bokuwakapsydesu

shots from the balcony, korien

2008-07-01T18:44:00.000-07:00

When the light was too good to resist.

From a mobile phone camera:

moonrise, mt vic

2008-06-27T17:07:00.000-07:00

wellington harbour

2008-06-27T17:06:00.000-07:00

atago san

2008-06-24T18:26:00.000-07:00

ladybug on the yodo river

2008-06-01T22:24:00.000-07:00

yama-no-be-no-michi

2008-06-01T22:16:00.000-07:00

jet streams along the river

2008-06-01T22:12:00.000-07:00

These rivers of cloud were moving fast through the sky, like a pocket of fast wind was trapped up there.

man made pond, opposite hirakata-shi

2008-06-01T22:11:00.000-07:00

pachinko parlour, goten-yama

2008-05-12T00:27:00.000-07:00

yodo river toll bridge after days of rain

2008-04-25T20:20:00.000-07:00

The red light lasted a matter of minutes as the sun went down:

Update:

buna ga take

2008-04-21T00:36:00.000-07:00

At roughly 1200m, visibility at the peak of Buna ga Take was near zero, limiting any views of the surrounding countryside. Still it was great to get away from the concrete jungle.

At the end of the hike, I came across an abandonned country house (there are alot of these in Japan).

umeda skyline

2008-04-14T23:38:00.000-07:00

I took these photos the morning following a day of rain, after having discovered this area on the Yodo river with a perfect unobstructed view of the Umeda skyline a few days beforehand. The large tower is the Umeda Sky Building, probably Osaka's biggest building. I woke up at 2:30 in the morning in order to give myself the 2 hours required to get ready and cycle to the site with time to set myself up. It was an amazing ride – not a breath of wind and not a soul was about, I felt like I had the whole city to myself. The first sunrise shots I took of the baseball net and skyline didn't turn out because of dull cloud cover.

Thinking the reflections created by the large puddles would be a good way enhance the already powerful skyline, I changed my tact and went about looking for the best image. Eventually I settled on the shot shown here, using the remote control made taking the shot easy. I was lucky that the clouds behind the camera had broken enough to be lit by early morning orange light, which can be seen reflected on the mirror-like glass of the Sky Building.

Seeing the clouds moving towards the city, I went back for another attempt at the baseball nets, hoping for just enough of a break in the clouds to let some warm orange early morning light through. I waited until the time was right, then snapped like mad as a small break in the cloud cover let just enough light and blue sky through, the whole event only lasting maybe 3 or 4 minutes before disappearing into more dull cloudy sky.

god beams on the yodogawa, part 3

2008-04-14T23:37:00.000-07:00

sakura

2008-04-09T00:16:00.000-07:00

god beams on the yodogawa, part 2

2008-04-05T03:42:00.000-07:00

god beams on the yodogawa, part 1

2008-04-03T04:57:00.000-07:00

moonset, construction site near makino

2008-04-03T04:53:00.000-07:00

overhead lines are everywhere

2008-03-24T22:46:00.000-07:00

more shots on my way to umeda

2008-03-23T23:03:00.000-07:00

different light

2008-03-20T01:53:00.000-07:00

neyagawa nature reserve

2008-03-17T00:53:00.000-07:00

I love the way the water gives back an almost drawn on reflection. The first shot was taken on the first evening I visted, with a deep sustained sunset. The second and third were taken on the same morning with a crystal surise and a strong Alpenglow, that only lasted for a minute or two.

I simulated a graduated neutral density filter in Photoshop. The result is a 'compressed' dynamic range, which better represented the scene as I saw it.

recycling plant, yodogawa

2008-03-06T20:06:00.000-08:00

I've gone on more and more cycling trips around my neighbourhood, and nearby Neyagawa-shi, particulary along the relitively peaceful Yodogawa river.

I returned to this location along Yodogawa river after witnessing the light reflected by the smoke once the sun had set. I think it's a paper recycling plant, I'm guessing by the strong chlorine odour. My lungs weren't thanking me afterwards...

As the sun goes down:

Daylight view taken about an hour earlier from a different angle: