I spent my first day running around the North end of Miami with my brother.  Fighting off the jet lag, I managed to get a few clicks in.

Today is lovely.  It actually hints at being spring.  The air is warm and full of pollen making me sneeze.  The windows are open letting in the slight breeze.  So before I get on  flight across the ocean blue back to my hometown of Miami, I thought it best to post the rain, so to avoid it later.

So, rain rain go away.

For I got to go away.

These most likely will be my last clicks before landing back in my home town of Miami.  The weather has been warming a bit and strolling about on a monday afternoon was rather nice.  So these are a few random fragments from that day.

From a brief stroll between Urayasu and Minami Gyotoku. The sun was out, and I walked on the sunny side of the street.

As I was staring out the window of the Mr. Donuts in Urayasu the other day, my eye was drawn to three signs warning people not to park bicycles there.  As I was a bit under the weather, I felt the sighs morph in front of my eyes, and I noticed that each sign had been scribbled on or altered in some way.

Three lovely blue squares just waiting to be noticed.  Hey You!!  Look at me!!

Every so often it is good to take a few step backs and let the world envelope you.  I get bundled up in my own little world I forget just how big the world of Tokyo actually is.  It is so hard to describe.  The endless waves of concrete and steel that stretch to the horizon.  So, today is a day of contrasts.  The Wide and the Macro.

I needed to get out of the house today so I just took a stroll around the neighborhood.  The air was icy with reports of snow later tonight.  Walking around my gray neighborhood looking for what I have a look for what I haven’t really seen before.  Snap, snap, and walk walk that is what I do best.

It is cloudy and they say snow, and icy rain is on the way.  Thinking back to the long walks in summer.  To walking until my feet burn.  These are both from Yurakcho just behind Ginza.

Its cold again.  After the brief relief from the cold yesterday it returned, and tomorrow there is a chance of snow again.  Ummm, what am I going to to.  If it does snow at least it will make for some nice strolling out and about in the town.

After hearing the news that Fuji Film will cut quite a bit of its 120 product soon has caused me to think a lot about the digital age of photography that we all find ourselves in these days.  Even the simple notion of a digital photograph, can it still be called a photograph?  Does it really matter in the end, if the artist is happy with the image that he/she has created is that all that is of artistic concern?

Photography in its early days really has a science more than an art.  The photographer needed knowledge of chemistry and the physical properties of light in order to create images. Nowadays, that knowledge has slowly been eroded to the point that it no longer really matters.

You just press the button and, BING, you get an image.

Im old school, but I do love my new school digital tools.  I want to be free, to pick and choose the tools that are best for that moment of expression. Many argue and talk about analog vs digital.  I don’t see it that way.  I see that the digital and the analog both compliment each other.  In the hands of an artist they can allow creations of new work that have yet to be expressed.

I will tweak away to my hearts content, for that struggle to find out more about myself, and the world within we all dwell.

Pixel-Silver-Halide

Walking back from Kasai station.  Wind was blowing sun was out and my camera and I walked on the sunny side of the street.

The ice-shrooms reappeared the other day this week.  These strings of crystals are angel hair pasta.  Fragile and delicate in the early morning light.

Some ice-tails from the snowfall from the other day.  I focused on the details, the macro, the surreal the icy and the plain cold.  I will hence forth label these and ice-tails.

My wife has a tender heart, especially when it comes to finding homes for strays.  This little guy was found in a park near our house about five months ago.  He just went home with a young couple who just moved into a new apartment that allows cats.  While he has with us, we called him Long Tail, because his brother only has a tail like a rabbit.  We will miss him, but we know that he will be plenty loved.

The snow came down last night.  I know it is nothing like what my people in the midwest or east coast of America have experienced but for Tokyo this is a lot of snowfall.  You all have to keep in mind I am a Miami boy at heart.  Snow has and alway be like magic to me, so that is why I set my alarm to get me up and out of bed early to take the stroll.  I was worried if I slept in, all the snow would have melted into the gutters before I could get off some nice clicks.

Grab my camera, pulled on my snow boots that I get to use once a year, and trooped around my neighborhood for about an hour.  It wasn’t that cold, and the sun was shining and the ice was melting fast.  Down by the riverside I noticed I was not the only photographer up and about this February morning.

I love the sound of the icy snow crunching under my rubber boots.  Its such a pleasing sound to hear, and no I did not fall on my ass.

More to Come