Trying to put a neat and tidy bow on my recent trip to Japan – Tokyo and the Hokkaido region.
Image above was shot at dusk from my hotel room. Tokyo is such a great city and I hope to get back there again someday. Would love to be able to take my Wife and Little One(s) there so that they could experience it too. So dynamic. So colorful. So alive. I really, really enjoyed my time there. I look forward to the time I return.
Shot the image at the airport walkway, as we were jailbreaking. Stephen, the AD, was headed to Thailand, me and Vicki and Jon, the photogs, were headed on to Beijing. A good deal of our trip, especially to the Hokkaido region, was spent pressed against the cold windows of a van. Not to be diminished, we all still shot, through foggy and sometimes wet windows, with our G9’s. Vicki continually argued that poles invaded her images…just a timing issue, that’s all.
I’m still trying to wrangle my G9. Low light is always an issue. But as we crossed a type of bridge in the airport, I snapped the above. Liked all the lines that it showed. And set it up so that the light poles were dead-center. Vicki…sometimes poles work, eh?
Here’s a photo slide show that I put together for my Japan experience. Crosses many days…but I hope you enjoy it. If you get the chance to experience Japan…GO!
Big snowstorm hit my area this Saturday. Strange….15 miles north of me, almost nothing. 25 miles south of me…bombarded.
Here in Central NJ, we received about a foot. First the shovel, then the camera….A few frames to keep me limber.
After the shovel time, in which my Little One complained of cold hands, I hung the 50D from my shoulder and went in search. Just around the corner, a simple snap as Moose Peterson likes to say. But I like it as an add to my Winterscape Gallery Series.
I worked on some slide shows today from my recent travels to the Far East. Also thought about some of the faces I’ll remember from that trip.
Back home a couple of days now. Pretty much no jet lag to speak of. But it’s been nice to, after 14 days on the road, to hang out with my wife and little one. Took Liv to her preschool session today where she showed me all around her classroom. Then me and the Mrs went out to a NJ diner for some breakfast. The work emails were staring to ding more and more and I’ll be in the office on Friday, but it was a nice couple of days to rest up and catch up.
Not to mention put a hand to my wife’s belly to get a gauge on how Baby K 2.0 is coming a long. Very well, it appears.
Amazing to think that just a few short days ago I was standing at Ground Zero of one of the most serious acts of rebellion in the last 21 years. I was 19 when the Tianamen Square Protests happened (June 4th, 1989, hence Six-four), finishing my freshman year in college. I was two hours from home in a big city and Beijing, China, may as well have been on the moon to me. Still, I remember the news headlines and reading about it.
Now here I was, almost 21 years later, on a bitterly cold Tuesday morning on my last day in China. Heading to Tinanmen was almost an afterthought. We had thought about doing a photo shoot there…and I actually raised the point “Do we really want to? After all the people that lost their lives there, is this really the place we want to exemplify Beijing?” That swayed the team and we decided to not shoot there, and I’m happy for that. Still, wanted to see it, and not just from the back seat of our van.
I like the photo that leads off this post. Chinese Army? Um, no. More like Rent-A-Cops that seemed to be getting “official” photographs in the Square. We saw their coats being worn by store security guards later in the day. If you look closely at the photo above, you can see the discolored sleeve of the last gent on the left side. My thinking is the coat has been passed down. They were all trying to be all focused in line, waiting for their photo. Me and others on my team just stepped in and starting shooting them, reportage style. Again, I like the scene I caught. They were kids, basically.
Professionals? Probably not, as noticed by the details.
It just amazed me that there were SO many people here. I don’t know….Tianamen Square has such connotations…yet whole school trips, groups, families, etc were taking it in. As I was walking around, I saw this developing and saw the shot I wanted materialize right in front of me. Yes, I blew the sky out, but I really like this image and what it signifies.
For all the people taking photos and whatnot, it was still pretty closely monitored. After a while, my goal was to get one of the Chinese soldiers to hold Flo while I made a portrait. I struck out, three times. Though I did get to engage one in conversation as to why I wanted the photo with my “toy” as he called it.
“Because it would be a fun photo. And you look very military. Can you hold it?”
“No. Not at all.”
“Just a quick portrait.”
“NO. On Duty.”
“Can I do a quick portrait of you then? Without the toy?”
Pause.
“Yes.”
Two frames. I liked this one.
Did I get a shot of Flo the Pig in Tiananmen Square?
I’m back home in the Great State of New Jersey now. It’s late. Or early, depending on how you look at it. A brief doze-off earlier has brought me to this spot now – tired, but not sleepy. It’s been a long day. Woke about 7:30, breakfast in Beijing, a last spin around Tiananmen Square and the Silk Market. Off to the airport with Jack (more on him tk), catch a 5 pm plane on Tuesday only to arrive on Tuesday at 5:15 pm in the Newark Liberty International. As we were descending, I saw the New Jersey Turnpike on my left, as well as the Statue of Liberty, Lady Liberty, guiding us on home. It was a long journey, but I’m happy to now be home. Sitting in my office with a bit of Yamazaki to my right and snow falling outside the window behind me.
It’s nice to travel. It’s great to be home.
Undeniably, one of the most fantastic parts of my trip happened last Saturday, when we got to tour a section of the Great Wall of China. There are a number of accessible regions of the Great Wall. We opted to head to Mutianyu which is a little less crowded than the more popular Badaling section.
From the car park you can either take a cable car to the top, or hike it. If you do the latter, you have to head through the throng of tourist shops along the way. All kinds of trinkets are available.
The guidebook I had says “the nearest point on the Wall is a steep one-hour climb from the car park…” Well, it didn’t take us one hour (maybe 30 minutes) but yes, it WAS steep. I was stopping to suck air a few times. Made the climb to the Elephanta Caves look like child’s play. Still, the views were worth it.
Such a spectacular place to be. Quoting my guidebook again, Mutianyu was not part of the main Wall, but a barrier wall shielding passes to the north towards Zhandjiakou. It is part of major Ming-dynasty renovations completed in 1569.
1569. Let that sink in for a bit….
But probably the best part about seeing and hiking this part of the Wall was the special moments. Of course, Flo made the trip…and a portrait had to be done.
I also had the chance to meet a very cool couple out on of a visit to the Wall.
Think they happened upon me as I was trying to get all artistic with centuries old hunks of rock.
Chara, from Beijing, and Naresh, an implementation analyst from the city of Chennai, India, were also hiking the wall. We had a chance encounter in a very nice section of the wall, and they graciously agreed to let me shoot their portrait.
Naresh is a Nikon shooter that has fallen on hard times since his D90 was stolen. He was doing his shooting with a PnS and no doubt getting some good frames. We walked and chatted for a bit. The light was so nice, and they were so nice, I couldn’t help but click off a few more frames.
As great at the Wall was, we all were like giddy schoolkids when we saw we could take a luge-like slide down to the bottom. Jon, the photog’s assistant, shot video and if he ever posts it, I’ll repost it here. It was great fun. Better than the hike up to be sure!
Honestly, this was a spot I never thought I’d get to in the world. I’m going to remember the views, the Wall, Chara and Naresh for a long, long time.
I had read about them. I had heard about them. I wanted to see them.
The hutongs of Beijing. You can read a formal definition here, thanks to Wikipedia.
The hutongs are dying off and I wanted the chance to see them, and photograph them. So while the rest of the team set off for The Silk Market, our translator, Maggie, took me to the hutongs. She hung with me for a while, then set me free to wander.
It was my type of afternoon.
There are some hutongs that are more commercial, with small stores and shops selling prints, like above, or trinkets.
But then other areas are so much not so. These are the true hutongs, glimpses into Beijing’s past that still endure.
Pretty incredible.
The people were great, friendly, though guarded. I was shooting mainly with my 70-300mm lens so while they saw me, I wasn’t right on top of them. And, if in the case of one old gal, they didn’t want me to photograph them, I smiled, bowed and said Xie xie!
In a city of 17 million people, 4 million cars and a, as some say, a bike to every person…well, bicycle repairmen are in demand.
Overall, this was a perfect afternoon to me. Wandering around old streets filled with history, camera slung over my shoulder, seeing things that I never would have expected (three guys in chef whites, plus three other guys physically moving a car from one side of the lane to the other to let another car out. Video to come…) and taking some interesting photographs.
As I type this, it’s Monday night in Beijing. Our shoot is done. I’ll be packing up and, tomorrow, headed to the airport. By Tuesday night, I’ll be back in the Great State of New Jersey filled with some fantastic memories.
Headed home a little lighter – I jettisoned some reading material along the way – but also heavier – souvenirs for my girls back home, a new bracelet on my wrist (a personal talisman to ensure a safe, healthy pregnancy for my wife. This woven one from the base of the Great Wall joins the silver one I picked up, and got blessed, in Pinjore, India, last fall) and probably some body weight due to all the dim sum and dumplings I’ve eaten.
And there’s still so much I want to share…vids that I haven’t been able to upload from here, some incredible people at the Forbidden City, more thoughts from the road.
I started January 2010 standing in the Atlantic Ocean and I’m ending it trying to overcome the Great Fire Wall of China.
Been frustrating but enlightening. Last couple days I haven’t been able to access Twitter, YouTube, or WordPress. But I’m resilient. I came up with a work-around so here I am.
We landed in Beijing on Thursday and I was immediately struck by the gray surroundings, the apartment buildings lined up one after another. In a city of 17 million people, I guess that’s to be expected. It so different from Tokyo, though. From the people to the sounds (more honking) to just the overall look. Tokyo, to me, seems more vibrant. I’m not getting that from Beijing, at least not yet.
I think we’re all a bit travel weary at this point. Last couple of evenings, we’ve just decided to stay in with some room service. We’ve been working hard and it’s been cold and I think we’re all just a little wiped out. Still, we’re getting some good stuff. Did some shoots at the office here on Friday, then grabbed lunch at a local place. Low light, but pretty cool.
The afternoon was spent doing a couple of set-ups at the Temple of Heaven. Vicki, our photographer, is using a Canon 5D Mark II, often with a sweet 50mm. We’re also shooting some video and the capture is amazing. Sound quality is great too.
After the shoot at the Temple of Heaven, as we were walking out towards the East Gate, we came to this long pavillion and it was just incredible. A good number of people, mostly older folks, were hanging out there, sipping tea, smoking, playing Chinese checkers or cards, and singing. With mics and amplifiers. And it all sounded so good.
I had brought my 70-300mm lens on this trip but hadn’t pulled it out yet. Decided to do so here so that I could really close up for some images but not be intrusive. Plus, I just love the fall-off I get with this lens.
One of the best things I like about my travels are all the people that I get to meet and to see how excited they are when they see my camera come out. The photo that leads off this post happened on our first full day here and it’s an instant favorite of mine. I was actually just trying to get a shot of her braids, but she caught me and flashed me that fantastic smile. I was happy I had the zoom lens on.
So, for the next couple of days, we’ll take in the city and try to rest up for the last push on Monday and Tuesday. We did get a chance to see the Great Wall yesterday, and I’ll try to give you an idea of that…without going all touristy on you. I will say… it was pretty incredible.
Left Ukarawa around 8 o’clock this morning for the three-hour drive back to the airport. Had lunch there, then boarded the 1 1/2 hour flight back to Tokyo. Last night here in this great city.
I’ll certainly always remember my first visit here. The peoplethepeoplethepeople. How clean the city is, how polite. The splash of lights that is Ginza. The smell of fish and hard work at Tsuiji Market. The food.
And like I said…the people.
The young….
And the old….
I’m going to remember Urkaraw and the cold and the snow and “Main Street” – Five restaurants, all a little different, a hardware store, a barber shop.
Of course, I’m going to remember Rico.
Way back when I first knew that I’d be coming to Japan, I knew that the language barrier could make or break the trip. So I dropped a note to Joe McNally. Long ago when we would travel together on jobs, he would say how important a good “fixer” was – someone that knew the culture, could speak the language, negotiate, cajole, make reservations, knew the good spots, knew the bad spots.
So I asked Joe if he knew of a fixer in Japan for us. He introduced me to Rico.
Rico is a writer and photographer herself. She’s about 5′3 but a dynamo of a woman. Kept us on track and on schedule. Kept us from getting lost. Bought snacks of those three-hour van rides. Helped us order in restaurants. Provided comic relief too.
I snapped this portrait of her when we were scouting the riding stables the other day. It was snowing outside but the light was beautiful. I wanted to do a nice portrait of her, and this was my chance. About the most calm she was all trip, but I like it.
So tomorrow morning I’ll say sayanora to Japan, and ni hao to Beijing, China. It’ll be sad to leave, but we got what we came here for – some beautiful images for the projects back home I’m working on. Can’t beat that.
Just horsin’ around today, here in the Hokkaido region of Japan.
That’s false, of course. The team worked really hard today, even with a bit of a late start. Due to circumstances beyond our control, we couldn’t get moving until around 11. Gave us plenty of time to catch up on some rest and head down to breakfast…traditional style.
What???? I think I look quite dashing in my yukata. Quite comfy, if I do say so.
Anyway….
Today was a shoot day, and we had a couple of set-ups on two different locations to cover. One was in a church with some beautiful light. The other at some stables. The horses here were pretty calm as they are therapeutic horses catering to those with both mental and physical disabilities. It’s incredible how animals so big and beautiful can be so cognizent and docile at the same time.
We scouted this locale yesterday and knew it would be perfect for the shoot today. Not much changed between yesterday and today – it was REALLY cold and snowy both days. But we were dressed for it – sort of – so we just muddle through.
I was shooting at a pretty high ISO – maybe 800 – for most of these. Just wanted the images to really pop without too much post process. Plus it helped me keep some detail in.
This was such a wonderful place to shoot. So many details to add in…
And the people were awesome.
The wind whipped. The snow blew. It was about 26 degrees, but with the wind, had to be closer to 15. Rico, our “fixer”, had given us all hot pads to put in our gloves and boots. Ah…no matter. Didn’t really help as the wind blew. No matter. The team got the shots we were after and they look beautiful.
Quite and incredible day. Happy to be part of it.
Off to bed soon. Tomorrow is another 8-hour travel day back to Tokyo. One night there and then on to Beijing…..
I’m certainly no Jeff Lynch, Moose Peterson or Peter Lik when it comes to landscape photography.But I thought I’d give you a taste of what I’ve been seeing, mainly out van windows as we hop from spot to spot, here in the Hokkaido region of Japan.
Urakawa is a blue-collar fishing town bracketed on one side by the Pacific Ocean and on the other by mountains. While I’ve driven by the fishing areas, I haven’t had the chance to shoot them. But some of the vistas have been great.
The shot above was out of the van window as we headed into town. Jeff, don’t kill me – no tripod was used.
Nor on this one.
Finished the one above using the Nik Color eFex filters – both the bi-tonal contrast and the B&W one. Again, no tripod as I was in the back of van using the tinted windows as almost like a neutral density filter.
Shot this one this morning, view from the hotel.
So, there’s a few landscape photos for you. Headed out now for the last day of the shoot here. Couple of neat locations. Stop back soon to see…
Up early this morning to fly from Tokyo to Chitosa, outside of Sapporo. From there it was a three-hour van drive to my currently location, an interesting conference center/hotel in Urakawa on Hokkaido, the northenmost and second largest of the four main Japanese islands. It was much colder here than in Tokyo, and the mountain range is snow covered.
On the way here, we stopped in in the small fishing town of Mukawa. We told our driver that a ramen noodle lunch would be good and, as luck would have it, he knew of a small place.
Just from looking out the van window, you can tell that this is a blue-collar type of place. The coastline and beach on the right-side of the van, horse farms, fishing shops and rusted metal cabins and Lincoln-long style structures out the right side.
After debarking the van, we had to wait a few minutes to get into the ramen shop. I did a quick walk around. As I was walking down the street, I was wondering why I smelled fish so strongly. Oh, that’s why.
Not often you see dried fish skins hanging in front of a store. And I was surprised they were still so fragrant given that it’s below freezing.
Another scene….
As I stepped into the restaurant, it was a pretty cool scene. A family-run business that sat all of nine people (hence the wait.) But it was around 1 p.m. and lunch was in full swing.
Dad manned the noodles, Mom plated everything, and Daughter helped serve.
Walking in from the cold, my camera lens fogged up and I had to wait a few minutes. It’s a brisk operation. And pretty much silent in the ramen shop. Everyone eating, except, of course, for the Americans taking photos.
Easy to see why it’s silent though – everyone is too busy eating. The steaming hot bowl of noodles was a welcome lunch to the team that had just spent an hour and a half in the van.
After eating the hot soup and sitting in the sauna-like restaurant, the cold hit us like a welcome slap to the face as we climbed back into the van. But my belly was full and according to the stamped paper I got with my receipt, I only have to have 12 more meals there before I get one for free.
Who knows what this life brings…maybe I’ll get back there again.
