The Shoeless

So I just started classes yesterday, Monday 12, not too bad. Japanese is pretty fun. However I’m not here to talk about classes, I’m here to talk about what I see.

Last week I went hiking for 3 hours, it was suppose to be a 1 hour hike..oh well. That’s what happens when you don’t read directions right.

We started getting lost in this neighborhood where someone redirected us to go through this graveyard…

Japanese graveyard

After then, this nice grounds keeper got us back on the right track… at least what we thought was our right track. We started trekking up this trail alongside a road.

Walking up the side of a mountain

Now we never did reach our actual destination, which was a wild onsen next to a river. We did find a wild onsen though that was smaller but enjoyable just the same.

Esther and Victoria sticking their feet in the onsen

Apart from that we had a nice view from where we were sitting…

View from the onsen

I still plan on going back to find the bigger nicer onsen though!

I want to first say, I officially have a new website! Kutsuphoto is up and working. It has my gallery of images and soon to be my design portfolio as well. My friend Ian decided to design/code it. Check it out, tell me what ya think.

So, I feel a little sad because I wish I was updating more regularly but I guess since it’s the summer, I get tied up doing other things – not photography. On a brighter side, I ended going on a MUCH needed photo adventure with 2 of my friends, we basically ended up just trying around Raleigh. We went over to the train tracks off Boylan, by where the infamous “youliveandyouburn” artist put an angry face on the water tower.Sadly enough Raleigh police arrested the NCSU student this past week and is charging him for Larceny. He wasn’t as secret as Banksy I guess. I Just don’t understand how people can be prosecuted sometimes for such fabulous. (*Thinks back to Medival times*)-Yeah..uh..nevermind, we haven’t changed.
Anyways, point of this post..
So we went to the train tracks,
Downtown Raleigh
And a lake over off of Penny Road.

Apart from that, I would also like to say that it really sucks to be a photographer really entering into the “world of photography” right now. I’m not exactly entering, but I’m still trying to make how versatile my gear collection grow. So I use a D300, and over course Nikon upped all of their price on lenses this year. DARN YOU RECESSION. I’m kind of hoping when I go to Japan, I might be able to find some cheaper gear *crosses fingers*. I know some people who are thinking about updating their camera bodies soon, i.e. my fellow photographer Jonathan; or people who are thinking about starting to buy a camera, i.e. my friend Sam. I just wish things would get better sooner than later.

Anyways, I’m going to try to be more regular, but until then enjoy the summer.

So this is going to be an in between mainly because I feel like some things have happen in the past few days that is posting worthy.
First thing:
I got a bag FULL! (so like somewhere around like 40 rolls of film) of free film. My adviser at the paper had some film that he didn’t want anymore that has most likely expired. I have already shot 3 rolls so far. Hopefully going to develop them tomorrow, and will hoping have some interesting effect of them. Yay for free film.
2nd thing: Last weekend I was in Greensboro, NC for a orientation because this time next I should hopefully be in Japan. I got passed all but the last leg of the decision process. I’m really hoping they accept me. Things that will come with me going to Japan is an almost daily posting. I will have my digital cameras, film, and hopefully a film medium format camera with me. For anyone who is interested, I am going to Beppu, Oita, Japan. Oita is the prefecture that Beppu is in. I will be there from March until August studying web design.

3rd and most hilarious thing this week. Yesterday, Tuesday, March 24th, I went to the Courtyard Marriott to take pictures of the Playboy auditions. I met the playboy photographer, Kim Mizuno, who is actually a freelance photographer but does do a lot of work with Playboy. Talk to him while I was waiting for girls to come up. The reason why I was taken coverage for is because in the October issue, there will Girls of ACC and N.C. State was one of the places they were going to. Mizuno let me come in at the end to take some pictures of him taking pictures of this girl, he also let me try out his strobes, which were awesome.