take test shots with provided sample cameras in the OMD range.
Apart from being a birdwatchers paradise, it was easily the best sample shooting area of the entire show.



More at Akihabaranews.com

Including a hands on with the new OMD -EM-10, their new power zoom kit lens, hi-res versions of the pics above and some test footage using the new EM-10.

Well go on then! read the rest!

Going Home



東京で人は多いけど人間は少ない。
In Tokyo there are many people but very few human beings.
~me
That's what I said over dinner the other night in Shibukawa when explaining to my mates why I was so unbelievably overjoyed to be there. In the 2 days back home I had more meaningful conversations about life, history, politics and cars with more different people than in the previous month the zombie apocalypse that is the capital. 

One truly doesn't appreciate how awesome a place is till you leave it. The people, honesty, generosity, delicious food, clean air, hot springs , driving, scapes and fact that it is all true and real. I love that little town on the confluence of the Tone and Agatsuma Rivers. It has truly become my home. More than anywhere else, It is there that I want to return.



2014-03-15

7 Days 7 Minutes (2014-03-03) Snow, Omotesando, an epic dog and more...



MONDAY Golf to the chopper!!!
TUESDAY Moteki Texan's Snow Day
WEDNESDAY Foodex 2014
notTHURSDAY Omotesando
FRIDAY Winter's death throes
notSATURDAY That damn popcorn
not SUNDAY Harajuku

Spring? This little guy thinks so. ~5 hit combo~






Nope. I have no Idea what bird it is... If you know, comment below.

Nope. The sakura are not yet blooming. Those are probably plum (maybe peach)... they are all in the same family though.

2014-03-11

Remembering 3/11/2011

March 11 2011 has been etched in the minds of the world. This year I wanted to share a little story from my experiences on that unforgettable day.

Shots #107 Lumix Lunacy

This is what it looks like when you take a photo of a smartphone using a Panasonic Lumix GH3 tethered over wifi to the LUMIX LINK app on that very smartphone.




The things you do while waiting for the train :p

2014-03-09

Wallpapers (and a pic of the Tokyo Tower)

Would you guys be interested in me resizing a few of my shots and hosting them as wallpapers?

Either way, here's the Tokyo Tower:



2014-03-08

It's Not Sushi - Sasadango



Over the new year when I went home to Nagano with the cat, Her mom gave us Sasadango. What's Sasadango? Watch the video to find out :p

Yes there are subtitles. Make sure you have them enabled :p

2014-03-07

Shots #106 DOOK!


I took this in 2013 in a more working class suburb of Yokohama. In Japan, many of these old school, single owner bottle stores have these bizarre yet awesome and well detailed mascots. They also often have great selections of Japanese booze.

This shop doesn't exist anymore. I spoke to the owner who was in the process of packing up and selling off the last of his wares, he told me that the shopping centre that opened at the station a few hundred metres away broke him. The generic chain stores within buy in massive bulk and can undercut the local sellers. While they generally don't stock some of the finer and more unique varieties of alcohol from smaller sake and shochu producers in favour of the cheap mass-market pigswill from bloated businesses like Kirin and Suntory, they do let the customer get drunk for cheaper. As a result the friendly old man at the corner liquor store was forced to close down and that cute duck perched atop it's barrel has probably been melted down or is rusting in a scrap heap.

This is a double blow because without outlets to sell their sake, smaller producers get hit too, and while they have some government assistance, that very government is trying to put them out of business with the TPP.

Tokyo masses are to busy slaving away in their offices and watching the happy lies on NHK, too insulated by the city's wealth to the realities outside,  all the Otaku fap away to their pre-pubescent idols, all the overseas dreamers look at pictures of geisha, sakura, and mt. Fuji and think everything is idyllic and wonderful. But the true heart of Japan is being hollowed by greed to turn a quick profit.

This is the side of Japan that nobody sees. This story is being replayed at every single family owned retail business in every single small town and suburb in the country. Sadly, these bizarre yet awesome mascots,  like so many amazing and unique things in Japan, will likely disappear as a result.

2014-03-06

[INTERVIEW] Sigma tells us about their new dp2 Quattro (AkihabaraNews.com)

I contributed more to the mighty green pig:



Wild form factor for a very traditional albeit high tech tool.
Were there a ‘best of show’ award for cameras at this year’s CP+ Camera and Photo Imaging expo, the new dp2 Quattro from Sigma would definitely be a contender. It’s functional yet eye catching form definitely had heads turning and internet tongues wagging.

As Always... read the rest on AkihabaraNews.com



And watch the video too. It took me no small amount of time and effort to subtitle that thing.

and there are some juicy tidbits of info from sigma regarding their future in it. Don't say I don't do anything nice for you:p

2014-03-04

7 Days 7 Minutes (2014-02-24) Wagner, Ikebukuro, messy hair and more...



00:00 Timbuk2 Snoop Messenger
01:00 YES! My hair is always messy.
02:00 Shinjuku Starbucks
03:01 SPRING!!!!!!!!!
04:01 Follow Friday: Pal Marinehttps://www.youtube.com/user/palopezm...
05:02 Ikebukuro Station
06:00 The Cat's friend and her friend

2014-03-02

*untitled Two-Man Tokyo Tech Show - Episode 3 (AkihabaraNews.com)

The next *untitled Two Man Tokyo Tech Show is live. Check it out and make fun of us in the comments. Be sure to check out all the stuff we talk about on akihabaranews.com

2014-03-01

Okinawa Scapes ~5 hit combo~

Thanks for all the comments on the Japan, How It Is - Driving Around Okinawa vid. I basically covered everything I wanted to say about it in the vid...

Besides, words cannot describe the beauty of  Okinawa.