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Photographic delirium #1 |
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My skin is painfully burning. After that summer in Nagoya where the clouds did almost nothing to obscure the X-rays, ultra-V and other Z-rays, sweat dripping into the viewfinder, photography is nothing less than seeking that reproduction of reality which will never be the same. Those little piece of left-hand little finger skipping in front of the polarizing filter, the whites and the not so gray defacing the nose of the matron. I am not leaving this place without my souvenirs but as with life, misplacing and misgiving have the tendency to damage your best shots. Photogenic rice fields or lonely fisherman, be ready, I am your new executor.
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I finally bought the camera that Gilles has been carrying around all the time since I met him. After he bought the most expensive Minolta, that alpha-9, he was happy to get rid of his old stuff. Camera, Lenses and filters, I got for a fair price (I hope). I waited a long time to snapshoot my first photo. Not because of the fairly boring Obon vacation, but because I placed myself importance to the first one. Soldering the first souvenir on print like remembering the first cigarette, it could just blow out of your nose. Anyway, I chose something safe: Apple tree fields near the city of Tenryu in the prefecture of Shizuoka. A theme park centered on fruits in the middle of nowhere. Very well created but almost empty, it is a pity that such sweet intentions turn sour like that. Gilles is still experimenting with his new gadget and I tried to play with the illusion of the descending horizon and bright netting. |
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That question every colleague asked me before I told them that I ate only cheap "ramen" (Chinese noodles) in the train station just before it closes. Continuing this short trip in Shizuoka prefecture, we were heading for Yaizu, an uninteresting fishing suburb to witness a festival of mikoshi (ceremonial car transported my festival people). Similar to the Nara festival, benediction of sacred items is carried out on a ritualistic way by white and gold kimono dressed ladies and local priests. On the way to the temple, I have seen locals dressed in plain (and dirt stained) white costumes drink sake. Once the ceremony is finished, with an impressive amount of organization through out the general confusion, every group brings out of the small temple their respective sacred items. A moving woody head dragon, a bamboo branch, two mikoshis and other lest important items. The fury is being unleashed. It is difficult to take picture because everyone is moving fast with lanterns and it is getting dark. Each item must be carried to the front porch of every locally sponsored shops and restaurants for a benediction and a sign of good luck. Welcome to the show! |
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I needed to finish my film so I took a few "stupid" pictures of my bedroom. Well, here it is. My 18 tatamis' room which no longer have tatami but a very common occidental style floor made of some kind of plastic which looks like wood. It is "double size" room by comparison to the other rooms in the dormitory. Imagine, Japan is in recession and my rent just has been lowered from the already cheap 8000 yens (about 100$CAN) to 6700 yens per month! But this is not common place throughout Japan where rents are much more expensive. The company for which I worked owns the dormitories; therefore the bills are low. Hence, a typical "salaryman" working for a big company is always advantaged toward its own expenses. This is one of the many bricks that make the foundation of Japanese economic success. |
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We wanted to assist a festival of lanterns in Isshiki so I bought a quick film 800 ASA to help me making clearer pictures. Unfortunately, the festival took place the evening before... So I missed my chance to practice with night pictures. It became the wrong film since afterwards the whole film contains only daylight pictures, which tend to show the graininess of the subject. Anyway... Walking in the downtown of Nagoya is always fun because we see many weird people doing strange activities. At that time, Gilles did not have his camera and he regretted it. Here is a pseudo-punk photographing a model with the help of his assistant who is holding the reflector. Gee! I want an assistant like that too! She could hold my camera, my lenses, and my sunglasses... |
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Another handsome rocker singing in front of his fans in the middle of the Nagoya's Central Park. The fans, who clearly are only girl teenagers, are having fun singing and dancing along the song's enthusiastic beats. I heard that there are more diversified music bands like this that perform for the public in Tokyo in one of its many downtowns. But Oh well! Why should we always compare the other Japanese cities to the extravagant Tokyo? Nagoya has only one big downtown and it is convenient not to have everything dispersed all around the megalopolis. I lived nearby Nagoya for more than two years now and frankly I can say, I come about to like Nagoya, Aichi prefecture! |
