Jim Atwood Info Japan

Grunge Cocktail Japan

Jim Atwood — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 14:44:54 +0000

Grunge Cocktail show how tings can sometimes get junked up in Japan. Throwing things away can be expensive, so often people find a corner and stuff things in it. This is a common trait among all countries no doubt. I particularly liked the contrast of the rust and black kanji in this photo.

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Full Speed Ahead

Jim Atwood — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 11:57:33 +0000

Full Seed Ahead gives the illusion that this sunflower is being blasted by a fan or strong windstream. It’s an attempt to add some character to the flower and photo. This particular flower was part of a bunch of sunflowers that were aging a bit. I found the aging process to be fascinating in that each of the flowers show additional character with the transformation. Honestly flowers can be very boring for me at times with an almost postcard like quality, so I like to mix things up and look for some different angles. I thought this photo showed a rather unique sunflower look. Fun shot!

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About your Business

Jim Atwood — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:18:57 +0000

About your Business is a rather typical shot of the busy street in front of Zenkoji, Temple Japan. Points of interest for me include the white lanterns to the left and the gentleman facing the opposite direction in the foreground. My eye is drawn to him and for some reason it’s like he’s looking at the photo himself. That actually gives me ideas about future shots with people in front of me. In any event, there are certainly all walks of life in Japan.

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Bosozoku Summer Trip Japan

Jim Atwood — Sun, 16 Aug 2009 07:40:11 +0000

Bosoku is a Japanese word to describe young motorbike gangs that ride around during the day and mostly at night revving up their bike engines to piss people off. The police generally do nothing about it Japan primarily because they are either awake already or live in nice quiet neighborhoods. I remember while living in Yokohama for a number of years having Bosozoku ride by every night at about 2:00 AM. You simply just get used to it. The Bosoku are difficult to see here as I am behind the trees in a nearby parking lot, but you can definitely hear them passing by. There were over 150 bikers that day that passed through the area. Amazing!

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Zenkoji Wooden Ema Boards

Pagoda Eclipse

Jim Atwood — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 08:14:33 +0000

Pagoda Eclipse Japan. Here is shot where I purposely worked the exposure to darken the foreground and highlight the back. I found the color to be quite exciting and just wanted the shadow or silhouette of the pagoda to show. I plan to try more of these shots as they add a different look that I find enjoyable.

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Zenkoji Wooden Ema Boards

Jim Atwood — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:41:22 +0000

Wooden Ema Boards at Zenkoji Temple, in Nagano City, Japan. Video by Jim Atwood Photography at http://jimatwood.net. This video was shot during Obon week at Zenkoji, Temple in Nagano Japan.

Ema are small wooden plaques on which Shinto worshippers write their prayers or wishes. The ema are then left hanging up at the shrine, where the kami (spirits or gods) receive them. They bear various pictures, often of animals or other Shinto imagery, and many have the word gan’i, meaning “wish”, written along the side. In ancient times people would donate horses to the shrines for good favor, over time this was trasferred to a wooden plaque with a picture of a horse, and later still to the various wooden plaques sold today for the same purpose.

Ema are sold for various wishes. Common reasons for buying a plaque are for success in work or on exams, marital bliss, to have children, and health. Some shrines specialize in certain types of these plaques, and the larger shrines may offer more than one. Sales of ema help support the shrine financially. At some shrines, such as Meiji Shrine in Tokyo, one can find ema in many languages, as tourists leave their own wishes and prayers.

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Bosozoku Summer Trip Japan

Paint Chip Puzzle

Jim Atwood — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 03:30:04 +0000

These are red paint chips from an old bridge in Zenkoji, Temple Nagano Japan. It’s amazing they don’t paint this bridge. I guess they like the old look. It’s a pretty cool texture I think.

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