Monthly Archives: November 2013

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Autumn

I know there are already tons of fall color photos coming through your streams, hope you don't mind another.  (^^;

This weekend went by way too fast, can't believe it's already over…

Hope you all had a good weekend!  🙂

#Japan   #Tokyo   #Fallcolors   #autumncolors  ?

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??????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challenge

??????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challenge

Last Saturday, a group of us gathered together with the challenge of shooting each of the stations along the JR Yamanote line.  We were each assigned a station (or, in the case of larger stations, 2 or more people to a station) and had to upload a single photo to Google+ at 13:30, 14:00, 15:00, and 16:00.

There was no specific theme, our only direction was to try and capture the image and feel of each station.

It was hard!

It was extremely challenging because how do you capture the "feel" of a place?  Especially considering the time limitations – I honestly felt that most of my shots were junk, and despaired of getting anything interesting to post.  However… despite my frustration… I really enjoyed it.  It made me realize my limitations, and pushed me to try to overcome them.  

I can't say that I was particularly successful, but I still feel that it was a great learning experience.  🙂

For those who are not familiar with Ikebukuro station – it is a massively sprawling area.  In fact, I only covered the east side.  This presented another challenge for me, because the east of Ikebukuro is the more… "seedy"/grungy part of the station (the west side of Ikebukuro is much prettier).   I wanted my shots to try to capture some of the oddness and grubbiness of my assigned area, while still being tasteful.

You can see the individual shots I took on the day if you browse through my previous posts, while the 5 in this album are more of timeline of our day, starting at Yurakucho, and ending at Ikebukuro.

Thanks to +Takahiro Yamamoto and #Nikon  for organizing this – it was a great experience!  🙂

#YamanotePW  #PW_Ikebukuro ?

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?=?=?( >_<)?

On Sunday, I participated in the annual Fit for Charity 10k run.  It wasn't too bad – I've recently started practicing jogging again, trying to get in shape for next year's Tokyo marathon, so I wasn't too wiped after the run.

However, one of my office colleagues got sick and I was suddenly "invited" to take his place in the 400m relay race!  (4 people, 100m each).   It was quite the experience.  I'm NOT a fast runner by any means, I prefer the "slow and steady" pace, so this 100m dash was completely new, but I have to say, very exciting!  This shot is one of the runners – he looked quite fit and in shape..

I am quite wiped out though.. and legs are protesting fiercely (^^;

#Japan   #FitforCharity   #Tokyo   #Running  ?

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???????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challen…

???????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challenge?
???????!!

Final submission for the Yamanote Line Photo Challenge! This one I'm actually quite happy with 🙂

There will be more later, but for now it's time to relax!

#YamanotePW #YPW1600 #PW_Ikebukuro?

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???????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challenge????????!!…

???????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challenge?
???????!!

Streets of Ikebukuro, 3pm image. These girls are expressing how I feel, trying to get a good/cool/interesting shot..

Next shot in an hour..

#YamanotePW #YPW1500 #PW_Ikebukuro?

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???????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challen…

???????????????? The Yamanote Line Photo Challenge?
???????!!

2nd shot from the Yamanote Line Photo Challenge! Editing while mobile is tougher than I thought it would be…

Next shot in an hour!

#YamanotePW #YPW1400 #PW_Ikebukuro ?

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Yamanote Line Photowalk!

Participating a Yamanote photowalk today, starting now and uploading from mobile – more to come!

#YamanotePW   #PW1330   #PW_ikebukuro?

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Speed

I participated in the office annual volunteer trip in Tohoku last weekend, and will hopefully have some photos from the trip that I'll be able to share.

One quick one though, was taken on the train platform while waiting to return to Tokyo.  

This is the Hayate E5 bullet train, and these things go fast!  We were on the platform trying to figure out which train we were going on when suddenly one of these went barreling past.  I literally didn't have time to lift my camera before it was gone.

Luckily one more came by just before our train pulled in, and I managed to get a quick shot before it vanished out of sight.  

#Japan   #Bullettrain   #Shinkansen   #Hayate   #E5  ?

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The level of devastation in the Philippines following super typhoon Hainan is staggering,…

The level of devastation in the Philippines following super typhoon Hainan is staggering, and every little bit you can do will help, whether donating, spreading the word, or just sending prayers their way.

http://donate.unhcr.org/philippines
http://ushare.redcross.org.ph/

FYI for the Red Cross link: US$1 = approx. 43 Philippine pesos

#philippines  ?

Philippines Typhoon Emergency Appeal: Millions left homeless – Donate to UNHCR – UN Refugee Agency
Super Typhoon Haiyan hits the Philippines
One of the most powerful storms on record has struck the Philippines leaving millions of people without a home. As the death toll rises, at least 10,000 people are thought to have been killed by Haiyan’s catastrophic impact.