SKI

Ski — a news from my friends in Japan =  I received an Email from a friend in Japan who had

first mountain ski (off-piste) in this season.  My friend,  Makoto is one of the younger member

of the Alpine Club of our Uni’ = some years younger than me though,   he is now over 60.

Still,  he has been skiing almost every week on the last winter.

When I was in my Uni’  I was thinking to become a Ski Photographer = I wasn’t too bad in Skiing

as I could ski while holding camera and shooting though, one day, on a very steep slope with ice

where I needed side-slip, then, another photographer was skiing down straight while holding

16 mm cine camera between his knee !    A practicing race skier there said  “He is our club’s

old boy” —–I instantly realized that there is no competition = I gave-up my idea.   

(Later I learned,  Ski photographer doesn’t need to ski like a slalom racer = Go to the best spot on

the course on FOOT and capture the action of each Skier.  Otherwise visiting good ski resort and

making vivid report.   The matter is not a ski skill or top-notch photography but a good relation

with the editor.  In case of advertising photo = it’s all set-up.   😀   😀 )

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What I found interesting in Makoto’s latest equipment was,  the advancement of the technology

and the material.  (40 years ago, most of the ski was made by  wood and ski-boots was leather  🙂 )

When I try to re-use broken metal ski, I was pretty impressed by its construction = how 

different materials were stuck together = the technology in Glue = such as non-sticking Teflon

was stacked to the bottom of ski and the artificial rubber (Neoprene) was sandwiched between

High-tensile aluminum — yet, under extreme cold and extreme rough handling (footing ?) and

constant vibration and the bending strain = still, ski doesn’t disintegrate even without having 

rivets, screws or welding to bind them together  !

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And the plastic boots (Makoto is using the boots which was designed for walking as well ) is not

a simple PVC = very complexed compounds of plastic = solid enough to firmly attach to the

bindings and soft enough for walking =  above all,  consistent in very wide range of temperature !

(most of plastic become brittle and crack under cold temperature)  

And his boots has Accordion structure !  (See the photo) —– How fascinating  🙂

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This year, japan is having quite heavy snow ( Do you know,  their snow is as heavy as 7 m deep,

not just in the mountain area but many Cities and Towns in north-western side of Japan). 

The mountain where Makoto went was only  2 hours drive north of Tokyo. 

Then,  after climbing and  ski down from 2,000 m high top,  having had relaxing hot spring bath,

before drive back to Tokyo —— all done in a day, 14 hours exact  with little expense (They brought

their lunch-box made by their wives )  !  = What an active, healthy life.

—–  As a man,  stack in London,  I really envy them  😀

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Apocalypse ? —– What Apocalypse ?

According to a kind of interpretation of Mayan Calendar, last Saturday, 21st of December suppose

to be the end of the world !  —– How exciting !    If it happens, the most spectacular scene must be

seen  on the landscape of sky-scrapers = so, I went to the City.  In fact, I went there together with

another video artist,  Funki Porcini and Tallbastard. —– Funki needed to shoot the night building

whether it is in ruin or collapsing on front of the eyes, otherwise just standing as usual  😀 

And while he was shooting, I cricked few pictures.

The top photo,  Snowdrops was the kind,  I least expected to find here.  —– But, expecting only to

see them in a kind of nature, might be just an arrogance of the mankind = for them,  like a rocky

mountain and the thin soil on the rock = city-scape can be just another nature for them. 

As I didn’t expected,  likewise, people may not noticed this flower = hence never disturbed her =

being left her own,  Snowdrops could thrive !!!  ( This is what the Nature is. = It’s the Dharma )

—– It seems,  the world has survived intact and the Xmas is coming yet again  😀  

So, to everybody who is going to celebrate it,  “Merry Xmas”  🙂

—– For me though,  a matter, winter solstice has past,  was  much more significant,  as

the sun is coming back !  = It’s getting brighter  🙂

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Impressionist photo of Autumn

They are utterly vague fuzzy images though, strangely we can see enough information,

or we feel enough of what is going on there.   And it is enough to carry on our life.

( The detail of Concentric Double-density Pinhole can be found in this post (link))

Some one said, ” To know the name of Plant is the start to respect and love the Nature”

Is it ? —– I think, ” To realize, How little I know,  lead me to just accept what’s there,

regardless any  name or details, —– This must be the Truth to be there”.

= Therefore, see nothing is what clear eyes can see at it’s best !    Ha ha ha  😀  😀

So, those fuzzy images may be what our eyes are actually seeing.   And so-called sharp

photographic images were, the results of the heavy  manipulation in the brain.

( Do remember, our eyes never able to see a straight line, as the Retina is not flat =

impression of  straight line was created in the brain !  = so did any images.  The facts

in the Argumented Reality showed, our vision is very very flexible.  😀 )

They looks like just common tall grass though, this one is the Japanese Susuki Grass.

And I’m very very attached to it.

So, this is it.    It was my Autumn moment of this year.  🙂

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Autumn CHERRY BLOSSOMS

It was on the end of November last year, I found the flowers on this Cherry tree.

But it happened to show the same, two weeks earlier in this time. —– As it is a bit early

this year, the Cherry tree has lots of leaves as well.

So, the autumn golden leaves and the pink blossoms in the same time = rather unusual

sight in deed. Because it was unusual, I didn’t feel very comfortable last year though, I was

more permissive mood this year. After all, to impose “What is normal or abnormal” is man’s idea.

—– Nature may have much more facets which we never know = And they may say,

“What’s wrong with having flowers in an Autumn = it’s not your business”.

A sort of stereotypical knowledge = there may not be an insect who visit and pollinating

the flowers out of season though, —– yes, there is an insect (kind of fly ?) was in the flower.

Out of our eyes and beyond our knowledges the Nature may still be in full

operation regardless the season 😀

And WHO said, the Cherry open the flowers only for the purpose to make fruits

and seeds = yet still, they could blossom just giving a fun

for the winter insects too —– why not 😀

—– As a result, this tree gave the opportunities for me to talk about TWICE already

= it’s a big achievement for such a small tree !

Never mind, the Wheel of the Nature is Going Round and Round and Round —–

And our lives goes on as well. 🙂

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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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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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Waltham Abbey or its Garden

There was a party of the newly married friend in the Waltham Abbey garden.

Waltham Abbey was one of the Abbey destroyed by the King Henry 8th, situated just outside of north London, 15 min’ walk from the Waltham Cross station. 

Or just off the M25 by a car.  —– Despite its close proximity to the Capital, it is almost a forgotten place.   Hence, it was my first visit and I did it for a test of Nikon D810 (with Nikon Fisheye lens and their 85mm F1.8) too.  🙂

The  journey starts from the Railway Cathedral, Liverpool Street Station.

It was just a shot ride though, among a lots of train running on the same track, only few are stopping at Waltham Cross. (on the way back, only one train per hour ! )

Then from the station, walk straight down to the east, while crossing many creeks of River Lee ( —– I remember the image like this in a Belgian city of Bruges ).

Looks like the end of the road, there the Abbey is. —— and near by funeral parlor, a pretty well made model of the horse-drawn hearse !  

3D representation of What you are going to have  😀 

—– And Jesus is waiting for you with open arms !  How nice  😀  😀

The inside is a huge open space.

Other than the Rose garden etc, abbey garden is a sort of controlled wilderness. The grass was well-trimmed corner to corner though, rest was left for the wild plants to compete each other. 

—– still, I haven’t seen even a shadow of single fish in the water.

[]The camera, D810 worked well.  —– Though, go into the details of each point is not what Zen blog supposed to deal with = I’ll do it somewhere else.

—– still, it worthwhile to mention is = this camera might be in the point of no-return, in the aspect of the use of soft control of the imaging = departure from the pure optical image.   For example, professionals may no longer need to use wide-angle lens, instead,  resorting with  stitch-up photo = negates the needs of many specialized lens such as PC or TS lens, or ultra-wide-angle lens, even extremely large F-aperture lenses.  = (In fact, such special lens becoming perpetual [unsold] item in the show window, alongside  the huge dead stock of lenses for clop-sized image sensor camera. = such camera has been superseded by the compact Mirror-less system cameras) = Who want to carry heavy, big camera ?

And, when we can buy incredibly well designed small camera with the same money, who would buy expensive big old zoom lens ?  —–  Camera companies shot their own leg.

* Canon’s selection to use APS size sensor in their mirror-less camera, and selling EF lens adapter is to prevent their EF-S lens become obsolete and dead stock.  🙂

* Nikon’s 36Mp sensor may give higher resolution though, I found no difference on my same laptop screen.  = Any how the quality of  the image was limited to the optical quality of the lens = screen image shows the flaw of the lens even more.

And the Nikon’s heavy use of image processing program would make aware of thephotographers that [it is not the matter of the number of the pixels, but the after process].

Nikon seemed to be using variable gain control to amplify the out-put of image sensor = effectively act like a variable ISO setting and with the enhanced color-saturation of the image under dim light = the result looks brilliant.  = save the work on photoshop though —– I’m not sure, was that a correct approach to include the “Fan shot effects”  😀

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No Sake, neither Garlic ! —– Why not ?

My friend in Japan showed this photo in his blog while describing

scorching hot day over there.

What photographed was a stone-post = regular feature of a Buddhist

temple gate, which says “Kun-shu San-mon ni iru wo yurusazu”

(不許葷酒入山門 = Sake / Alcoholic drink and Garlic kind are forbidden

to be brought in) = It is the notice of the Rules from the Pali Canon,

that the Buddhists have to keep away from the evil acts.

—– Drink Alcohol and eating smelly food typically the Garlic, are

forbidden in the temple —– It is a formal pretense 😀

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Despite the Garlic has been long eaten and even used as an herbal medicine (use it

as a poultice to an inflammation = very potent stimulant for blood circulation)

only its pungent smell is its unfortunate nature 😀

—– The hard-core austere in the Tantra Buddhist sect, Gyo-ja (行者) regards Garlic as a potent

medicine (hence, wild Garlic was called Gyo-ja Nin-niku ) to enable him to achieve hard practice in

the mountain. (— so I heard = I haven’t established it with [with and without] kind of objective

repeated research. 🙂 ) — What-so-ever, everybody knows, Garlic is pretty good for our health.

—– So that, may be a smell of the Garlic is a mere pretext, real intention was to

prevent a monk gains his potency and become sexually active. 😀

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But funny facts are, even the time of strict Shogun era, the Sake was drunk in a temple only with

the name of Han-nya-tou /般若湯 (Drink of highest wisdom 😀 ) and the wife of the Priest was

called Dai-koku sama / 大黒様 (the name of a divine figure — but in Taoism). = a lots of excuse.

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There are interesting parallel between Hinayana Buddhism and Confucianism,

Mahayana Buddhism and Taoism (Laoze).

Both Hinayana and Confucianism set an ideal personality of a man and apply it

with the Rules of Do and Do not.  (= So, Garlic smelled Monk is not very ideal.  😀 )

In comparison, both Mahayana and Laoze says “ Be Natural” = keep away

intentional thinking or imaginary Rules, but live natural and never over do.

(So that, garlic is naturally smelly = What’s wrong with it.   Unless you eat tons of it.  😀 )

Counting Lord Buddha’s teachings in its surface, it could make hundreds of Do and Do not, such

as him in deed forsaken his family and the wife and became a Bhikku. = hence the follower could

copy it = live with no family, no woman etc though, —– think the context of the teachings,

Lord Buddha never accused, or forced anyone to forsake the wife and the child, but simply

pointed out, the Life IS in Samsara = accepted the difficulties to live with family as the default.

Hence, Mahayana accepted the inherent nature of the Life as Karma.  (Try to

impose “ideal type” is just an useless delusion.  Better live in Mushin, as it is.)

(We are born to suffer with the trouble of woman. = It’s a part of joy.    Ha ha ha  😀 )

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So, don’t hesitate to eat Garlic. As long as everybody in the family or anybody

near you eat it in the same time, the smell wouldn’t cause any trouble.

And be healthy, fulfilling your potential = make your wife satisfied. Ha ha ha 😀

( Don’t worry this is the Mahayana Buddhism = believe me  🙂 )

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San-sai (山菜) = Edible Plants from Mountain

Early summer, lots of Japanese goes out field or mountain to gather edible plants.

They appreciates each plant’s distinctive tastes and the flavor which is unique to the season.

= Naturally, I receive my friends Email with those stories and photographs (Link here).  (He was few years

Younger member of the Alpine Club = In his older Posts, you may see that he is climbing snowy mountain

every week and skiing ! = That’s how Japanese is living with the Nature )

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—– those custom was behind of my Bracken story. = for me, as an ex-patriot, it is a sort of nostalgia to my

Japanese taste,  in the same time it is a resistance to the modern western culture “Vegetable comes

from Tesco”, —– but in fact, it often came from a farm other-side of the earth, 

and regardless the time of year.  (Still, I got tasteful great memory to eat full-ripen tomato in the

very middle of dizzyingly vast, red tomato field in a Canary Island which tomato is destined to

a shelf of super market in England.  A farmer stopped me to pick, and gave me the better one  😀 )

For a sake of convenience, it degrading the one’s only life to a life in statistical number.

To live in its moment mean = unique moment = unique to its year’s season. = not standardized

homogeneous pattern, which was mass produced and sold by a Supermarket.

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The stories from Japan is not a kind of surprising news = went so and so place and picked this and that plants then

enjoyed eating them as a Templa and so-on.

(In the photo left, underneath is Wasabia Japonica (that Wasabi /山葵 , comes with Sushi.

They grow in a very clean mountain stream).    And the Small Bamboo Shoots (Takenoko / 竹の子 ).

The big one on top is Aralia Cordata (Udo / 独活).

Right photo is also in the Araliaceae family, Eleutherococcus Sciaphylloides (Koshi-abura / こしあぶら) = may

be not in the west and its bitter taste may be too strong for other than to Japanese ). —– Yet, I noticed, this

Japanese tradition may have some displeasure to the western people which might be originated

from the difference of the natural environment in Japan, and their attitude toward the plants.

= In comparison to the England where only 20% of the land is mountainous,  Japan got their 80% is the mountain

= hence the area where those plants grow is huge and those plants are everywhere = human activities wouldn’t

affect so much (anyhow people wouldn’t go to the same area which got too much competition) and

the plant would recover by making side shoot.

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—– It may sound too funny though, only a week or two ago I discovered that I can use Google and Wikipedia

in Japanese. 😀

Because of my knowledges of the plants are all in Japanese, I didn’t necessary wrote the name of the plant in English

or in Latin before. —– But when I Googled and saw Wikipedia in Japanese, then found the English name, I noticed,

some of the plant which Japanese eat, are the garden plants in the west.

Like Foster, they are quite common in the gardens here, and in Japanese mountain they are everywhere.

= they are easy to distinguish and easy to cook such as to put into Miso soup though, the western people may not

feel comfortable to eat them as they make pretty flowers.

The Japanese “Udo” Aralia Cordata is now widely sold in England with a fancy name of “Aralia Cordata Sun King”

hence people never considered to eat as “Udo” like Japanese does.

There is a very firm idiosyncrasy

= plants in the garden is only for visual pleasure never for eating !

And they may not want to be seen as an hungry people. 😀

Kitchen garden might be only for a show-off of their rich folly and for a talking piece.

—– For a Japanese, nature is not just for looking at. They eat a lot from the nature as well

= literally living together.

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Poppy = Impressionist’s photography / W-Pinhole Photo

As it is in the season, I’m seeing number of interesting photos of the Poppy in the Net.

One Photo-blogger Lemony showed her Poppy photo (link here) taken while intentionally

shaking the camera and created blurred image which I dubbed “Impressionist’s Photography”

and I promised her I’ll show my “Impressionist’s Photo” —– hence, here they are.

Isn’t this Impressionist, is this ?    Ha ha ha,    🙂

Those photos were taken by the Pinhole camera (Canon 5D Mk2)  but in this time it was by

two Pinholes of which the panel was fitted on front of the extension ring, therefore the

effective focal length was 84 mm.

With Two Pinholes, it produces off-positioned two images = similar to double exposure image,

or there used be a Double Image filter which used shallow prism = but such image can be made

by Photoshop much easily now. —– Still, I like those images, if the paintings of Impressionists

are still the painting, a photo of pinhole is still the photograph. (Why not ? )   😀

(What so ever, the best of all, two pinholes can make twice as many flowers instant.  😀  )

This photo was taken from the same position, but the Light Balance was set to Tungsten Light,

hence the color balance has shifted to blue. — (then,  contrast was increased and cropped)

= the image became even more like an Impressionist’s or an abstract painting.

This is an ordinary straight shot = as for a reference image. (Lens was Canon 70-200 F2.8 = set to

about 85 mm, and set to F4. —– ( This image looks like a Japanese Yamato-e Paintings.)

With the light balance set to Tungsten Light, it made the pale colored image more like a

Chinese panel painting.

Then, the same Poppies’ were taken by W-Pinhole. (not only the effect of the Pinhole, but

the wind shaken the flowers and made the image even more impressionistic  😀  )

(Under the wind, no flower stand still for 10 seconds, especially delicate Poppies )

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It seemed like the same situation, when people was bored by the too clean digital sound, they

started to go back Veiner or even Valve sound = when too clear sharp photo became too

ubiquitous, and easy to achieve, some went back to  B/W  Film Photography, some are even

trying to make their own print paper applying photo sensitive emulsion onto own material to

create textured fuzzy image (strangely, often fuzzy image seemed to have more connotations)

= there could be hundreds of the way to do photography.   (—– not only Pinhole   😀  )

This is the 84 mm W-Pinhole “lens” (?  😀 ) I’ve used.   Panel was a thin aluminum of a beer can

mounted on front of an extension ring.    Photo right is, with its “lens”  hood ! —– without lens,

it’s still need to have a Hood = you believe or not.  (Normally, a lens hood is to prevent a direct

sun hitting the lens = eliminates a ghost and halo.   Yet,  Pinhole without lens still needs to reduce

the light from the sky etc, which creates halo by scattering inside with diffraction. = Most of 

Pinhole Photographer doesn’t know this, as they think,  even the unnecessary halo is still the

character of the Pinhole photo  🙂  )  = Here,  seeing is believing.

Photo left is without Hood and the right, with hood = the difference is clear.    🙂

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