Gettin my floral on

Article posted on Tuesday, April, 26th, 2011 at 7:20 pm

I’ll be keeping text to a minimum with this post. There is simply no need for me to attempt some witty prose to interest the reader when the following pictures will do a far better job. I will just say that this collection is a random one, taken over the last five years from scenic spots all over Japan.

I do suggest you click on the smaller pictures. Once the pop-up presents itself you can use the left & right arrow keys to go through the images. Alternatively, you can mouse-click to cycle through.

I’d love to read your comments :)

Pining for Matsumoto

Article posted on Friday, March, 11th, 2011 at 9:09 am

It turned out to be a fantastic day last Summer for my visit to Matsumoto castle. We’d arrived the previous afternoon, and the weather was horrendous. The sky was dark and the rain was pouring down. Waking the next day after a much needed sleep, it was quite a relief to see that things had fined up.

Below is another photo that has been given the once over by JapanDave. What had been a rather dull and flat image, has really come to life. There’s now such a great texture & vividness to it.

Swanning about

Article posted on Sunday, November, 28th, 2010 at 8:30 am

David from JapanDave, who we’ve met before, was kind enough to offer me his sensational image tweaking skills. When I saw the results, I almost fell over, such was the impact of the changes. So, what do you think? I’d also like to know your thoughts on altering images in general, if you have any… Love it or hate it?

The image was taken during my Summer-vacation trip to Nagano. It is, of course, Matsumoto castle‘s main tower & a strategically placed swan.

Click on the image to see the original photo (the image is actually different, but all will make sense after you see it.)

Some links: (recent post) Matsumoto’s Taiko Masugata gate, The JapanDave site, The JapanDave Facebook fan page & (why not?) The Japanese Castle Explorer Facebook fan page

Daimyo’s pool cleaner

Article posted on Wednesday, November, 10th, 2010 at 7:04 pm

I was toying with the idea of a caption contest, sans prizes, of course, for this photo. It’s not that I doubt the humour of the Japanese Castle Explorer blog readership, It’s just that there aren’t so many of you inclined to posting a comment (which doesn’t really bother me) let alone trying your wit on in a public forum.

Anyway, here’s the picture (Matsumoto Castle). So, what have you got guys? A title, a comment from the guy? Please share in the comments section. I’ve written some below the picture, and you can even comment to say they suck if you want.

• “Looks like another dead’n. When will those ninjas ever learn?”
• “If I don’t get the chlorine level just right, the lord will have my head?”
• “Please, please, please let that be just a chocolate bar.”
• “Enter the lord’s service they said. Give your life in service of the lord they said. Die with honour they said.”

More pics on Twitpic

Article posted on Thursday, October, 21st, 2010 at 8:06 pm

I've been getting out more on weekends of late. The family have been coming along too, and the good news is that the're not entirely bored with the places that I like visiting. Each outing brings with it a bunch of photos, with one or two I'd like to post on the web. Flickr's got a load of features, but the convenience of posting & tweeting with Twitpic is hard to beat.

Below are just four thumbnails of the photos I's posted to Twitpic. There is of course more, and I add to it weekly, sometimes more than that. So, if you've got some time to kill, check them out. And, why not check back every now and then?

The link to Twitpic, if you missed it.

Japan Dave

Article posted on Sunday, October, 10th, 2010 at 8:08 am

For a while now I’ve been in contact with David LaSpina of the JapanDave website. I guess I first became aware of Dave's work through an on-line friend of an on-line friend, or something like that. Back then the focus of his blog was a bit different to what it is now. What the blog has become is a site of amazing, Japan-themed photography.
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