Umbrella

I'm finishing up working on this model series from the gloomy, early-spring Shinjuku Gyoen. (Yes, still! This should tell you about my less-than-exciting daily grind.) I really like the asymmetry of this particular image: from the focal point to the haircut.

Cats of Fukuoka

I'm a "dog person" through and through. A canine admirer, owner, and friend.

Cats are...interesting, if you observe them from afar: after all, they happen to be walking furry allergens, in my case!

I look at cats as an "in between" in terms of wildlife and house pets. They were domesticated much later than dogs, which explains their aloofness beyond their intrinsic feline traits.

This is, perhaps, why I found their affection—amongst themselves—to be particularly endearing. This pair cuddled at the Fukuoka Seaside Park and simultaneously sent me the "death stare."

That was a very "cat thing" to do, I thought.

At the Sea

Tonight's mile—at the pool, since the lake is still too cold—inspired me to go through my photos of the Sea of Japan. Of course, this level of turbulence should be limited to admiration from afar!

The Corvid and the Tree

Does anyone know what time it is?

That's right: it's time to post another beautiful corvid—this one being from Ueno park—made all the more striking in black-and-white silhouette form.

If this specimen were featured in Aesop's fable, it would outsmart the fox!

Wonderland (in Reverse)

I'm finally finishing up my photo series with a model in Shinjuku Gyoen.

I won't bore you with the technical details of why these images are taking a long time to process. Okay, just one: despite the apparent lack of sunlight, every nook and cranny in the trees contained what I call the "blue line of death." The latter is not visible in a web-resolution photo, but is not very appealing when the image spans 25 inches, and must be removed. Manually. (I sometimes notice the said unsightly blue line on television, but I'm unsure as to whether it remains unedited due to the lack of time or the inability to do so.)

With that in mind, this particular photograph turned out resembling a dystopian Alice in Wonderland. Twisted Japanese trees always look a bit fairy-tale-like, and here, they reach for the girl with their bare branches. Whereas this favorite garden of mine is at its most striking around mid-autumn, the somewhat muted colors remaining from that time work well with the weeping skies. 

Conclusion: considering how pleased I am with the end result of this entire series, I must create more opportunities akin to this one!

Daibutsu

The Great Buddha of Nara: this is one of those times when you thank your telephoto or macro lens for acting as a miniature telescope, because this level of detail is not visible from the ground. 

As the name implies, this Buddha inside Todai-ji is enormous. In fact, it's the world's largest bronze Buddha Vairocana.