Amami Superman Photography

A Place to Share My Photos

Feb 20, 2010

Mangetsu Okonomiyaki

Posted by Amami Superman

I usually have to work late on Tuesday nights and my wife had a PTA meeting to attend (so she thought but really didn't). I had some time between my classes and we decided to catch dinner early before my wife left for PTA at a place called "Mangetsu". Mangetsu is an okonomiyaki shop.

Mangetsu means full moon in Japanese. Okonomiyaki is kind of like a Japanese style pancake. My wife loves okonomiyaki and I have come to like it a lot too, although, not as much as her. Okonomiyaki consists of chopped up cabbage mixed in with batter; that's the primary base for the pancake. After that you add in pretty much whatever you like. My wife always goes for the shrimp in hers. I wanted to go with something a bit different so I went with the fried pork and kimchi with a fried egg on top. I know, it may sound completely gross, but it's actually pretty good. Here are some of the photos I took. It was a pretty dark shop and I used my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 so these photos are a lot brighter than it actually was. I also got away with some pretty slow shutter speeds (bracing my arms on the table).

Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/1.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Hikari's Shrimp Okonomiyaki


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/40 sec, f/1.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
My Buta Kimuchi Okonomiyaki
(fried pork & kimchi)


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/125 sec, f/1.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Letting Them Cook


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/13 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Someone Looks Hungry
(just after they flipped them)


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/13 sec, f/3.5, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Cooking My Egg

It's kind of cool how they cooked the egg to the top of mine. They just slid it over, cracked an egg, broke the egg and set the okonomiyaki on the egg to cook. I was expecting them to just come and fry and egg and set it on top.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/40 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Digging In


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/30 sec, f/1.4, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Okonomiyaki, YUM!

So that is the okonomiyaki we ate at Mangetsu. Very tasty.

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Feb 6, 2010

Takachiho Shrine

Posted by Amami Superman

Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/40 sec, f/3.5, ISO 100 -- EXIF
The Entrance


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/40 sec, f/3.5, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Inner Entrance


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Cherry Blossoms on the Right


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.3, 1/160 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Temizu Basin

The water in the basin is used for purification. You wash your hands, mouth and sometimes your feet before approaching the shrine.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Omikuji

An omikuji is a fortune. These fortunes tell you what kind of luck you will have over the next year. Once someone receives their fortune, they tie it to a line like in the above photo.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/400 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Ema

These wooden plaques are called "ema". You write your wish or desire for the New Year on them.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/50 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
At the Steps


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/13 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Where Prayers Are Said

When one goes to say a prayer, they usually throw in a donation into the box in front of the rope. The rope has some large bells attached to the top and after you throw your money into the box, you give the rope a good shaking. You then bow once or twice and clap your hands together twice holding the second clap and say your prayer. Once your prayer is complete, you bow again and you're through.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/13 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Artistic Craftsmanship

Most shrines in Japan have this sort of artistic craftsmanship. The larger shrines in central Japan dwarf this small shrine in size and it makes me wonder about all the work that goes into making a big shrine. The only big shrine I've every been to is Dazaifu Tenmangu in Fukuoka.

They were going to have a special event here at the shrine and I wanted to get here early. I arrived about an hour before the event started and I took some time to walk around and snap shots to get a feel for the area.

I'm not exactly sure when but this shrine was rebuilt about 15 years or so ago. I vaguely remember them doing construction on the shrine around the time I first came to Amami. I know that the shrine is older than 15 years because I've read in books that hunger protests were held at the shrine back in 1951 prior to the return of the Amami Islands to Japan. Following WWII, Amami was under American control for about 7 years. Before the actual Peace Treaty with Japan was made, a copy of the final version of the treaty was aired over the radio and nothing was said of the return of the Amami islands to Japan. This caused a significant amount of distress to the people of Amami which in turn led to the many hunger protests. The event I was there to see has nothing to do with this. I just thought I would share some Amami history with you.

As I was writing this post, I was trying to remember the name of this shrine. Every time I said "Takachiho", I was like, "No, that's the dairy farm we visited back in November." I asked my wife and it turned out that the name is the same as Takachiho Farms.

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Jan 28, 2010

Westerner's Cafe

Posted by Amami Superman

I took the family out to Yamato Village to go eat at a new curry restaurant we heard of. A friend had eaten there and told us the owner loves cowboys and indians and the curry wasn't half bad. So we decided to drive out and see for ourselves.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/250 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 -- EXIF
One of the Many

The name of the cafe was "Westerner's Cafe". He had so many signs on the side of the road and around his cafe that you could close your eyes, throw a rock and probably hit at least one.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/800 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Another One of the Many


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/60 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
"Hey there pilgrim..."
(he didn't say that really)

This guy is the owner. He had the whole John Wayne thing going on. He walked with his arms kind of bent and swayed a bit as he did and he always put his hands on his hips. His little establishment was loaded with nicknacks, trinkets and signs that he made himself.

When I say his "little establishment", it really was little. Inside it was pretty cramped and there were only 2 tables. My daughter and wife and I sat at one table and there was probably enough room at the other table for 2 more people (although you would probably bump elbows with them). On the other hand, he did have a deck outside that sat probably 5 or 6 more people and some tall tables you could stand at to eat.

When we first got there, there were a bunch of cars and bikes parked out front. I didn't think we were going to be able to get the chance to eat there but some were just finishing up so the timing was just right. I wanted to take a photo of his cafe but there were too many cars out front and just couldn't get a nice photo.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/40 sec, f/3.2, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Curry and Naan

We all ordered the naan curry set. When he makes rice, he only makes a certain amount and when that runs out, it's out and you have to order something else. Since we were having a late lunch, he was out of rice and we went with the naan.

The curry and naan was pretty good. The serving was rather small but I was grateful for this because I'm trying to slim down and I'm watching my portion sizes. In the above photo, the glasses with water aren't much bigger than a shot glass. So you can kind of get the idea how big the set was.

After I finished eating, I went out to take some photos of some of the signs and trinkets he had.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Clean Your Boots and Check Your Guns


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/4000 sec, f/2.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
John Wayne
One of the Greatest On-screen Cowboys


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/80 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Chained Up Hog


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Some of His Collected Plates

As I said, he had loads of trinkets and signs to photograph, but we didn't have too much time so there are a few of the ones I did take.

Again, I only brought my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 along. Probably for the next couple of times I go out, I'm only going to take this lens with me for practice.

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Jan 27, 2010

Amami Cultural Center

Posted by Amami Superman

A friend of my wife wanted to participate in a one month survey for trying out some new skincare products they produce here in Amami. She asked my wife if she wouldn't do it with her so my wife agreed to. The company that is doing the survey had everyone participating get together at the Amami Cultural Center for a brief seminar about the survey and to test the participants' skin before beginning. My wife tried to explain to me about the products and what they are made from; it just went in one ear and out the other... I probably would have been more attentive if it was a survey for car racing. Since I didn't have anything better to do, I tagged along with her and took my camera along to shoot something as I waited for her outside.

Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/160 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Rusty Old Post Box

They had plenty of things to photograph around the area. I decided today that I want to learn how to use my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 better so I left my other 2 lenses at home on my desk. It is a challenge not having a zoom.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/160 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Standing Tall


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/250 sec, f/4.0, ISO 100 -- EXIF
9 Post Takakura

A takakura is sort of like an old style storage unit. The items being stored are kept up inside the portion where the roof is, sort of like an attic. If you plan on storing heavy items, you need more posts. Most of the ones you see are 4 or 6 post takakuras. There are places here in Amami where people still use these.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Wedged In

When joints get loose, say after a typhoon comes through and shakes it up, you can pound these wedges back in to sturdy it up.


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/2000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Old Style House

This is a house they have off in the corner used to display what the houses used to be like back in the "olden days".


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/60 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
The Living Room


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/30 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
The Kitchen


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/15 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Cooking Fire Pits


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/5 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Inside Roof Construction


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/4000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Coral Wall


Nikon D60, Sigma 30mm f/1.4, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 -- EXIF
One Legged Cricket

As I was waiting for my wife to come out, I found this little guy hobbling along by.

I mostly use my Sigma 30mm f/1.4 for indoor low lighting occasions. I don't think I've used it out in broad daylight and I think it's sort of a habit to keep the aperture nearly wide open. The shots I wanted to get a thin depth field turned out the way I wanted them to using the wider apertures, but some of the other shots I could have adjusted the ISO and shut the aperture or just shut the aperture, but I wasn't paying attention some of the time and some of the photos are screwed up. I just need some more practice till I start thinking about these things more.

I spent quite a bit of time this week studying how to use Lightroom 2. I subscribe to Lynda.comand they have some nice video tutorials that explain the essentials for loads of different applications. I watched most of all the videos (some more than once), to get a better understanding of how to use Lightroom 2.

I also studied up on my camera's Focus Modes and AF-area Modes. I feel I learned quite a bit about what I was doing wrong and how I can do things better.

After learning more about my camera, I'm finding out more about the pros and cons of the D60. If I only knew then what I know now about photography and cameras, I would have chosen a different model to buy. But that's water under the bridge. I'm not saying I don't like the D60, I'm just learning more about what I want from a camera. All in all, I think the D60 was a good way to start learning photography.

So those are some of the photos I took outside the Amami Cultural Center trying to learn how to better us my Sigma 30mm f/1.4.

I'm still testing Zenfolio. I found a workflow that I think I'm comfortable with. I also found a few drawbacks. They have a share tab for each of your photos that has a set of links for smaller sizes. The only problem with this is the edge length for landscapes type photos and portrait type photos are different. So if I uploaded one copy of my photos for the larger photos that link to the smaller photos in my post and use the smaller size links to use in my blog post, the portrait and landscape type photos would be different sizes and not seem very uniform. So I end up uploading 2 sizes of every photo. I guess this really isn't a drawback because I do the same thing in Photobucket. It would just be nice to upload one large photo instead of one large and one smaller. I'm still looking around so we'll see.

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Dec 25, 2009

Christmas Day 2009

Posted by Amami Superman

Our daughter Jade wanted a digital camera for Christmas. When asked why she wanted one, her reply was because she wanted to make a photo blog. It made me feel good to hear that, but on the other hand, she's only 8 years old. So after a bit of thought, Santa decided to look for a relatively cheap digital camera that was easy for her to use. This morning when she woke up, THERE under the Christmas tree, was a digital camera for Jade.


After Jade opened all her presents, I took a look at her camera and started to set it up for her. I changed the language to English and looked at the different settings she had to choose from. I then went to take a photo and it wouldn't shoot. ??? I looked at the screen and it said there was no memory SD card inserted... Way to go Santa! You forgot to get her a SD card to go with the camera! So after some breakfast and a bit of clean up, we went to a friend's electronic store and bought a 2GB SD card for her new camera. Jade was all set to go.

I had planned on taking the family up to the mountains where I previously went to show them the yakkosou flowers I photographed before. We walked around the park for a bit taking photos of everything we thought was interesting and Jade took quite a few photos. I have yet to look at what she took but we'll probably get to that later on tonight. Here are some of the photos I took while we walked around.

Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 135mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Acorn


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0 @ 200mm, 1/60 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Nuts For Nuts

My wife Hikari and our daughter Jade love to look for acorns and nuts of the sort. I guess if you find these at the right time of year, you can cook them and mix them with your rice for a meal. They've never gathered these for that; they just think they're cute and look for lots of them. I, on the other hand, always think, "I wonder how good they taste?".

This kind of reminds me of some thing that's really not related to this but I'll share it with you anyway. When I was a kid, I used to buy candy called "Laughy Taffy". Laughy Taffy wrappers always had jokes written on the insides. One joke that I remember, but never understood was,"Peanuts are neither peas nor nuts. They're actually small rodents." I've NEVER understood that joke.


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 55mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Shooting the Scenery

I was shooting on Aperture Priority and forgot to set my ISO down so this photo was a bit blown out after we emerged from the forest.

I didn't give Jade any pointers on how to take photos. I figured to just let her go to town and maybe throw in some advice here an there when we look at the photos later. I can't tell you how happy I am that she's interested in photography, but I don't want to scare her away by telling how to take her own photos. She's young and with time, I think she'll come to understand what kinds of photos she wants to take. Who knows? If she really gets into it, I may buy a new camera and let her use this D60. :)


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 200mm, 1/150 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Enjoying the Scenery

It was sprinkling rain most of the time we were out. Under the forest canopy the rain wasn't really that much of a bother. But out here in the open, I didn't want to get my camera wet so we didn't stay here for too long.


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 200mm, 1/15 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Rurikakesu
(Lidth's Jay)

Again, I was using Aperture Priority at f/5.6 and for some reason it took this photo at 1/15 sec which was kind of bright but not blown out at all. If I did it with manual settings, I would at least have set the shutter speed to 1/30 sec. Either way, this was the best photo I got of this bird despite the slow shutter speed. Yay for vibration reduction.


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 200mm, 1/80 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1600 -- EXIF
Lunch Time

I've searched the web to try to find the name of this spider but I have always turned up empty handed. My wife's uncle tells me that there are no poisonous spiders here in Amami but this thing just looks nasty. I hate spiders...


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 68mm, 1/100 sec, f/5.6, ISO 400 -- EXIF
Tsurusoba

I only know the names of some of the plants and flowers here in Amami by their names in Amami dialect. They call this flower, "tsurusoba".


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 200mm, 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800 -- EXIF
Hibiscus Ready to Bloom

Although it's winter here in Amami, some flowers bloom year round. During the winter time here, you don't see as many hibiscus flowers as you would in the summer.


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 55mm, 1/640 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800 -- EXIF
Who is Car?

Car's Park didn't have any good rides, just my Honda Z. lol I know my grammar, spelling and punctuation isn't that great, but I get a giggle when I see Japanese Engrish like this. :)

While writing this post, I realized that next month on the 7th is this blog's 1 year anniversary. It didn't come as a shock but it did grip me. So, I'm thinking of what I'm going to do for an anniversary post for my blog. I'm still not sure, but I'm thinking about it...

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Oct 2, 2009

Mangrove Canoe Tour

Posted by Amami Superman


Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 135mm, 1/250 sec, f/4.5, ISO 200 -- EXIF
Starting Out

Last Sunday we took a canoe tour of the mangrove forest they have here in Amami. I've taken a few other mangrove tours here but I will be honest, they completely sucked and I couldn't believe I spent money on them. But! I have a friend who promised me that they had a certain tour here that would do me right. He was right; this tour blew the the others right out of the water.

Hikari started out paddling the canoe but she couldn't make it go straight for the life of her. The zigzagging across the river even tired Jade out and soon Jade took the paddle from Hikari and starting paddling. I have to admit, Jade kind of did a better job at paddling.



Nikon D60, Nikkor 55-200mm f/4.0-5.6 @ 200mm, 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 560 -- EXIF
Like A Pro



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 26mm, 1/30 sec, f/4.2, ISO 250 -- EXIF
Almost Spooky

I straggled back a bit to be able to take some photos without the group obstructing my shots. I took a lot of shots and before I knew it, I was very much alone. But it was all fun. I suppose I get a kick out of that sort of scary sensation, just before panic sets in. If you've ever seen the 1981 movie Southern Comfort and you were alone in an area like this, I think you would understand the feeling I had. I suppose I make it sound scarier than it really was, but it was scary enough to make my heart beat a few beats faster.



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 36mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.3, ISO 200 -- EXIF
And a Scary Boat

This fishing boat was washed in during a typhoon years before. You can see on the hull of the boat how high the water gets sometimes.



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 55mm, 1/30 sec, f/5.6, ISO 800 -- EXIF
Uh Oh, Hikari is Paddling Again



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 55mm, 1/125 sec, f/5.6, ISO 110 -- EXIF
Back to Jade



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 48mm, 1/200 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 -- EXIF
Photo Opportunity

We had an excellent tour guide who explained a bunch about the mangrove and knew the area very well. He took us into the thick of it and it was fun. At the very end, he said we were free to do what we want. !?! We can go off and see whatever we wanted?! So I asked him where a few of the nice places to take photos were and off I went.



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 35mm, 1/40 sec, f/5.3, ISO 200 -- EXIF
Muddy Waters



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 18mm, 1/30 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 -- EXIF
The Forest Closing in Around Me

The further I went in, the narrower it got. At one point I was afraid I wouldn't be able to turn my canoe around so I turned it around and started to head back.



Nikon D60, Nikkor 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 @ 55mm, 1/30 sec, f/5.6, ISO 360 -- EXIF
Tunnel of Love?

On the way back I came across a couple that was in our group. It seems they followed me in but turned back a before I did. They were taking their time and I didn't want to bother them so I waited back a bit to give them some privacy. When we were near the entrance to this area, I passed them and found Hikari and Jade had already headed back to place where we got in. I didn't want to make them wait anymore so I hightailed it back and left the couple to themselves again.

I am definitely going to come back here sometime soon and try to take some different types of photos and what not. I didn't know what to expect this time around. Next time I'll have an idea of what kinds of shots I want to take. I had fun.

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