NATURE VS. MAN

I wonder who wins… Nature is the ultimate artist. The way it shapes the land and colors everything. I just wish I have a smidgen of talent to give it justice. Some people do have it though…

In the photo: An Ojiisan at Kamikochi, Nagano. Trying his hand at immortalizing one of nature’s masterpiece.

So, who do you think won?

CLICK!

The ScRibbLeR at Kamikochi, Nagano. A day-trip with friends for Kouyou (紅葉). Kouyou literally means colored leaves or autumn foliage. Autumn is the time for Japanese to go to the countryside and the mountains to enjoy nature as the leaves turned from green to red, yellow and orange.  It’s a really interesting period and a much awaited one. Weather reports will usually include the best time for it. It’s a breathtaking sight and a wonderful opportunity for camera enthusiasts (like yours truly and a bunch of my friends).

Photo taken by Ronel (I think) or it could be Chi-chen

HAI, CHI-ZU! ICHI, NI, SAN!

Pinoys are notorious for their love of taking pictures. Laging camera-ready. Anywhere! Anytime! So it’s really no surprise that I have developed an interest in photography. A very recent one though. Before I would always be the one who’ll have their pictures taken. I personally call it modeling that is posing to death whenever there is a camera in sight. And If I happen to be the one taking pictures – I was the point and shoot girl with no thought to composition. And forget about taking pictures of people, places and events. If I am not in it or any of my friends are not in it it’s not worth taking. So i thought!  But because of some friends of mine, I learned to appreciate the thoughts and the techniques that goes into taking a really good picture. I learned that lighting is important. That the most beautiful time of day, the time when you get the most dramatic lighting effects are during sunrise or sunset. I’ve learned a lot and still learning and am looking forward to actually gaining confidence behind the camera lens. Since, I can neither draw nor paint I think this is the next best thing.

So to this end I finally bought myself a – JANJANJARAAAAAAN!

NIKON COOLPIX P80… my new pal! She’s with me all the time. Even sa kenkyushitsu! hehehe… Akiko teases me that she just might find me tagging along with all the lolos in the park. I’m so close to being called an otaku that it just makes me grin even more.

Actually, before I wanted to buy an SLR but then I found this great compact digital camera that makes you do almost all the functions that a professional camera has without the unnecessary bulk.  Love, love, love!

10.1 mega-pixels, 18x zoom and it’s NIKON!

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NOTO BENE:

I didn’t want this post to be a dry recitation of the camera’s specs so if any of you guys are interested in knowing the nuts and bolts of it here’s the site:

http://www.nikonusa.com/Find-Your-Nikon/Product/Digital-Camera/26114/COOLPIX-P80.html

Oh and the camera pix is from the same site as well… just making sure that there are no copyright infringement whatsoever.

COSPLAY APPARENTLY IS FUN

Summer vacation, no deadlines to meet what better way to celebrate than have a party with friends. Finally after a couple of weeks of trying to match everyone’s schedule a date was set – and today it is! I was supposed to meet everyone (Hanh, Akiko, Kaishi, Jaja) 2 PM in front of Kawana Station but for some reason or another we ended up meeting at around 3 PM (shades of Filipino time although they all have valid excuses which everyone invariably has).

Anyway, we did reached my place and everyone were all smiles. I prepared halo-halo (perfect for a hot sunny afternoon) and ordered a large scrumptious pizza (I’m working under the assumption that if the halo-halo fail to satisfy them then I have a sure bet with pizza). Perfect!

In the photo (clockwise) Jaja, Akiko, Kaishi and Hanh

I also made leche flan beforehand to add to the wonderful halo-halo that you see in the picture and although it’s a bit burned it did not however affected the taste. To quote everyone – OISHII! And yes girls, I prepared halo-halo for them although prepared is a bit presumptuous a word to use in this case. Okay… okay… I admit I bought prepackaged ingredients for halo-halo. And by prepared I mean I put the ingredients in the bowl. But in my defense, I did prepare the leche flan from scratch which for some reason everyone thinks of as a cake.

Anyway, the object of the get-together was just the usual chikahan among friends but then Akiko brought her hakama which she used when she was in highschool when she studied kyudo (archery). Of course we all have to try it!

In the picture: the ScRibbLeR wearing hakama which is originally men’s traditional clothes and was later adapted by women. Nowadays, everyone can wear it especially during graduation or while participating in kendo and kyudo. The ScRibbLeR on the other hand feels just like one of the characters in Samura X. uh… Kenshin? Is that you?…

Well it was so much fun that I had to unearth my kimona set (not to be confused with kimono) and malong for them to try. Then my maxi dress which is in a wonderful orange color. Everyone wanted to try it on but unfortunately can’t coz it won’t fit them. We were all laughing at this point when Hanh remembered my still unused yukata which she helped find a matching geta for. Before I knew it it’s cosplay time!

In the photo: Jaja and Kaishi. Two Chinese girls hiding under a malong. Will they pass muster as Muslims I wonder? hmmmm….

In the photo: Akiko (in the left) and Hanh (right side). A Japanese and Vietnamese girl. Akiko somehow was able to squeeze herself in the dress although we kept on insisting she remove the shirt so it’ll have a better effect. Hanh on the other had looked just like a true-blue Pinay. All she needed is a pait of bamboo for tinikling.

In the photo: Hanh posing like a muslim dancer… cute one Hanh!

In the photo: Presenting Kaishi wearing my beautiful yukata and the exceedingly cute geta. I wonder when I’ll be able to wear it… Kaishi was posing so cutely and insisted none of her cute poses be put to waste. Picture! Pronto!

A truly lovely and fun day was had by all. It was so much fun we have to do it again this time at Akiko’s place. But we have to wait by the end of September to do it when Hanh gets back from Vietnam.