Back to the Basics

It had been several years since I shot any film through my Pentax K1000 and it showed with the first roll. After getting settled in Tokyo, I broke the 'Tank' out loaded a 27 shot roll of 100 speed film and set out to get back to the basics. Unlike shooting digital, you cannot [well I don't] just shoot off 27 shots and get it developed, you need to slow your process down and take time to capture the images you want. It took 3 weeks to get to the 29th shot on the counter, yes two over. I was feeling a little nervous as I couldn't remember if it was a 36 roll or 27, so I started to rewind the film just to be safe. Now I don't know where you've been told but 29 shots should not rewind in 5 seconds. At this point all the film heads know the feeling when you realize the film never caught the spindle. All those images you were excited for, never happened. Just awesome. Only one thing left to do, get a film puller, retrieve the film, reload and try again. This time, after taking the initial shots make sure the film winder turns when you set the film. Cross your t's, dot your i's and then verify your film is proper loaded. The basics indeed.

Here are a few images from around Tokyo:
:Film

:Digital

Change of Address

It has been a while since I was able to post anything on the blog, but with good reason. About 99% of our friends and family are aware that we relocated to Japan, for those that didn't but happen upon this post, congrats you are now apart of the In Crowd! Doesn't it feel good?

Before proceeding I have to give a shutout to my family since I would not be able to follow my dream without their support, encouragement, and love. They are the true RockStars, I'm just the back up singer who book the show. Thank You Perla and Sara!

We have been in Tokyo for almost 2 months now and it still feels like we just arrived. Just about everyday we are trying to navigate through different cities, translating documents from Sara's school, read maps,and make sure we don't get on the wrong trains. One funny recurrence is that we are always finding shortcuts to and from our apartment via the different train line. A recent shortcut, by switching train lines, saved us about 45-60 minutes of out of the way traveling. Which was a blessing since we were coming back from Ikea with heavy bags. Additionally we are learning about the culture, trying new foods, and trying as many new experiences as we can. Everyday is an adventure. Here are a few images from around town. There are plenty more to come.


Domo character cut outs from a recent kids festival.

Views from around the apartment while walking Sara to school







Ja mata, Brian I should really start a news letter for this new round of post. Leave a comment and let me know what you think?

D214 - 家族 (Family)

私の名前はサラです. Yes, this is Sara's first of many books to start learning Japanese. Next step is finding a tutor or classroom that we can enroll her in. I picked up this book 'My First Book of Japanese Words' and was surprised at the mix of Hirigana, Katakana and Kanji. This will at least get her off to a good start to begin recognizing characters, other than the ones she is already familiar with.  Next learning tool kid learning videos. 

どうぞ.

じゃ、また, Brian

D101 - Dream

夢 = dream. They are not just for when you sleep. Waiting for your dreams to fall into your lap bring about similar returns to playing the lottery. But chasing them actively, aligning yourself to be closer to them, and learning the skill needed will help tip the odds in your favor. That way, when 'the' opportunity knocks, you can answer and possibly accept.

Ok, 700+ more Japanese words to study.
Enjoy.

Ja Mata,
Brian

D80 - The Mbira + Memories

Many years back, I bough this item at The National Museum of Ethnology in Osaka, it's a Mbira or as on the tag a 'Mini Sanzu' from Africa.The Mbira still works well after all the years, it's a miniature so the sound is limited, but love the tones that come from it (Sara does too). Besides being fun to break out every now and then, just having it take me back to the times I spent in Japan. This is why I kept the price tag on it, I think I bought this in 1999 or 2000. It's fun to step back and look at the things we hold on to over the years. Well as long as you don't get like those hoarders on TV, Yikes, but a healthy bit of 'Pack-Rat-ness' never hurt anyone. Yet.

What are you holding on to from years past?
   Enjoy.

Ja mata,
Brian