The temp was climbing as the sweat dripped slowly down my brow.  Still I had to stop and click of some.

Click Click

wipe wipe

drink drink

repeat as needed.

Rain and rained it did today.  It poured so hard that I couldn’t see out my window.  I do like the rain, as long as I am not caught in the middle of it.  I saw a common species that inhabits the streets of Tokyo after a big storm.  I have named this species the “Spiderella.”  They can be found by the side of the road, sprawled out soaking up the sun after the rain stops.

That rain is falling, the blue orbs of energy are flowing.  The thin door and the mailboxes keep on rusting.  The island to nowhere just is sitting there.   Holding that umbrella high and waving to a loved one on a train platform.

The whole world just seemed to take a pause to pull out heir collective umbrella and in vain try to keep dry.

“Now the LORD had prepared a great fish to swallow up Jonah. And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights.” Jonah 1:17

Poor Jonah spent three nights inside the great fish.  What amount of faith it must have taken to survive that ordeal.  Keep up the good spirits.  Do the good works.  Strive to survive in this crazy world.

The sun shone high for a little bit today, but soon to the relief of many the clouds rolled in and the light dimmed.  The tones, and hues really began to pop.  The shadows lengthened as the sun began to set.

A lovely early summer day.

I hope we have more like today before the terrible muggy rainy weather hits.

Think positive thoughts, and enjoy the bounty of summer.

A slice of oddness from the wanderings on the edge of Tokyo today.

Another found image of Mt. Fuji.  I am starting to come to grips with the Japanese obsession with the dormant volcano.  A lost idol that no longer has it’s idolater.   A fraction of an image that only reveals its self in the past.

Another end to a hustling work week has come again.  I like to end my end of the week with a longer than usual stroll around the stations, and on my journey back to my home.  It sets me off in the right direction as a transition between the week and the rest on the sabbath.

I am thankful for all the beauty I get to bear witness to on a daily basis.

Rest up and give thanks world.

All of life we seem to separate and fragment into their individual elements.  We try so hard to distinguish between, life, work, and our spiritual pursuits.

The way I see the world though my lens, is that the elements are fragmented, but only because we choose not to see the way in which they are all interconnected with everything else in our life, and the world that surrounds us.

All the fragments merge together to create the collage that we all assemble as individuals called life.  These bits and fragments form the synapses of our being.  As we step though the world new ones are created while some decay into forgotten memories.

fragmented, divided, or collaged?

We must choose how we will view the world.

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.

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

Been going though old negatives today.  So many rolls that have been shot over the years.  Light that has inscribed on to bits of celluloid memories.  Sheet after sheet of film of hand developed black and white.  I long to go into the darkroom again.  For now I have to be content to keep on clicking and expanding the medium that I love best.  Photography, by any means necessary.

Necessary

1 a : of an inevitable nature : inescapable b (1) : logically unavoidable (2) : that cannot be denied without contradiction c :determined or produced by the previous condition of things d : compulsory

2 : absolutely needed : required

I have been living in Tokyo for um, about 10 years.  I can see Tokyo Disney land from my home.  I have watched endless streams of visitors step on and off at Mihama station to go there.  Yet, I have never been.

We decided that we should go, and see what there is to be seen.  And try to get more of a handle why so many are obsessed with everything Disney.

Mass of humans melting in the sun when we passed the gates at about 3:30pm.  The sun was beating down, the heat rising from under the rubber soles of our sneakers.  We headed into the jungle.

As I was flashing back to 19 years ago, the last time I went to a theme park, I was amazed at the way people just trooped about.  The artificial cleanliness of the park. Trash was constantly being picked up. Of course when I was a kid we ran like bandits all over the park(s).

I did enjoy my day. I was a bit overloaded with sensations, but I know thats why people go there.

It has been 3 months since I walked down Duval Street with Jerry.   A beautiful breezy day in the most south one can get in Florida with out hopping on a boat.  The boom of bass coming from a convertible.  The lazy breezy days on a patio with paint slowly peeling away.  The picket fence that is slowly dissolving to gray.  The bicycle that floats from up above.   I miss you Key West.

 was fortunate to travel back to my hometown of Miami, Florida in the 2nd half of February this year.  A long journey for my soul which I tapped into with my camera.  These first selection of images highlight the monochromatic view though the Contax T3 35mm camera.  A always there will be more to come.

Reach the Sky II

Tree, Cellphone & Man

Rims, South Dixie Highway

Palm Tree Wire

Banana Frame, Out the Porch

Life is simple. It is full of little pleasures. I am a uncomplicated person. I am amazed when bits of frozen water magically fall from the sky. So, today, as the rain comes down, and humidity rises. It was a pleasure to wander down the street here is Tokyo to my local developing corner store. It really lies on a corner too. And drop off a roll of 35mm film for processing. The owner of the shop is my main man. He never argues with me and tells me things that i cant do. he always is there listens and does a great job. I wish there where more people like him in the world.

Happiness does come from the most urbane sometimes. Today it was browsing though black and white images from a fresh shot roll of analog film. Sweet, isn’t it?