The mercury dropped today to mimic the falling petals of the cherry blossoms.  I guess you can say I have a bit of spring fever, waiting and wanting the warmer weather to return.  So, for those of you who want spring to brighten your day, enjoy the last of the flowers.

Fall, Falling, Fallen . . .

Its that time of year again.  When hopefully the weather warms the days lengthen and the Cherry blossom trees bloom in their passing beauty.  I was fortunate to be out in Chiba yesterday and got to view some of the blossoms, because today the wind is absolutely howling.

Walking around watching the spring madness i couldn’t help think to myself the connection we should all feel with the changing seasons.  It is perfectly natural, in our DNA as humans, to appreciate the spring.  The rebirth of the land from the seemingly endless death of winter.

Here in Japan the reverence for the first flowers comes out at times more like lunacy rather than appreciation.  People gather under the trees and drink themselves into oblivion.  All the camera otaku (nerds or geeks) get their macro, zoom and other gadgets out to get that perfect picture.  Don’t get me wrong I love the spring and the changing seasons, but I love to photography and immerse myself in the frenzy of appreciation.  That spectacle is thrilling.   Enjoy the spring madness.

It is that time of year, as the days start to grow warmer, the days start to get a bit longer and all the cherry blossoms come out to play.  If you don’t live in Japan, you can’t imagine what a big event going out and appreciating the cherry blossoms.  People hang out on top of blue plastic sheets in parks up and down, all over Japan.  Drinking to excess and just flat out having a good time.  This is the first batch of images taken with the Ricoh GRII.  As usual there will be more 2 come.

Last but not least.

For there are more to come