There are two basic themes in my work these days.  One is seeing the shapes, and angles that make up the concrete metropolis that I inhabit.  The other, still based on shapes, but in an abstracted way.  That is what these images represent.  That same world close up.  That same world that plays with all the elements of image construction.

One usually sees oneself in bits and pieces.  Never quite able to put all the bits together and see the whole.  It is a struggle to understand the self as a whole.  I hope though the art and process of photography I will better be able to understand the self and the world that the self inhabits.

It is high time for the political campaigning.  At every station those politricksters are out pressing the flesh with their bleached white gloves.  The posters have been and are being hung across the entire country of Japan.  They all become visual media to be remixed with my lens.

Colors, lines, fragments take on expressions that challenge there sincereness in which those politicians are portraying themselves.  But we all know better, don’t we?

Take what you see, and flip it like a giant flap jack.

Flip it baby, flip it!

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.

“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 rainy season in the Tokyo area officially started today, and as if by clockwork the skies opened up and it has been raining all day.  Im not a big fan of the rainy season because it limits my ability to stroll around and take lots of flicks.  However, I still try to get out there and get some.  So these are my welcome images for the rainy season.

May it bring enough rain to water the crops, and fill the reservoirs, but not so much that it cause flooding.

Rain, rain, rain…

I had to venture to the heart of Edogawa Ward to have my free yearly health check.  I love that there is some preventive medicine practiced in Japan.  It might not be perfect, but it is better than none at all.

The temperature peaked at about 32 yesterday.  Quite hot for June, but at least it was dry and in the shade it was perfect summer weather.  After the check I wandered alongside a shaded stream a little light headed from the lack of food, and the blood sample given.  I love looking at the simple structures and constructs that people have created for themselves and their community.  There were places to sit, things to climb on and back doors with everything all decayingly tidy.  A sort of wabi sabi attitude in the hot dry air.

This is the Tokyo that I have come to respect.  The endless winding streets, were everything at first glance looks the same as everywhere else.  Train your mind and your eye to work in unison to see something uniquely beautiful.

Tokyo, rust, concrete and wood.

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.

The rain finally came down today.  I guess it is a hint at the rainy season that is to come in the next week or so.  The tiny drops flowed from the clouds, and I watched as the pools gathered on rooftops across the city.

A lost monkey in the rain struggling to turn his smirk into a smile.  A bicycle key tucked behind some wire and paired with a silver gum wrapper.  A beautiful blue umbrella gently hung on a fence.  All lost in the rain, waiting for the skies to open and let the sunshine pour out.  When the sun shines hopefully they will find their way to their rightful owners.

Don’t forget your umbrellas.

It has been threatening to rain all day today.  The skies remained grey and full of the temptation to let forth and dump water upon the land, but the rain has yet to fall.  The air is cool with a hint of humidity.  The skies left no shadows on the ground.  All the colors were true to themselves.  The cool hues of the concrete, the muted rust interplaying with it’s blue brothers.  All beauty, all the time.

Just another day in the city.

Watching the colors, the doors, all interacting with one another.

Just another day in Tokyo, or I should say Chiba.

The sun was warm, and the air was unseasonably cool.  I am loving these early summer days.  This must be what they mean by an English summer.  The sun warms you, but if you start to overheat, just grab a spot in the shade and you’ll be just fine.

In this lovely weather I strolled around some of the sleepy, old parts of Urayasu.  The little snack bars still in the afternoon.  The empty fishing market stalls, that have only a few that actually still open for business.

Time rushes forward at a blinding speed. I am thankful for the opportunities to slow down and explore.  A time to savor those beautiful things that interconnect and make up our lives.

Ever connected.  Ever rusting.  Ever beautiful.

The blues can really shine on and take on a life of their own.  Those deep sky blues that seem endless, every reaching into the cosmos.  The rust that meshes with the colors, as its base metals rust away from the inside.

Little details, look, and have been seen.

This can be a motto of my life.  I always seem to be zigging and zagging on though it.  There is never that clearly defined path.  So, I tend to just make my own way.  Stumbling falling down, but every so often there is the right push, and that zigging and zagging creates a break though.  A way to see beyond the next avoidance.  Do not be afraid of those unexpected failures, those crashes that leave the ego bruised and battered.  Get up, look around, and discover how you can crash on though.

These were the thoughts that occupied my mind as i wandered back to my home this afternoon.  Trying to make everyday the day that I crash and break on though simultaneously.

I try not to fret.

I try to my troubles.

I let what is to be, be.

and I create those spectacular crashes ALL by myself.

Live Up ! ! ! ! !

Yeah that’s right. Read the headline again.  I am naked without it.  Of course, in this case I am talking about my camera.  Today was the first time in a very long time, that I left the house with out putting my camera in my bag.  I felt like I had walked out of the house with out any pants on.  I would reach for the little ricoh, but it wasn’t there.  A big sigh!.

So, the images from todays post are from my stroll around Kasai on Saturday.  Buildings, constructions, all competing for my attention.  Therefore, I had to point my camera in many directions.

I won’t leave home without my camera tomorrow.  That is for sure.

I went on a mission to find all the MOZE tags that I could in Kasai on Saturday.  I usually don’t take pictures of only graffiti, but I think because this writer is active in my neighborhood, I decided to give him some props.

I dig the style os his simple MOZE four letter tag.  Usually placed in a nice inconspicuous place.  He tends to write with white spray paint, but not always.

I was on a mission, and I will continue to hunt for the tags.  It is a visual collection for me.  Enjoy the mad graffiti bomber of Kasai.