Hello: I'm hung!

"Sir, if you're free I would like to have a word with you."
Mumbles from across the room, "ffmmm baahmm, yes."
I approached the Education Superintendent with my hands holding 3 picture frames.
"Bahahhum taahee this?"
I replied with, "This?? Well these are pictures I took and I wanted to give the Community Center and the Town of Tohoku a present."
"Bummzihe de really?"

I opened the first picture and the Super intendent was shocked. He asked if I really took them. He didn't seem to want to believe that this was my photography. I didn't understand much of what the Superintendent said, but I could sense he really liked the photos. After showing him the 2nd and 3rd photo, he had smile from ear to ear. This really made my day because I wasn't sure how people would respond to me hanging my photos at the Center.

When I did hang them up the Superintendent came out and said that I should have name plaques made to state where I took it and by who. Hahaha, I laughed and agreed with him that it would be a cool idea. Maybe thats the next step....Anyways, I have four A4 photos now at my workplace to showcase the beauty of Aomori.

Aji park revisited.

Before I spent 2 full seasons at Hakkoda, I cruised around Aomori and Iwate prefecture hitting up the parks and groomers and that was fun for me. It was challenging to hit boxes, rails, hand rails, kickers, rainbows, halfpipes.....anything that had to do with freestyle snowboarding. This season, I haven't had the drive to practice this anymore and I just thought it was because riding Hakkoda every weekend was wearing me out. I didn't have enough energy to hit nighters and on top of that photography was started to eat away my free time.

I found myself again at Ajigasawa on Sunday, the 6th of April....but I was really in the mood for all out park riding. I took it easy and played spectator for the most part. Everyone had their own style and looked really happy doing whatever they were practicing, but for me something was lacking. Drive, motivation, interest....call it what you will but I was basically a zombie with a board stuck to my feet. Maybe I was having an off day...maybe I've grown out of it? Hah! Brian would say that I'm just getting old.

What it really comes down to is that freestyle snowboarding is risky and potentially dangerous. You could hurt yourself far more easily doing a simple freestyle trick then freeriding. Being injured before, I learned my lesson and I want to protect what I hold most dear to me at this time of the season. Surfing!! Right now, the snow is crap, the snow season is about over and surfing is on the horizon. If I got hurt now, that would scrap my last surf season in Japan. I wasn't about to take that kind of risk just for spring park riding...which doesn't really mean that much to me.

So instead of practicing hard in the park, I was looking forward to the drive home. It's not often I'm over in Hirosaki to capture the beautiful mountain sunset. Beautiful Iwaki San!

Playing around with cameras.

A while ago, after I got my 40D I sold Brian my Rebel XT (Digital Kiss N, 350D) for cheap and really happy he decided to buy it. I've been a fan of Brian's photos from way back and this was when he knew little about photography. He just has a natural eye for cool things and now that he's got a dslr, I can't wait to see the photos he takes with it. It's gonna be awesome.

Here we are playing with our cameras after a wicked day of "chill" surfing. I say chill because the sets were spaced out and we didn't have to do a lot of duck diving. The paddle back out was so easy and relaxed. Sometimes we'll be surfing in what some may call, " A witches cauldron". Hell! I was testing out flash settings and he was trying to figure out his camera in lowsituations. Fun stuff light ....just being dorky.

Poppin' the cherry...

Haha, the title is not what it seems.....Today I celebrated my 1st framed photo. Yah that's it. Nothing exciting. It was a picture I took over by Rokkasho and it's a picture I'm really stoked on. I was lucky. It was just one of those pictures where everything worked out perfectly and I just happen to be at the right place at the right time...with my camera of course. Since I have my own printer, I do my own prints and I printed it on my printer's largest size, A4 and it looked amazing. The next step was to find a frame at Kitamura Camera. Once I inserted the picture in the frame...I was so happy and stoked on how it turned out.

It is hanging in my office building where I work also known as the Tohoku Town Community Center. I'm debating on whether or not I want to hang more up....I think I just might and see what happens.

March 19th: Kogawara Elem. Graduation

I've been blessed with the opportunity to teach English in Japan for almost 5 years now and over the years the number of students that have had my English class(es) is probably over 10,000. While I was in Hachinohe, I circulated to 48 elementary schools and 4 jr. high schools for 3 wonderful years. Now in Tohoku Town, my rounds consists of only 7 elementary schools for a tour of 2 years.

Over the years, it has been extremely hard to build student/teacher relationships because I would only visit a school once a month. In Tohoku Town, my school visit ratio has increased by 4 times. So now I attend the same school about 4 times a month and that has given me the opportunity to actually get to know some of the student's personality, humor, study habits etc. With that, you grow attached to them and when they graduate, sadly that attachment has to end.

One of my favorite schools is Kogawara Elem. The students there are excellent. They're not shy and reserved like some other schools, but very outgoing and friendly. One of the best classes were the 6th graders. I once had a class with them were I spent the entire period telling them about my trip to Thailand. They were all interested and had lots of questions. Then after the discussion was over, we went into the next room where I had laid my Thai photos out on tables. They walked around saying, "What is this? Whoa look at that! That looks delicious!" It was such a fun day because it wasn't just about teaching English, but about internationalism and sharing a new part of the world to them. Gotta thank Mr. Tsukekawa Sensei for that one.

Anyways, congratulation and 頑張れー！！I won't forget you!

Dec. 28th, 2007....Double Print

In the past 2 years, I just had this tiny itch to send my photos to photo contests here in Japan and to my surprise, I've had really good luck with them. Last year in the Tohoku regional worker's photo Contest, one of my photos took 2nd and I won about $300 in travel coupons. The following year, in 2007, 2 of my photos placed and I received a total of $150 in visa check coupons.

You know what? It's not about winning prizes or gifts...or any of that sort. If these contests didn't have prizes, I would still submit pictures to them (especially if they are small prints or online submission). To me, its seeing how you place among a field of photographers who all share the same passion. By submitting, you easily find if your pictures are on the same level. If you're not, you have to get out and shoot a bit more. So I just try and shoot as much as I can when I have the time. Practice practice!