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2013-04-05 01:38:20 (4 comments, 8 reshares, 66 +1s)

The Star of Spring

In Japan, cherry blossoms are king! This is a yaeshidarezakura, or weeping cherry with more than 5 petels on the flower. It's a beautiful flower!

2013-04-04 01:23:46 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 46 +1s)

Man oh man oh man, I apologise to all parents who I previously ignored when they said caring for a newborn was tough work. Wow! 2.5 months in, and I still haven't gotten more than a few hours of sleep a night. Hikaru is one active boy! 

I have been keeping up in my 365project, but I am so behind in posting them (and none of them are organised on my computer. Just import to lightroom and that's that) that it may be a while before I sort that out.

In the meantime, how about some sakura?

#cherryblossoms   #sakura  

2013-01-28 07:56:42 (6 comments, 1 reshares, 50 +1s)

Satisfaction

Hmm… Mama's milk is good. So good, it knocked him out! Such a peaceful look after a meal. 

Taken on 1/20 for photo #20 of my #creative365project  

2013-01-28 03:26:16 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Looking Around

A Whole new world out there for him to take in. Here he was turning his head side to side, taking in as much as he could. At least till he fell asleep minutes later.

Taken on 1/19 for photo #19 of my #creative365project  

2013-01-27 13:34:25 (9 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

Mama and Baby

The 18th was a special day: It was the birth of my son! Hikaru Anthony LaSpina. He wasn't due till the 27th (today) so his early arrival took us all by surprise. Here he is relaxing with his mom a few hours after the birth in her futon at the clinic. 

For photo #18 of my #creative365project  taken on 1/18 

2013-01-27 13:03:15 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 9 +1s)

2 headed demon

I'm a bit behind in posting for my 365 project. A newborn will do that to you, I suppose. I don't want to flood this place, so I'll limit myself to posting two at a time till I can catch up.

It's a demon! Strangely enough, demons start to appear all over Japan around this time. Some soy beans will make short work of them! (long story; look up setsubun on wikipedia). This one appears to be a rare two headed variety!

Snapped on 1/17 for photo #17 of my #creative365project  

2013-01-27 12:25:30 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 4 +1s)

Boy, who ever would have thought running around caring for a newborn was so much work. I've barely had time to even look at the computer this past week! Ay yai yai! Finally have a few free moments… maybe… will attempt to play some catch up on my 365project here. Stay tuned for 1 or 2 shots (btw feel free to join the creative 365 project community if you want to comment on any of them)

2013-01-23 23:15:51 (26 comments, 0 reshares, 56 +1s)

He is Born

Last Friday afternoon, shortly before noon, my wife and I were blessed with our first boy. It was a fast labor. Things happened so quickly that I didn't have a chance to take video of the birth, which both my wife and I had wanted. So that's a little disappointing, but otherwise we couldn't be happier. 

I've been with them nearly every free moment, so I'm afraid I'm behind on my #creative365project . Sorry guys. I have been keeping up with the project (baby photos :)) though, so I'll post everything to catch up later. 

2013-01-16 23:19:27 (8 comments, 2 reshares, 45 +1s)

Hope For The Future

This is my submission for the #plusonecollection2012  

 I look through my 2012 photos in Lightroom a lot of them are good, or I like a lot of them anyways, but this one really jumps out at me. Besides the topic (who doesn't love cherry blossoms???) I like the composition a lot. The not yet fully bloomed branch reaching to the sky: There is hope for improvement in the future.

These are kawazu cherry blossoms, by the way. They bloom a bit earlier than the more popular pale white kind that you may be familiar with (yoshino cherry blossoms / someiyoshino), sometimes as early as Feb, making them sometimes confused with the plum blossoms. They are beautiful and personally I may prefer this kind. They should be blooming soon this year. I'm ready!!

2013-01-16 14:41:29 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 25 +1s)

The Spaces In-between

A look from the train platform today.

Day 16 of my #creative365project    1/16/13

2013-01-15 14:59:53 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

You Light Up My Life

I'm often to Toyohashi on business. Toyohashi is kind of miserable in the winter… the wind is strong and constant and icy cold. But man, do they have the best sunsets. I didn't have my camera handy (as I was running from one train to another), but I did have my other camera, my iPhone 5. Not the best quality in the world, but not bad for a shot from a phone, taken while running.

Taken with #645pro  by the way. 645 pro allows us to save as high quality jpeg or tiff but a bit more detail that the regular camera app might give.

For day 15 of my #creative365project  1/15/13

2013-01-14 13:55:58 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

Left Behind

Kanto was hit by a tremendous snow storm today. I've seen reports that say it's the most in many years. My mother in law from Tochigi City was so shocked by it that she called us just to comment on how bad it was. 

Meanwhile down here in Okazaki, we just had rain all day. Very strong rain. I'd rather have the snow. 

It finally stopped about an hour before sunset, so I went out to walk around. As usual after a rain storm, I came across many broken and abandoned umbrellas. 

I used #hueless  for my shots today. Hueless is a absolutely the best black and white app for the iPhone. I added a slight purplish tone in Lightroom after importing it to post here, but otherwise this is straight from Hueless. 

Day 14 of my #creative365project  1/14/13

2013-01-14 01:26:40 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Visions of the Self

I was invited to submit a photo for Shoot or Die on EyeEm. It's a creative selfy event. You can check out EyeEm (my name is "JapanDave" on it) if you want to see my final entry. Here is a prior idea I was playing around with before coming to the final version I entered. 

#selfysunday  

For day 13 (yesterday) of my #creative365project  1/13/13

2013-01-13 01:50:53 (2 comments, 7 reshares, 15 +1s)

#issues  

2013-01-13 01:16:34 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 19 +1s)

The Buildings Are Doing It Again

Sometimes they seem so happy to be in Japan, they just start randomly dancing. I was lucky to have my camera—er, phone—with me so I could capture it! 

Shot this yesterday for day 12 of my #creative365project  1/12/13
#hipstamatic   #randomhipsta   #rollingshuttersaturday  

2013-01-11 13:24:59 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Down the Path

gasp Not a Hipstamatic shot today. Still an iPhone shot tho. This one is from Toy Camera. I've had Toy Camera forever -- I think I bought it a few years ago on my iPhone 3G -- but I had deleted it long before. +Alfie Goodrich got me curious about trying it again with some of his great  creative shots on EyeEm (definitely recommend you follow him there if you use it). I've been stuck using the double exposure for awhile. I have no plan yet, no vision, I'm just enjoying playing and seeing what I like. This one came out rather nicely. 

I added just a hint of a copper tone in Snapseed and increased the contrast a bit. That's the only editing. Otherwise it's exactly as Toy Camera gave it. 

Day 11 of my #creative365project  1/11/13

2013-01-10 15:07:06 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

Passing By

As the train goes by. As it does every ten minutes or so. Y'know, when I first arrived in Japan I thought it was funny how people would rush for a train even though another will come just a few minutes later. But now… I find myself doing the same thing. 

  #hipstamatic   #randomhipsta  
Day 10 for my #creative365project  1/10/2013

2013-01-09 23:14:00 (2 comments, 1 reshares, 23 +1s)

Happy Lantern

Happy because I took this during a summer festival and it reminds me of the event. Summers in Japan are rough. It gets hot and very very humid. The humidity means your sweat can't evaporate so you end up sticky, uncomfortable, and feeling even hotter than it actually is. 

But, the good side of summer is we have these wonderful summer festivals. Everyone comes out in yukata, food stalls go up everywhere (yes, it's all junk food… but I make an exception for junk food at festival! I always have at least one plate of Takoyaki), there is music, plenty of beer. It is all just a great time.

2013-01-09 22:47:15 (1 comments, 0 reshares, 22 +1s)

Waiting For The Train

The layout of these pillars at the train station was kind of interesting to me. There were people behind be so I was rushed to take the shot and capture the scene without them, but I think it came out ok. Love the colours. My random combination this time was Chunky lens and Cano Cafenol film. That's the great thing about random mode in Hipstamatic -- it gets you using filters and combinations that you never otherwise would. 

#hipstamatic   #randomhipsta  
#9 for my #creative365project  1/9/2013

2013-01-09 05:36:09 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 16 +1s)

Chris's Gate

Silly or heretical, whatever you may thing of the fake churches where fake priests give Western style weddings in Japan, at least they have some neat things to photo.

#mytowntuesday     

2013-01-08 22:37:03 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

Fly Me To The Moon

Someone got pretty creative with the shutters to his (or her) storefront. You can see right at the bottom of the moon, he has some mail.

I took another few shots of this with 645 Pro and will edit them up when I get a chance, but here is the Hipstamatic version.

#hipstamatic   #randomhipsta  
Day 8 of my #creative365project  1/8/13

2013-01-07 15:17:15 (3 comments, 0 reshares, 30 +1s)

Pleasant Day For a Guinness

Of course the question is… when isn't a pleasant day for a guinness?

#monochromemonday

2013-01-07 15:06:40 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Feet Warnings

Don't stand here! Or, don't put your feet here! Not a warning sign one sees everyday, but ok then. 

#hipstamatic   #randomhipsta   #monochromemonday  
1/07/13 - Day 7 of my #creative365project  

2013-01-06 12:29:44 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 21 +1s)

New Year's Protection

This is a typical Japanese New Year’s decoration called an okazaki (お飾り). It is usually placed above the front entrance of a building. You sometimes see them other places, such as on the front of cars.

I can’t find too much information about them, to be honest. But if I am allowed to guess... The rope is probably a shimenawa (標縄) which is a braided rice straw rope that marks sacred areas in Shinto shrines. The white strips hanging off the rope are shide (紙垂). These two things are thought to act as wards against evil and prevent it from crossing whatever boundary they mark. So this entire decoration was probably originally a kind of way to pray for protection against evil in the new year. 

But whatever they original purpose, they are just for fun now. Simple tradition just like Xmas wreaths in the West. 

2013-01-06 10:50:20 (7 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

As many of you know, I disappeared from here for several months. My wife became pregnant which forced us to go into baby prep mode; also we moved to a new apt and had to fight with the Internet companies to actually take our money and connect us; and to top it off I took on a number of new photo related projects for money which took several hours most days. End result was I disappeared from almost everywhere online for most of last year. 

If you've been paying attention, you'll notice I've started to post consistently again over the past few weeks. My baby is due in just 3 weeks so I can't speak too soon. In Japan, women are advised to stay in bed for a month after birth, move as little as possible, and absolutely not do any housework, so… I don't want to speak too soon. But I am trying to get my social presence back up to daily, or at least weekly. 

Anyways,I... more »

2013-01-06 10:31:49 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 10 +1s)

Protection From Reality

Japanese people love wearing these masks. There are a handful of reasons for wearing them. The main are:
 -To protect against getting a cold during cold season
 -To prevent giving your cold to anyone else
 -To help with allergies 

Some people also wear them when they want to hide or otherwise don't want to be easily recognised in public. I've talked with a few people (including my wife) who also wear them to help keep their face warm in winter. 

It's debatable if these cheap masks actually prevent germs or help with allergies, but they are harmless enough (beyond the material waste anyways), so if they make folks feel better.. well, why not? I've found myself wearing masks too from time to time in my years here. Hey, when it Rome, right?

It's also a nice social gesture to wear a mask when youhave... more »

2013-01-06 01:02:16 (0 comments, 1 reshares, 26 +1s)

She Had Fire In Her Eyes

The coloured leaves were so nice this year, much better than years past, at least here in Okazaki. I didn't have as much free time to go out shooting the leaves this year as in the past, but I made full use of the time I did have. These leaves are just gorgeous!

Let me make a call for advice. Now that I'm starting to pull myself back online after my absence of several months, I'm looking around for good G+ extensions to make my life easier. Are there any extensions you would recommend? How about one that let's me give +1s with a keyboard shortcut? I tried one that promised this, but it didn't work (Either the extension was out of date or it didn't work with a Japanese keyboard). I'm all ears for any good ones. 

#momiji   #autumnleaves   #autumnphotography  

2013-01-05 16:06:14 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 34 +1s)

I Took The Path Less Traveled

One of my favourite things about Japan is how lush and green everything is in summer. Back home in Indiana nature will start to turn brown around mid-July as temperatures rise and rain stops. Okazaki reaches around the same highs as Indiana (around 90-100F, roughly) but a steady supply of rain ensures that not only does nature remain alive, but it grows at a phenomenal pace. 

#nature   #green   #naturephotography  

2013-01-05 12:10:31 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

All The Gang is Here

Japan has many delightful kids cartoons. Anpanman is one of the more popular ones. It's a pretty cute show. The main character has a head made of anpan, or red bean paste bread. Take a snack of his head to get more energy! Not sure if some child drew this or if a parent drew this for their kids.  Either way, it's pretty good!

#creative365project   #randomhipsta   #hipstamatic
Day 5 of my project. 1/5/2013 

2013-01-04 15:01:44 (0 comments, 9 reshares, 42 +1s)

That babe wore blue

To remind us all (those of us suffering through winter anyways) of what is to come in a few months. 

For #floralfriday  curated by +Tamara Pruessner.

2013-01-04 12:00:35 (4 comments, 0 reshares, 11 +1s)

Abandoned

I've read that the number of abandoned houses in Japan is very high. Just in Okazaki, I seem to stumble upon one every other day. This one seems to have been missing people for awhile. 

#creative365project   #hipstamatic   #randomhipsta
Day 4 — 1/4/2013

2013-01-03 13:55:11 (5 comments, 1 reshares, 58 +1s)

Let The Sun Shine In

2013-01-03 13:27:10 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 3 +1s)

Daruma looking eyeless as usual. Taken at Hatsumode, Tatsuki Shrine near Okazaki Castle. 

Taken with Hipstamatic. 

2013-01-03 13:06:48 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 16 +1s)

I Waited for You, but You Never Came.

Hipstamatic gave me all kinds of great shots today. Tough to pick which one. But I love how this one came out. The filters gave it a moody feel that I dig. 

Lens is Tinto1884 and film is BlacKeys Supergrain. A great combo that I immediately saved. 

#creative365project   #hipstamatic   #randomhipsta   #monochrome  
Day 3, 1/3/2013

2013-01-02 15:11:37 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 13 +1s)

Reflections

"I loved Narcissus because, as he lay on my banks and looked down at me, in the mirror of his eyes I saw ever my own beauty mirrored."

~Oscar Wilde, The Disciple

The bank of the Oto River in Okazaki, showing some nice reflections. Summer in Japan can get pretty hot, but luckily there is plenty of rain so usually everything stays green.

#waterscapeartwednesday   #riverside   #green   #naturephotography   #reflection  

2013-01-02 10:08:43 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 24 +1s)

A Jan 2nd photowalk

I posted about one of these photos that jumped out at me to the creative365project group. Here is an album comtaining a few of the other images. Google scrambled the order upon upload so I decided not to label them. Just dive in and enjoy the sites of a typical Japanese neighborhood. 

About:

My pregnant wife has become a walking machine. Even with only a month to go, she is still trying to put in several kilometres a day — that is at least a few hours walk. I went with her and took my iPhone today. I took several hundred (I know, I know… but y'know shaking and shooting becomes kind of fun, you want to keep doing it!) but trashed most of them. Bad shot or bad film/lens combo. In this album are 30 or so of the ones I thought are either good or not bad, or show something kind of neat/funny/interesting (like the Engrish ashtrays).

I usedHips... more »

2013-01-02 09:21:33 (2 comments, 0 reshares, 14 +1s)

On my photo walk today I went to two temples. My pregnant wife has become a walking machine. Even with only a month to go, she is still trying to put in several kilometres a day. I decided to use only Hipstamatic again, in random mode, shaking each time for a new lens/film combo. I took several hundred (I know, I know… but y'know shaking and shooting becomes kind of fun, you want to keep doing it!) but trashed most of them. Bad shot or bad film/lens combo. I will unload 20 or so of them later to my public feed, but for the moment, here is my favourite as today's photo.

Praying for the future

The random shake Salvador 84 lens and Float film. I haven't used Float often before, but Salvador has a wonderful effect, similar to a double exposure. Here it worked out nicely. My wife and I loved it all the more because the doubled statue is positioned just as our baby is -- headd... more »

2013-01-01 06:02:48 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 12 +1s)

I'm in! My child is due to be born at the end of the month, so I am not sure if I'll be able to stay in this year… but will do my best!! 

As with last year, this year at hatsumode I left Hipstamatic on random mode and gave it a firm shake with every photo. Results were interesting. Most were ok, some were bad, some good, and at least one made me immediately disable said filter from random mode (RTV Shout!). But that is the purpose of random mode, right? 

(this combo below is Watts and Pistil)

Beautiful first day to the year. Sunny and relatively warm with no wind. The year of the water snake begins on a good note!!

#creative365project     #randomhipsta  
01/01/2013

2013-01-01 05:41:55 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 8 +1s)

First trip to shrine. It is a beautiful day today!!! Good day for good luck. 

2012-12-31 14:04:48 (4 comments, 1 reshares, 15 +1s)

Bye bye, Water Dragon. Next up in 2013: Water Snake! 

2012-12-30 15:20:04 (3 comments, 1 reshares, 39 +1s)

Fly a Fantasy

As 2012 draws to a close, let's hope for the best for the new year. I'm pulling for world peace!

#cloudscape   #skysunday  

2012-12-29 00:15:22 (3 comments, 3 reshares, 45 +1s)

The Burning Trees

Japanese maples… there is nothing like them. Another shot from my recent visit to Kourankei. I took well over 1000 shots on my day trip there. When you are surrounded by so much beauty, it's hard to pick what to shoot… so I ended up shooting everything. 

#autumnleaves   #autumnphotography   #autumn   #momiji   #red  

2012-12-28 07:20:43 (3 comments, 2 reshares, 30 +1s)

Escape to your happy place

I don't know about you, but my happy place would be somewhere in nature. I love camping and hiking and the peace of the outdoors. 

How about you?

2012-12-24 13:28:13 (5 comments, 2 reshares, 33 +1s)

Dreams of the Sakura

They are coming in just a few months, after all ;) 

Merry Christmas, everyone! I hope you all have a great day with your loved ones. 

2012-12-23 07:09:20 (2 comments, 2 reshares, 21 +1s)

Hi All. I'm working on a project here highlighting #iphoneography . I went through some of the most popular iPhone shots I have on Flickr and then sorted that by page views each one got on my site. I'm left with these. I want to narrow it down to about 8-10. Do I have any votes as for what to keep and what to toss? 

2012-12-23 05:02:08 (0 comments, 0 reshares, 7 +1s)

Moving the Earth

Construction isn't hard to find in Japan. Buildings are constantly being knocked down and put up. Here is a site I snuck onto to snap some photos. 

This photo isn't really that remarkable, but works well as a stock photo, so Getty quickly bought it as soon as I uploaded it to Flickr. Since then it's sold moderately well. Yesterday I noticed that BP just bought a license. Ugh…. not my favourite company in the world. If anyone spots this shot in an ad for beating baby seals or something, do let me know. 

2012-12-22 15:25:27 (1 comments, 2 reshares, 29 +1s)

Be in the Moment

One of the many praying monks scattered all over a typical temple in Japan. This one is wearing his cap a little low. Maybe it's the current style with young stone monks. 

Submitted to #sacredsunday  curated by +Charles Lupica and +Sumit Sen (or it was last I checked… sorry, I've been away from G+ for several months)

2012-12-21 03:10:04 (5 comments, 0 reshares, 40 +1s)

Amongst the Leaves

Or peeking through. Hmmm… y'know, I'm no good at titles. Guys like +Thomas Hawk always have great titles and make it seem easy, but me, I got nothing. I think I need an official photo titler. Anyone want to apply? 

At any rate, more Japanese maples! Walking through the park when they are all out is overwhelming. Everywhere so much beauty -- hard to narrow it down to a photo. 

#momiji   #autumnleaves   #japanphotography  

2012-12-21 00:43:05 (8 comments, 0 reshares, 2 +1s)

I've been completely flooded with Communities requests. So how do these work? If I post to a community, does my public timeline see it? 

2012-12-20 05:58:56 (1 comments, 1 reshares, 46 +1s)

The Colors of Autumn

Wonderful colours this year! And they are lasting for much longer than usual. Even as most of the leaves have fallen, some still remain — like this tree. 

#momiji   #autumnleaves   #japan