Kyoto Street Shots/京都、道ばたショット

It's been a while since the last post!
It all started when my DSLR broke down last year and later on the Mac computer packed up...so I have to say that I had a digital disaster last year! You forget how much you depend on the computer and internet now days whether you like it or not.
Anyway I am now back in the modern world and happy to be able to post my photos again starting with a few street shots taken in Kyoto earlier this month...

前回のブログポストから、ずい分と月日が経ちました。。。
というのも、去年はデジタル一眼の故障に始まり挙げ句の果てには頼りにしていたMacまでつぶれてしまう。。。という災難に見舞われたのです。
いろんなことをあまりにもパソコンやインターネットに頼ってたのだなぁ、と痛感しつつも、パソコンに当てていた時間が読書や絵を描くことにすり替わったことは、なかなかの充実感でした。
さて、パソコンも復活し、ブログ再開です！今回はさらっと京都の路上から。。。

Photogenic Osaka!/フォトジェニックな大阪！

Even if I walk around the same area in Osaka, I always find some interesting or funny things in the streets to photograph. Here are some examples taken over the past couple of months around the "Minami" area...

大阪という街は、たとえ同じエリアを何度歩いたとしても、いつもおもしろいものが見つかるところです。
よく行く”ミナミ”での例。。。

Osaka in September/９月の大阪

These photos were taken back in September but they've been waiting to be edited for a while! Some street snaps taken in Osaka one afternoon...Enjoy!

９月に撮影した大阪でのスナップ。。。編集待ちで、遅くなってしまいましたが、どうぞご覧ください！

Bon-Odori at Nigatsu-do Hall/ 二月堂の十七夜盆踊り

"Bon-Odori"is one of the typical summer events in Japan. Bon-Odori usually take place in August but the one in Nara occurs on the 17th of September at Nigatsu-do hall, Todaiji temple.

I hadn't seen the festival for many years so it was quite amusing to witness it again. If you believe that Japanese people tend to be shy and quiet and always polite you should come and see this popular event and find out how much they can get into this Japanese folk dance!

ちょっと遅くなりましたが、９月に東大寺・二月堂で行われた”十七夜盆踊り”に行った時の写真です。

久しぶりに”盆踊り”というものを間近で見ましたが、みなさん気合いが入っています！なかなかの迫力です！！

The End of Summer/ 夏の終わり

Fresh blueberries.

We have had a quite a few rainy days this summer which is unusual. It made it somewhat difficult to make plans and caused us to miss the regular summer events in Nara... but in the end it wasn't so bad!

今年の夏は例年になく、雨の多い結果となりました。奈良で夏に行われる恒例のイベントも、当日が雨のため行くのをやめたり...とちょっと残念なこともありましたが、終わってみれば決して悪くはない夏を過ごせました！

Lotus flower.

The main work on the farm was mowing to keep the farm clear for the summer vegetables so that they can get sunlight rather than become covered by a jungle of weeds. I visited a blueberry farm nearby to pick some delicious blueberries and to finish the summer we all enjoyed a barbecue!

野良仕事の方では、夏野菜がちゃんと太陽を浴びれるようにひたすら草刈りをして、ジャングル状態になるのを防ぎました。そして、ブルーベリー農園を訪れ夢中でブルーベリーを摘んだり、締めくくりにはみんなでバーベキューを満喫しました！

Paddy field.

Tea plantation overlooking paddy fields.

Blueberry farm....

... that used to be a tea farm.

Freshly picked up vegetables.

Garlic for grilling.

All we had to buy was the meat!