In the future, all new photos will be posted here.

I don’t want an empty page in the archives, so I should post at least one photo this month. Here’s a routine shot of the Flatirons, just outside Boulder, captured while I was shooting photos of my new car.

I really need to get reacquainted with my camera.

Just a note, but I recently relocated across town to Littleton, Colorado in order to be closer to my new job (which involves the Japanese space program, of all things). Since I now live only a few minutes away from the foothills and mountains, I’m hoping to make more hiking and photo expeditions in the future. There’s a lot of new terrain to explore, right in my backyard.

This photo, by the way, was shot on the Tama River in Western Tokyo. I’ve been meaning to post it for awhile.

Going through some old photos…

Sorry for not posting anything in ages, but I’ve been in Los Angeles the past two months on business and haven’t had time for blogging or photography. This photo was shot at the L.A. Arboretum - a place I’d pass every day on the way to work, yet only got around to visiting this weekend. It may be February, but the flowers are always blooming in Southern California, it seems.

Oh, and I should mention that I’m now uploading photos to my Flickr account. Getting that up and running was one of my goals for the new year.

Yes, there is a South Park in Colorado. This is what it looks like.

The first snow of the season… a good night to stay indoors, I think.

My next door neighbor was kind enough to lend me his 100mm f/2.8 Macro, so I’ve been experimenting with it my last couple of trips into the mountains.

I have little experience with macro photography, to be honest, and I’m not quite satisfied with the photos I’ve been posting the past few days. When you’re working at this sort of magnification, you have to pay very close attention to depth of field - especially when shooting wide open. Unfortunately, the light in the mountains this time of year pretty much necessitates shooting wide open when in the shade. Fill flash to the rescue!

It’s been a cool month, so the aspens are changing a little earlier than usual in the mountains. The first good snow of the season should fall this weekend at higher elevations. Light snow was falling as I shot this photo this afternoon on the north side of Guanella Pass, near Georgetown, Colorado.

Autumn has arrived.

It’s a big world.

Long’s Peak, Keyboard of the Winds, and Thatchtop Mountain, viewed from above Nymph Lake in Rocky Mountain National Park.

Increasing delirium is one of the first signs of advanced altitude sickness.

“Honey, I’ll be out mowing the lawn. Back in a week.”

A thunderstorm floats above the Indian Peaks, as viewed from Berthoud Pass along the Continental Divide.

You know, I really should spend more time up in the mountains. This is just one of many great photos from today.

Oh, and this photo from last September is currently being featured by the Mainichi Daily News.

The cloud wins.

The mountains are still here. And so am I.

Inspired by these incredible photos, I’ll be sharing some scenes of Tokyo from above this coming week. Some people might find such a landscape suffocating, but I found it to have a certain charm.

Remember the Hop Coasters?

While browsing the band’s website recently, I was surprised to find a photo set from the same sidewalk gig outside Shinjuku Station. There was a female photographer moving about at the same time I was shooting. I assume Kumika Amagai was her name. Chances are, I’m just out of frame in most of these shots.

In case you couldn’t tell, I’m doing a photo series of sorts. I have a huge pile of “leftovers” from Japan worth sharing.

A moment of silence for my dearly departed second molar.

Had myself a root canal today. It’s not an experience I care to repeat, but all things considered, it wasn’t too big a deal. I wonder why the procedure gets such a bum rap?

I had been ignoring the offending tooth for awhile. It happily played along for a year or so, but the night before I left for California, it finally gave up the ghost. Thankfully, that brief, initial toothache was the worst it had to offer - the pain was dull and intermittent thereafter - but, not wanting to push my luck, I decided to go ahead and get it over with.

So, no big deal. It took a little bit of extra lidocaine to numb things up nice and good, but after that, it was just sit back, relax, and let the dentist go to town. I should point out that my dentist is an all-around great guy (all the more reason to get it over with, given the impending move to Colorado and all), and took pity on my not having insurance by knocking a few hundred bucks off the final bill.

I’m still waiting for the anesthetic to wear off, so whether there’ll any post-op pain, I can’t say. I’ll have the crown placed on Friday.

It keeps going and going and…

Alas, I couldn’t stop with just five photos. As I said before, it’s been a good year. So, rounding out my ten favorite photos of the year, once again in no particular order…

Shadow of the Giant - Despite having lived in Nebraska for over a year, this was my first visit to the grounds of the state Capitol building in Lincoln. It was one of the last brilliant, sunny days of Autumn before the chill of Winter set in… a perfect day for photography. I actually had to sprawl out on the sidewalk in order to get this shot. Obviously, I got some strange looks.

Cosmo Clock - Once the largest ferris wheel in the world, Cosmo Clock 21 towers over Tokyo Bay in Yokohama, Japan. A short distance away, the tallest building in Japan towers over all, but from up close, the ferris wheel alone dominates the skyline.

Lovely Lodgings - A short walk from my apartment in Makuhari stood this cluster of love hotels. I shot this in the wee hours of the morning following a late night karaoke session… inspired by alcohol, I suppose. And, yes, the sign atop the flying saucer reads “UFO Hotel”. Hideously ugly by day, hideously beautiful by night.

Last Light - The Rainbow Bridge makes another appearance in the list of favorites, but this time as backdrop. I haven’t a clue who these people are. I don’t even recall them noticing me, even though I shot this photo from only a few feet away. Tokyo is weird like that.

Train Soup - This is probably the most critically acclaimed photo I’ve shot in my entire life. The funny thing is, I don’t care much for the composition. Admittedly, it’s an incredible scene (thanks to some lucky timing), but I’ve always been somewhat disappointed with the photo itself. Go figure. Someday, I’ll give it a second try…

This has been a good year for me photography-wise, mostly thanks to the time I spent in Japan. So, with the end of December drawing near, I thought I’d share my top five favorite photos of the year. So, in no particular order…

Sea of Tranquility - This was kind of a no-brainer. I was searching the Loess Hills of western Iowa for Autumn color this early October morning, but (unfortunately) wasn’t having much luck. Shortly before wrapping things up, I spotted this perfect scene near the small town of Mineola. This is why I love the American Midwest.

Harvest Road - I pass this spot near Springfield, Nebraska fairly often. Corn fields dominate the landscape, but the plot of land on which this water tower sits is cultivated entirely with alfalfa. By late September, the corn had gone dry and brown, but the alfalfa remained a lush green. With the sky threatening rain and sunlight fading, the scene felt especially stark. Oddly enough, the hustle and bustle of Omaha was only a few miles up the road.

Escape From Tokyo - I was playing photojournalist this morning in Kagoshima, Japan, following the passage of Typhoon #14. As the locals began the long cleanup process, I spied this lone fisherman at Kagoshima Port… which had been entirely submerged in water at the height of the storm the day before. In the distance looms Sakurajima, one of Japan’s most active volcanoes. Coincidentally, a few seconds after shooting this photo, the fisherman extracted an unlucky squid from the ocean. I was nearly showered with ink in the process.

Under the Rainbow - The Rainbow Bridge in Tokyo, Japan is a popular subject for photographers, especially as seen from Odaiba. Along with every other photographer in the country, it seemed, I was there to shoot the bridge at sunset. This shot, however, came near the end of the night, from a secluded location away from the crowds. Look closely, and you’ll spot seagulls resting on pylons in the water as dinner cruise boats drift by.

Matsuri - Following a long afternoon rambling about Tokyo, I stumbled upon this matsuri near my apartment in suburban Makuhari. The light was extremely dim, but I grabbed my fastest lens, bumped the film speed to ISO 1600, and got to work (after a couple of beers, of course). As the bon dance got underway, I took notice of this lovely young woman, and matched her pace as she circled the grounds with the rest of the dancers. I wonder if she ever took notice of me?

One thing I brought back with me from my time in Japan is the feeling that, every time my desk shudders, be it from a passing truck or my careless, bouncing knee, it must be an impending earthquake.

Oh, and I can stomach McDonald’s again… somehow.

I’m spending the holiday in Boulder, Colorado. The weather is gorgeous… for now.

I’m not all that happy with this photo. I was freezing my ass off, though, so… whatever. I did my best.

What better way to kick off Winter than a blizzard?

My mother has been bugging me about posting a new photo. “Something pretty,” she says. Here you go, Mom.

Someone’s bound to ask, so for the sake of the non-photographers reading: there’s no Photoshop trickery involved in this image (or the previous image, for that matter). I just shot handheld with a slightly slower shutter speed than suitable for the focal length. More examples here and, to a lesser extent, here.

In this instance, I used a shutter speed of 1/6 second at a focal length of 11mm. That’s roughly 1/13 of a second slower than the slowest shutter speed I’d typically use at that focal length when shooting handheld. Any slower, and the resulting image would have been useless. Suffice it to say I’ve thrown away far more images than I’ve kept when using this technique.

Of course, it’s also possible I shot this during an earthquake. I really can’t recall…

Sorry for my prolonged absence. I’ve been quite busy the past week.

Now that I’ve laid the Anime Blog to rest, I have nowhere to geek out. Oh well. I guess I’ll just have to do it here.

I didn’t have much luck keeping up with this year’s Summer shows while in Japan. I found time to catch Honey & Clover every Thursday night, but that’s about it. Since returning home, I’ve had the opportunity to catch up with some of the shows I missed, but now that the Autumn season is upon us, it’s time to dive into the newer offerings.

Unfortunately, said newer offerings leave much to be desired, with only a few shows having caught my attention thus far. Of those, only one stands out: Paradise Kiss. Conveniently enough, Paradise Kiss replaced Honey & Clover in Fuji TV’s late night “NOITAMINA” time slot. So, if I were still in Japan, I wouldn’t even have had to adjust my schedule in order to catch the show every week.

Paradise Kiss eagerly embraces the culture of Harajuku, a Tokyo neighborhood popular among brand and fashioned-obsessed teenagers and young adults. While I didn’t spend much time exploring Harajuku, the neighborhood left a lasting impression on me nonetheless. It’s crowded, noisy, lively, and inexplicably weird - yet, strangely authentic. Shibuya was suffocating. Harajuku was… absorbing.

Alas, it’s not my scene personally, but it’s fun to observe from the sidelines - which is probably why I dig Paradise Kiss as much as I do. The show’s opening animation is Harajukufied from start to finish, and not only because the street scenes correspond to real life locations. Rather, it just feels like Harajuku. Glamour without pretension. Electric. Youthful.

Of course, it helps that the opening theme is a killer track. A friend describes it as “Shibuya shopping march music” - an absolutely brilliant description, really. They should pump it out the crosswalk loudspeakers at the intersection of Meiji-dori and Dogen-zaka. Gotta get those yankees moving.

Well, two of them, at least.

The Madison County Courthouse in Winterset, Iowa was designed by Andrew Piquenard and constructed in 1876. Piquenard also designed the Iowa state capitol in Des Moines and the state capitol in neighboring Illinois.

And, yes, it’s that Madison County.

The lovely alfalfa field behind my house (previously seen here) was transformed into a big pile o’ dirt while I was in Japan. Eventually, a new school will rise in its place.

Unfortunately, when the wind blows from the north - as it has these past few, chilly Autumn days - the soft, powdery topsoil engulfs the house and yard. It’s even worse when the excavation crews are at work, choking the air with clouds of dust as they race their earthmovers about like children playing in a giant sandbox.

A strong cold front blasted through Nebraska overnight. Behind the front, an early season blizzard buried parts of the Dakotas in up to a foot of snow. It’s not cold enough for snow here - not yet, at least - but it’s been a raw day nonetheless. With each sunrise, the trees reveal a bit more color. Another week, and it’ll be one hundred percent Autumn.

In Japan, friends and coworkers would often ask me to describe Nebraska. I found that comparisons to Hokkaido worked best - minus the mountains, of course. In reality, however, only Eastern Nebraska resembles Hokkaido. The dry, barren ranchland of western Nebraska and the Sandhills of northern Nebraska, for example, have no Japanese equivalent whatsoever.

The scene in the photo looks like something out of a Hokkaido guidebook. But, alas, I discovered it a mere stone’s throw away from my house in Omaha. Can you believe over a million people call this tiny corner of Nebraska home?

Having come from Japan, I find myself impressed with how big everything is here at home. The landscape, the cars on the road, the people… gigantic. My “cozy” bedroom is cozy no more. It’s practically a concert hall!

Geez, it’s cold in Nebraska.

I apologize for the downtime today. The power outage in Los Angeles knocked out the data center at which the site is hosted.

I’ve been busy packing, mailing stuff home, and cleaning the apartment. The company is throwing a farawell party for us tomorrow night (they’re always looking for an excuse to get drunk), so we’ll have a full plate to the very end. Thursday, it’s off to Narita for the long flight home.

Since I’ve been here for two months, I don’t feel particuarly obliged to go out and experience as much of Japan as possible these last few days. Rather, I’m more focused on making preparations for the trip and wrapping things up at the office. I’m sure I’ll miss Japan once I’m back in the States… but, for now, I’m happy to be heading home.

For all basic purposes, Autumn begins in Japan on the first day of September. After all, that’s when “Autumn” food and drinks hit the store shelves and “Autumn” menus show up in restaurants.

I was almost fooled.

Today’s forecast high temperature: 34 degrees C (93F). Yup… still Summer.