Park in September

When I took those pictures, I remembered  “Wait a moment, I’ve seen those flowers in full

bloom, and I’ve taken pictures — where those photos has gone ? (Then I found them and put

to past two posts )   What I realized was,  even if it’s only less than a month since I came here

last time though, what a difference mere 4 weeks has made.  Really, the Summer has gone.

May be because the Summer was rather wet, the Ginkgo tree seemed to have fewer nuts.

Literally the time fly.

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Canon 5D Mk-III / Pentax 15 mm F3.5

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Flowers in the Park — Cropped Macro (ish) Photos

Those photos were also in the file, taken in August though, long forgotten  😀

[]These day many compact cameras came into the market started to say that they got x20 super-Zoom / such as equivalent of 24~1000 mm —– m m m,  ? ? ?

Soon I realized, they are not optical Zoom to 1000 mm, but it was combined with Digital Zoom = in another word it’s a fraud. Thanks to the extremely advanced image sensor in the camera, the quality of the image is good enough for the most of the user even if it was in fact just a cropped, enlarged image —– most of the  consumers are happy even with Phone-camera !

So, why not = Camera manufacturer has gone over the blue line.

So,   the center part of this photo was cropped and enlarged to the next photo.

(Click the photo to enlarge —– not too bad isn’t it  🙂 )

As a matter of fact, those  originally near 10Meg bit file photos are reduced here to mere 500k bit or so, in order to upload.   Nobody ever complained, neither me 😀

Among the photographer who bought Nikon D810E,  who did ever needed to enlarge their photo to more than A2 size ? — Vast majority of the so-called photographer  who is showing their photos in the net,  is in fact surviving with small job for brochure or web-site photo or occasional wedding photo,  if there were job at all.

( I was lucky to survive,  when I came here,  there wasn’t a bilingual photographer who can negotiate and coordinate with English company —– hence,  I nearly monopolized Japanese commercial and editorial business here )

Looks like just ordinary close up though,  this is an cropped enlarged image.

Those cropped Macroish photos are no way near to the quality of proper Macro lens shot though,  if a photo like this was shown in Wiki,  you may not noticed or complained. —– this is a reason why I’m using Fisheye lens a lot such as in a party occasion. = in other words,  use a Zoom lens such as 24~70,  24~100 wouldn’t be necessary = good enough photo could be produced from good primary 24 mm lens !

( So, we don’t need to spend hefty money or carrying heavy lens  😀 )  ( Better not be obsessed with useless QUALITY ! = be relaxed.  take Middle way  😀  😀 )

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Snap shots in the Park (a Month ago)

Among the photo-file, I found those photos — Yah yah, I did those but been forgotten.

Just to have a walk,  I carry my camera and just click for no purpose,  hence I forget.

May be I’ve been doing too many project,  but I’m dealing them only one at the time

—– unless it is on front of me,  I’m not necessary remember another matter.

( May be this is the Zen though,  others might say ” Oh, you are just getting old”  😀 )

As it was the Independence Day of Jamaica,  there was a local event for the people.

Lots of cyclists.   I found this family has mounted 5 bicycles on the car !

Yes it was yet another peaceful day.  Nothing to write about.  

Hence it has been forgotten — still,  photos was in a memory card   😀

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Inside — Jippos Circus !

Next day I went to the Circus again with more appropriate  24~70mm f2.8 lens.  🙂

Circus is a typical Circus with the staffs what we expect to see.

Though, I admit, I missed some important shot while changing the camera setting

such as for a slow shutter speed to make blurred image by change to low ISO setting.

( I should have preprogrammed Custom setting for one-click operation. ) 

Things has gone too fast. = Ideally, it need to see the performance twice and need to

prepare in anticipation. (So, photos here is a kind of easy snapshot. = Sheer excuse.  🙂 )

Before this, those black boys preformed a kind of Street Dance using Hopping Rope,

hence a sheer athleticism in exact synchronized body movement = it was a

jaw-dropping performance.  = (so that, I forgot to take picture.)  😀  😀

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CIRCUS but not inside

As autumn approaches, the air is getting clear and having bright sun, I grubbed my camera

and went to a park —–  what I found was a big Circus marquee  and loads of heavy tracks.

In certain extent, they are big sculptures = I like those shapes and contours.

No fancy animals, no lion or elephant but just horses but they got cute mini pony.

What I found there was a lots of fancy people who came from all over the world, include Japan.

And I realized, Circus is not just a venue to give an entertainment but it is a mobile village of

self sufficient industry which contains power generator,  engineering workshop to mobile

laundrette. —– yet strangely, they don’t have staff canteen or nursery,  school for kids.

Cooking and eating seemed to be done by each family or performer’s group = so, it is somewhere

between cult commune and small village = seems very interesting community.

Photos taken by Canon 5D MkIII / Pentax 15mm f3.5 / Canon 100mm Macro f2.8

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James’ Birthday Party

My friend James had a big Birthday Party.   So, those are the snap shot of the Day.

Many guest arrived with a present and a card, and their proud cooking as well.

(I brought the materials and cooked Miso soup in there. —– and brought that

Fun Clock  🙂 )  Therefore, James had to carry out the task to open the heavily

wrapped present with joy and  the surprises.  Especially somebody brought hefty

Astro Telescope as a present, serious construction work had taken place,  with

excitements and the puzzle of  kids and the grown-ups alike  😀

Mountain of the food has been prepared by his wife and his sister and more dishes,

casseroles were brought in by the friends.  Soon, they were over flow out of the table

and on top of them, yet another BBQ was prepared in the garden. 

———- ( Kids staff  🙂 )

———- ( and here, Baby staff  😀  )

When, night fall = good number of the fire-work were shot.  

Looks pretty impressive  🙂

Then James was asked to give a speech  😀 

—— and a big chorus of ” Happy Birthday to James”  😀  😀

As the Moon rose, people had to queue  to see it in the Telescope.  I wonder now on,

is James going to watch the stars on top roof of the former Greenwich Town hall 😀

(where we are using its rooms for Wireless Network weekly meeting). 

M Party went on to pretty late night.

M The friends kept talking and drinking.

M —– I don’t know till when  🙂

M (I had to excuse to catch a bus before midnight)

M

M

M What I found in his house was this painting,

M —– said to be the Old-masters painting !

M M m m m ? !  —– Really ?

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Scarlet Pinpernel / Pinhole Macro Photo

Scarlet Pinpernel,  commonly known as Red Chickweed was said to be common weed though,

I’ve seen only handful times in this country, and nowhere else. 

In the first encounter, I’ve almost got a shock = plant looks like its white cousin but with

beautiful vermilion red flowers.  = ” This must be the famous Scarlet Pinpernel, here this is it”.

Though, this is the very strange elusive plant.  (or elusive to my eyes ? ). 

They grow always unexpected unlikely place. = never grown in  typical glass land but somewhat

in its edge or margin of left-over land.  And most unusual character is they never appear in the

same place next year. = hence,  years later, I just encounter in somewhere else, unexpectedly. 

It’s defy all of my rational observations. = They have seeds = very tiny round seeds with no

hair which can be only dropped to the same ground, which mean never able to travel far ——

how come, in such condition why not to germinate in the same soil, same place again.  = and

who carried the seeds to the new place  ?   —– Ant ?

And even more strange character is,  in my experience, their seeds never germinates when

I put them to a pot next year.  And even if I got a plant from a ground and planted it to a pot,

they just die. —- Some one said, that I shouldn’t give too much water = I knew, but in nature

the soil they grow could be very soggy with a heavy rain = why the water I’ve gave, soon after

transplant could kill them ?

—– So, my guess is,  in old days, this peculiar elusive character of the plant was well

known to the people hence, it was chosen to be  the nickname of the Hero in the

Baroness Orczy’s novels  [ Scarlet Pinpernel] =  ” They seek him here.  They seek him

there. —– My own elusive Pinpernel “

As a comparison, this photo was taken by Micro Nikkor 50 mm F3.5 with extension

tube and a Reverse-ring, at F3.5.  Magnification was x5.

And the top two photos was taken by the Double-density Pinhole with extension tube =

equivalent of 90 mm lens / ISO 1600 with flash-light.  Canon 5D  Mk-III.

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Fun Clock for James

One of my friend James Stevens is going to have his 50^th Birthday party in this week.

James is the organizer of the OWN (Open Wireless Network) and having a workshop,

advising the people for their use of computer, network connection etc.

What remarkable about him is, this [etc] part.

He does everything about electronics = from lighting to PA, audio system to how to

organize and set-up the event. Hence, he knows everybody in the field and knows

“Who got which equipment, in where etc” = therefore, able to hire (or let the others

to hire) thence able to organize fully equipped film event, art event, about anything.

He is everywhere, in fact he is the Don.

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This remarkable character came from his fundamental open minded attitude to see

anybody and help anybody who came to him.   So that naturally he learned everything

and acquainted right people in every field.  He himself isn’t an authority of everything

but a man to know the authority who can help him = therefore he doesn’t need to be

an authority nor boss still he can solve all the issue as others follow him.

In my eyes, he is a Good Buddhist at work = helping others and make things happen !

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—– anyhow, as he said he is going to have a birthday party, I prepared a present

for him. = I made a fun clock.

(I never sold my work but just give them to the people for such occasion).

( I don’t think I need to explain about this = this is what it looks and function as it is,

that all though, if I may boast, its looks silver wire is in deed Staring silver ! )

Happy Birthday James.

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Double Density Pinhole Photo (2)

As I promised before this is the sample photos of  “a bit sharper Double-Density-Pinhole

Images”, and those photos were taken by the Canon 5D Mk 3  and Nikon D810 camera.

Both of left images were taken by Tamuron 90 mm Macro Lens with F-setting 2.5 (fully open)  2000th second.  ISO 100.

Top two were by Canon 5D Mk3 and the Pinhole image was taken ISO 1600 and AV setting  (0.8 sec with +1 1/3).

Bottom two were by Nikon D810  and the Pinhole image was taken ISO 6400 setting.(Non-CPU-Lens setting  = Camera says F45.  1/2.5 second ).

—– By the way, I haven’t found why the Canon’s image (Top two) having Magenta and Green cast.  Both Cameras were set to AWB (Auto White Balance) though, as cloud moves, lighting condition was not exactly the same, therefore don’t make a conclusion about the color contribution of each camera on those photos.

Above those 6 photos were taken by D810,  ISO 6400,  F-setting was F45 or F64, Shutter time was  1 second ~ 1/4 second.  (with lots of Re-try  😀 )

On this time, Outer Pinhole was 1.2 mm and a smaller pinhole was made in the center of Metal-coted film, and the  panel was mounted on Nikon Revers-Ring  (hence, it enables to use it in different focal length, with or without extension ring. 

And with [Nikon —> Canon Mount Adapter] the same can be used on Canon as well)  🙂

As Pinhole panel was fixed on a revers-ring,  it enable ( just 🙂 )to use ordinary Lens-hood (Lens-hood is essential) = two photos above are the sample when hood was dropped and direct sun light hit the pinhole, though some might like a photo with strong halation  😀

By the way, I cover the Camera etc, with lots of stickers to conceal Camera name, Model name etc —– to make it looks cheap,  and my friend who actually possess D810 adopted the same attitude = It would discourage a mugger  😀

After dealt with a lots of Pinhole pictures —– ordinary photo looks rather fresh.

It looks not too bad too.     Ha ha ha  😀 

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What Photography to do with Buddhism

Someone asked me “ Why Photography in a Zen blog ?”

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The understanding of Zen is so wildly varied, let alone the understanding of the Buddhism.

It spreads from vague spiritualism to an endless peculiar practice.

A reason is that it lays in the person’s subconsciousness. Hence, the person oneself couldn’t

see it clearly, let alone the others, even the teacher.

Since, it was not clearly written down like as a Dogma, and to memorize it doesn’t mean

understood the Buddhism. (Though, some sect says, they got 100 of the rules written down

and follow them is the completion of the Buddhism.)

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My discovery of the Zen came from a peculiar practice = Disco Dancing  😀

With a peculiar mental tendencies habituated in my subconscious, I realized, this is

what people called the Zen —– Like a Pathological diagnosis, I found the symptoms all

matches to the description of the Zen of the past masters =

hence I understood, what I’m living is the Zen.

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So that, in Zen, the matter is a mental state or so-called mind-set, while the one is DOING

something. = Doing it unconsciously with the mind-set of what

Lord Buddha stated = IS the Buddhism. = Hence, able to receive all the benefit to live with

the Dharma. —– Here, it is crucial to be unconscious (=in Mushin). 

We can do a thing without thinking but not able to do thinking without thinking  😀

Try to do Mushin or talking it consciously is just a pretense or mimicry  😀

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Photography is a secondly art (it doesn’t mean second class art 🙂 ) = unlike an abstract

drawing or sculpture, unless the subject is there, its photograph couldn’t be created.

In other words, photography has to follow the existence and its moment.

That moment is the only moment. Photography is to capture and deals with this MOMENT.

As Lord Buddha stated, “Nothing stays the same and they change moment to moment”.

= Photography has to face this situation straight.

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Why and how you encounter its situation or subject was not necessary what you expected or

designed.  = To encounter it was what the Karma has worked.   You may think that

the idea to come to the garden to take picture was what you conceived and planed by yourself

alone though, without Karma has had pulled a string, you didn’t get the idea in the first place.

Whether you are aware or not this is how the system works.

And this system = the mechanism of the Dharma is what

Lord Buddha elucidated. = This is the Buddhism which is applicable even to a non-Buddhist.

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And we have to follow the subject = we didn’t create it, hence this is a secondly art =

we have to accept a humble position to be a secondly creator. Therefore, we have to see

the world with humble open eyes but at most diligent way, down to the minute details.

Once we start to see the subjects, what we are seeing is the environment or most likely

the nature. —– In fact, we are seeing the Dharma.

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When we try to capture and focus the subject, are we thinking what to eat for lunch ? =

Not only the lens, we are focusing what we need to do without any thinking but with full

attention to the subject on front of the camera whole heartedly.

This is the moment of Mushin and the Mindfulness.

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Then “Got it” = but what we got ? —– Even though we might think “I’ve got iconic image”

it is a mere reflection of the subject in the memory card, which could just disappear with a

glitch in a computer. —– And in most of the case, it wouldn’t do anything with the person’s

finance = it is nothing but a selfless, greed less act = expect no reward, still needs to put

so much effort for taking.

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—– Isn’t this Zen Buddhism ? —– If not,  What else   🙂

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