This is the lower portion of the same political poster that the Fuji San image came from.  The smile was so wide, so plastic, I just had to snap it.  Also, I just adored this headless mannequin in a store front window in Ichikawa.

Hilo is more of a city than the southern area of Kona on the Big Island.  We unfortunately did not have much time to chill here, so we are going to make a trip back someday.  We had just enough time to hit the main street that faced the ocean, and grab some Hawaiian style Bento’s (Japanese inspired Lunch Boxes).

There is an interesting Hilo story, but thats for another blog.

Translucent reflections from a recent stroll.

Staring into an empty storefront in Akihabara the other day, it brought back memories

of a project I had worked on 15 years ago.  I became obsessed with photographing empty

store fronts.  Building that are looking for tenants in the suburbs and environs of Tampa Florida..

My life had come full circle, and becoming interested with shop fronts that are abandoned and in need

of life.

The day started off great.  I finished a long term project and sent it off, and to treat myself

i was going to head into Shibuya and walk around and take mad pics.  On the Tozai line into the

center of Tokyo, I went to turn on my Ricoh GRII to see what pics were on the camera.

Poof, nothing happened.  The power light went on, but the lens did not uncover itself.  HUH?

Turned it on and off, removed the battery, all the regular tricks.  Still zilch.  So I figure Ginza is on the

way, so I will get off and take it into the Ricoh Camera Service Center. Jumped off the train and tailed it

over to the center before they closed for lunch.  They said the camera would be ready by 3pm, so I luckily had packed my Contax T3 loaded with Black and White film.

Got back to the shop just before they closed, they had replaced the lens unit and the CCD for free.

Somehow the camera was still under warranty.  These pics are a test as I wandered around the backstreets of Ginza in the twilight hours.

Revisited of the Fragmented Self Portrait, this time

in full blown color.

The sun was high in the sky.  The mercury is surely creeping higher and higher.  The haze

that engulfs Tokyo stretched as far as it would let you see.  

I journeyed back to Ichikawa station.  Wandering thought the same streets as last Friday.  The old decaying stores mingle with the freshly poured cement.  To wander the streets, is to heal my soul.  

Heal soul, Heal.

see you on my next stroll.

3 more images from my stroll in the sun from Friday.  

As I sit with my sliding door wide open I can feel the cool wet

weather to come.  I look forward to the cool, but I am not crazy about

the wet.

Everybody come sing along with me…

Me and My Fire Extinguishers ,

they go everywhere with me…..

In the window they reflect a bit of my soul.

Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, you have seen this before.  The one and only self portrait.

But what can i say?  I love the challenge of making a self portrait a little bit out side

the lines.  

Oh, yeah!  Fingers need attention too.