Day 13

We headed back to hikone today to finish our picture books and to have our last supper. We hoped back on the bullet train after a bit more roaming around and while waiting I saw a guy that everyone seemed to pass and do a double take and immediately stop and shake his hand. He looked pretty interesting so I went up to him and asked for his picture and then asked what he did. Apparently he was a well known comedian from nagoya which I thought was badass. After that little encounter we road for two hours, got home and went to work on the books. I finished round dinner time and then we went to a very nice restaurant that specialized in tofu. Although some people pouted a little because they didn't get what they wanted, the one vegetarian on the trip (me) had a wonderful meal. A lot of people ended up handing me their dish cause they didn't want it. It was awesome. That coupled with a couple beers and a glass of whiskey made my night. This truly has been the best trip of my life. I've learned so much in such a short time and now it's time to take what I've learned and apply it to my chosen profession. I'm very ready to dive even deeper in the world of photography and I can wait to come back to this beautiful country.

Day 12

The trip to tokyo was definitely long, but well worth it. A group of us decided to get a hotel to cram into so we could save some money and roam around the city. When we got to tokyo we did a lot of walking trying to find our way around and we finally made it to our hotel. After dropping off our luggage we roamed around a bit more, did some site seeing, took some pictures. Nothing out of the norm. After a while we got hungry, so we started seeking out restaurants. We found a couple promising places that to our dismay only took reservations and we finally found one very over priced italian joint. It was delicious and we all needed good food in our system. After we ate we roamed around a bit more, fending off all the club owners trying to get us to come in for "free". It was interesting. After we went back and forth through the strip we got bored and decided to head back to the hotel. 7 of us managed to fit into a 2 bed hotel room. Pretty amazing. Once we got there, I gave some english commentary to bad japanese television and then we turned in. Nothing to exciting, but at least I can scratch tokyo off my list of places to go to in life.

Day 11

Today was a very humbling day. We took the bullet train very early into Hiroshima and pretty much went straight to ground zero. It was amazing to see our normally very chatty, lively group fall dead silent at the sight of something as heavy as this. We all walked up to the very building that was below the bomb when it detonated. With it's copper dome roof coupled with the ruins of what still remained, it was surely something I will never forget. In only what seemed like a couple seconds, I found myself trying to dry my eyes and honestly trying accept that humans were capable of doing such a thing. It was fucked up...This is a really challenging entry, because it's really hard to put words behind everything I was feeling..I turned my camera off, put at my side and just tried to appreciate all the thriving life that was surviving me in midst of something so horrible. One thing I found amazing was the trees surrounding the building. They were absolutely beautiful, unlike any I'd ever seen before. It was rumored that plant life wouldn't grow for at least 75 years and here I was surrounded by it. It was a beautiful yet horrible contrast. After circling the building and really getting to take it all in for the first time Chris and I headed to the museum, where I learned truly why and how such an outrageous act of war was committed. There was a lot (that I really don't feel like breaking down) that I went through while inside and one of the things I left with was a quote from a photojournalist that went out after the bomb was dropped to shoot the devastation. "I fought with myself for 30 minutes before I could take the first picture. After taking the first, I grew strongly calm and wanted to get closer. I took about ten steps forward and tried to snap another, but the scenes I saw were so gruesome my viewfinder clouded with tears." The photographer only ended taking 5 images that day. We walked out from the museum completely and utterly shot, yea this is something you learn in your history books, but until you see it, until you're there, you never really feel it. Anyways, after the bomb was dropped there was no further revenge to be made, only a battle for constant world peace. That's all. Just peace. We roamed around the city after we settled down a bit and left shortly after. Today really made me value my life and the people in it.

Day 10

We had a crit today that was actually really awesome. I liked the images I submitted, but it was more so the feedback I received that really did it for me. Don had suggested I keep more a uniformed set of images for my website so I could keep a good flow, which ultimately helped me rule out a lot of images. After crit a bunch of us went to the restaurant on campus called coco's. It was a small diner-esque place with great cheese fries (I've been really craving fries and hot sauce for some reason). It had been raining all day and it was our off day, so I decided to stay on campus and get some work done. A couple people went to a brewery, and I just sat in the tv room editing for the majority of the day alone listening/smelling the rain pouring down outside. Apart from that, I pretty much relaxed all day and just enjoyed doing nothing for a change. It was great to have a well deserved break from all the craziness. Here was one of the images I submitted for my haiku assignment that I thought worked very well. Overall, another wonderful day.

Day 9

I've never seen so many deer in my life. Even living in Michigan, you see deer all the time, mostly when they're darting in front of your car in the middle of the night, but today was definitely different. We went to Nara where we almost immediately started to see the local deer begging us for food or anything else we could give them. It was amazing. I never thought I'd actually be able to pet a deer let alone multiple deer. After we roamed around fighting them off at every corner we went to shrine we're one of the biggest buddhas in existence is. I wanted to climb up it and sit in its lap all day, but unfortunately I'd probably be banned from japan if I did. Oh well, in another life perhaps. When we finally managed to navigate ourselves through the sea of japanese students chris and I hopped on a train back home to do some editing and cook dinner. This trip is truly going by to fast, but I already feel like I've taken more pictures than I have in the last 4 months. Tomorrow is a work day, so time to get some rest.

Day 8

Today started out a bit rough. I woke up a bit late because I stayed up till 4 editing photos and I suffered a little bit. Initially I was getting frustrated because we keep going to same places together, taking very similar pictures, but what matters is that although some of the people on the trip may be taking similar photos I can still put my own angle into it. These photos will stick with me for the rest of my life, no matter how similar they are to any others. Anyways, after we roamed for a bit we got on our bikes and went to an awesome buddhist temple with an enormous zen garden. I've never felt so at peace in my entire life. While we were there I took out my book of leaves (I brought a bunch of dried japanese maples leaves from home to leave in different parts of japan) and did a trade a leaf for a leaf and left it in the temple. It was awesome to leave a bit of home in such peaceful, monumental place. Even if the leaf gets picked up in the wind and carried off to sea, it still sat in that beautiful garden for an instant. After we left I walked with a spring in my step, got on my bike and peddled as fast as I could go. We stopped along some rice fields to shoot some more and climbed up another hill for the sunset. We returned only to head back out again for one of the best meals I've ever eaten. Today was a good day, a reallly realllllly good day.

Day 7

Today we went back to the outskirts of Kyoto for another festival. We went to the river for a special ceremony where the locals dressed in traditional clothing and went out on the river on these beautiful, incredibly detailed boats. Melissa and I walked on the edge of the river looking for a good spot to set down for the festival and managed to find two small rocks where we set down and shot the entire ceremony. It was wonderful because we got front row seats, not to mention we were surrounded by beautiful scenery. After the ceremony we went to the bamboo forest where I sat with my tripod and shot as much as I possibly could. It was so peaceful. Afterward we hopped on the jr and headed home early to edit and relax. Overall, today was a very relaxing day. It was exactly what I needed.

Day 6

These days have been a true test of endurance. Early to rise late to bed. It's AWESOME! We started the day with rushing into a town just out of Kyoto for an amazing parade and while wandering through to find a good place to set down and shoot we got separated. The parade was beautiful, it was great to people watch, it's funny because just as much as I find myself taking pictures of strangers, strangers are taking pictures of me. I guess it's not everyday you see a half dreaded photo geek wandering the streets of japan, or maybe that's pretty common...Anyways, Melissa, Rocky, Gino and I found ourselves leaving and going into Osaka to go to a concert. Our photo assistant Toko was kind enough to find a show for me to go and shoot and it was incredible. Although I didn't understand a word they said, you didn't need to. We saw three bands play, all with different sounds and they were phenomenal. Very funky. Awesome bass lines, full brass sections, outstanding percussion...it goes on and on. I only hope I can make it to another concert before I leave. After the concert we wandered a bit more, then found our way back home. On the way back we stumbled across as very drunk, very talkative science teacher named Akira. He referred to himself as "handsome teacher." He was a wonderful way to end our night and we all got plenty of photos to remember him by. Let's just say, he almost made me want to take a science class again, almost.

Day 5

Well we started the day with climbing up hikone castle, that was pretty cool. It's a gigantic fortress on the top of a very large hill in downtown hikone. Instead of going inside I roamed around the entire area around it and did some exploring, went some places I probably shouldn't have, scaled the side of the hill, fell a couple times, nothing out of the ordinary for me. At one point I thought I lost track of time and climbed up and down the large stone steps to find that I definitely still had a good 45 minutes. That was great, at least I got a workout. Once we got together, we realized that one of us was missing (evidently still exploring up in the castle) and Chris and Gino and I, the three smokers sprinted up the hill yet again to find him. Awesome. Anyways, the rest of the day was wonderful, did some more grocery shopping and then went to a hot spring, that made the entire day. I felt like a wet ramen noodle afterwards, in the words of my good friend Brian Mcshane "Bowsh"

Day 4

Today was our trip to the Hanshin Tigers baseball game in Osaka. I'm not the biggest sports fan in the world, but this was awesome. The enthusiasm that everyone collectively shared was unbelievable. There were so many people there that the only way we could keep track of each other was by meowing as loudly as possible. A rather unorthodox means of communication, but it worked for us. Osaka is a beautiful city filled to the brim with outstanding architecture and great little nooks to snap some great photos. I'm planning on going back tomorrow afternoon to explore so that should be badass. These two photos were two of my favorites from the day, again bringing in that contrast. Now, it's definitely time for a good nights sleep.

Day 3

So today was really badass. We woke up, the sun was shinning and we took the bullet train at 150mph to Kyoto. I gotta say, I've never smoked a cigarette on a train before, nor have I at such a high speed. Anyways, we got into Kyoto hopped on two more trains and finally got to where we needed to be. From there it was all roaming the city exploring, experiencing more culture shock and of course stopping every five feet to take a photo. I shot close to 400 images today, so it was a little tough to only pick one or two to include in this blog. These were two of my favorites. A little contrast between the beauty and the dilapidation. I'm really excited to hit up this city in the middle of the night, because the light in downtown is phenomenal. We ended the night at a great restaurant where I drank sake and some of the best beer I've had in a long time. This trip is going to fast, time to take a deep breath and live in the now.

Day 2

Cluttered. I woke up this morning to a set very large prehistoric looking crows practically screaming at my window. It was a confusing way to start my day, to say the least. Cluttered is a perfect way to describe my state of mind. I'm currently in a town where I know the majority of everyone has no idea what I'm saying, it's dumping rain outside which is making think of how I'm going to even take picture and it's difficult to organize my thoughts because there's so many new things to discover all around me. When I came across this pile of dilapidated metal wedged between two buildings, it reminded me of how cluttered and lost I felt at the time. With so much moving around me so fast it's hard to stay grounded and focused. It was a good reminder to take a deep breath and focus on one thing at a time. As the day rolled on, so did the rain, which as I was riding my bicycle suprisingly brought me peace. It may have not been the best day for photographs, but it was definitely a great day to collect my thoughts and welcome myself into the environment I've been placed in. By the end of the day, I felt much more organized and prepared for the trip to come.

Day 1

Longest flight of my life, but worth every minute of it. My minds filled to the brim with all the things I plan on getting done in these two weeks. One day at a time. We arrived around 6pm and left at 3pm, then had a two and a half hour train ride to Hikone. Although it's dark outside the smell of the rain and the lake tell so much about the surrounding area. I can't wait to wake up and see what everything looks like. I'm rooming with a good friend Chris Fry and our apartment is awesome. Although I need thorough directions as to how to turn the hot water on, all will come in time.
We have our orientation and first class tomorrow and I couldn't be more excited. This is a once in a life time opportunity and I plan on making the best of it in every possible way. On saturday I get to go into Osaka and shoot a local band called calmera. I'm really excited and I've already planned on the len's I plan on using as well as specific things to look for. Overall I think this trip will be a tremendous learning experience and I plan on using every fiber of photo knowledge in my brain to create images that I will hold dear for many years to come.


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