Monthly Archives: December 2010

Experiences Food & drinks

Happy Holidays!

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 Just wanted to share  a few Christmas pictures, and thought I’d put them in my blog instead of the photography section.  This year I finally bought a small Christmas tree (on the left) – it’s the first I’ve had since moving into my apartment (almost 2 years now)!  I’m surprised how cheery it makes the place look.

I didn’t do much for Christmas this year in terms of food.  Last year I went all out with a roast chicken, tons of stuffing, potatoes, soup, and desserts, but this year… it’s just been too busy and I didn’t have the energy to spend all day cooking.  Plus, thanks to S, I’ve been trying to eat a little more healthily these past couple of months by trying out a different kind of “cuisine”.  More on that in a later post, but for now, here are some pictures of dinner – simple grilled fish, mashed potatoes, hambone soup, and salad – that’s it!

Despite the simplicity, it was very good, and I didn’t even have that belt-busting feeling I usually get after a holiday dinner.  Dessert was especially healthy – I know it may not look like it, but NONE of the desserts in the picture were baked or cooked in any way – it was all-natural “raw” ingredients!

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Challenges Photography

Just for fun challenge – “Spooky”

Waaaaay behind, but here are the submissions for the “Spooky” challenge!

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-submitted by me

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-submitted by mom

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-submitted by J4

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-submitted by J3

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The next theme is by Mom, and it’s “Happy”!  As usual, please send any submissions to justforfun@njmatsuya.com 🙂

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Photography

HDR Image – Trumpeter at twilight

Added another HDR image in the gallery.  This was a three shot merge taken in Ginza back around mid-November.  Yes, the streets were already all full of Christmas decorations and the stores all dressed in the festive best!  I was out with JS, and we were waiting for S so that we could look for a particular piece of jewelry when I suddenly looked up and noticed this trumpeter.  I thought it was rather neat, in an old-fashioned, gritty way and took a quick bracket of shots.

The shot isn’t my best attempt at HDR, but I think it’s interesting enough to post.  All in all, a good day since we found the jewelry for Josh too! 😉

Photography

HDR Image – Art Sculpture in Singapore

I’ve added another HDR image to the photo section.   This was taken late one night on my way back to the hotel, but unfortunately, I don’t quite remember what the name of the station/building was!

It appears to be sculpture of figures either in the performing arts (dancing, ballet), or athletes.  I took this picture from the side instead of the front since I didn’t have a tripod and needed a wall to rest the camera on.  It’s a bit bizarre, but interesting.

Link: Art sculpture in SG

Photography

HDR image – Mitsukoshi in Nihonbashi

I haven’t had any time to post lately – lots going on at work, and lots on my mind.

I have uploaded a picture to my photo section though – it’s an HDR of an unusual display at the Mitsukoshi department store in Nihonbashi.  It’s not really possible to make out all the detail since the display is so massive and I had to shoot from a distance in order to get it all within the frame, but I like the picture nonetheless.

You can see it in full at http://shashin.njmatsuya.com/?p=72

UPDATE: I’m also going to include a close-up crop of the display here. It’s actually so intricate that it’s hard to make out what it is. I can see a woman in the middle, who looks like she might be standing on the ocean. Above her is a bird, perhaps coming out a cage and flying towards her?

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