Pan Pacific Hotel MM21

My birthday was last week. My present from my wife was a night at Pan Pacific Hotel at Yokohama Minato Mirai 21. And there was surprise after surprise. I was not expecting a nice present like this. And to add to the niceness was a room with a super view! A view over Cosmo World, Intercontinental Hotel, Bay Bridge, Akarenga Souko, Oosanbashi, Marine Tower, etc. etc. I could even see North Dock.

Even more so was the next surprise; Dinner in our room!!! Mediterranean cuisine at its best! Flounder filet, steak, thin crust pizza, and a bunch of other good stuff. The food was great and to top this all off was a birthday cake. A strawberry shortcake too, may I add. Dave's fave!!

I would have to say that one of the best things about our room was the bathroom. A shower and big bath tub with the same view that the room has. I think we soaked in the tub for most of the time we spent there. With a few candles, wine over jazz (we had to settle for beer...even better); It doesn't get any better than that!

Click the image to see more!

恵比寿

SLIK Able 400 DX-LE and SBH-200DQ mod

I've owned my SLIK tripod for a several years now. It has gone with me to many places and has done a perfect job for my photos. But the head with the tilt and pan handles were always a pain in the ass to handle. So I was thinking about upgrading my tripod with new legs and a ball head. At the same time, my buddy Eric had a ballhead that he was not using and sold it to me for a good price. Since I am on a budget, it was perfect timing and saved me a lot of money!

I looked around for this mod and found posts on Forums about how to modify heads on tripods. And I actually found one for the same parts as I had. Eventually the guy that posted gave up and thought it was not going to work. Well, it will work if you don't mind sweating a little and being patient. So here goes with the mod.....

What you will need:
SLIK ABLE 400 DX-LE


SLIK SBH-200DQ or another similar ballhead that has a 1/4" mount screw (the same as the camera mount screw on the tri-pod).

You will also need:
-1/4" threaded stud (an inch in length would be perfect)
-Hacksaw (if you can't find nothing but a foot long threaded stud, like me)
-Allen wrench (or hex key) to fit the head screw (sorry, don't know the size of this)
-A file just case you need to file the threads of the stud
and that is it!

---

1) You will need to take off the head by unscrewing the hex screw.




This is what you will have with the head off of the tripod.


2) Here's where the hacksaw, stud and sweating come to play. Hack off about an 1" (mine was 22mm to be exact) of the stud to use in place of the hex screw that you took off earlier. If you have a table vice; it does make things easier. I didn't have one so it wasn't the easiest sawing I've done. Depending on how good you are with the saw, or how lucky, after sawing the stud, it can be used as is without any filing of the threads.


3) Place the 1" stud in to the hole like this. I hand tightened it and it only went in about a 1/4" before it got tight.


4) Time to place the ballhead!!! Here's what the bottom of the ballhead looks like. This came with the 3/8" ti 1/4" adapter. I'm assuming they all do come with one but if not, then this may be an item to add on the "needed" list. That' all there is to it! Simple easy and saves from spending a few hundred bucks on a similar set up.


With the ballhead in place.


Now with this ballhead, the whole thing stands about an inch higher than it does with the original head that the tripod comes with (shown below). I used red electrical tape to cover the bare alluminum to protect it just in case I want to attach the original head again. Plus, it matches the red on my lenses.


And so there you have it. In all, it took me about 30 minutes to do this. The challenge was finding the threaded stud. Of course if you just go to your local 'do it yourself' store chances are you will find it there.

Oh, in case if you are wondering what to do with the remaining of the threaded stud....you have this option.




or,.....or...you could just store it away for another project.....I think the latter is the better choice.

横浜開港祭

Ok...I'm a little late in posting this but here goes. These were taken at the Yokohama Kaikousai (Opening of the ports) on June 2. Since I had work, I was only able to see the night festivities. Got to see a live performance of a 60/80s band, Heart and Soul. They were kick ass!!! Also got to see the fireworks finale of the special day.

Festivities go on through to September with concerts, entertainment, air shows, drifting, etc. etc. etc. If you have the chance, get out there and see for yourself. Take the train because there is BEER!!!!!!

Colors

My first....and last attempts with colored gels. These were actually taken several years ago at Zaimokuza beach in Kamakura. If i remember correctly, it was about 10ish on a cool spring night. It was kind of freaky being on the beach at that time. Even though I could see the cars passing on the road I couldn't see much of what was in front of me, without using my flash light. I remember freaking out when I saw a couple walking on the beach. I didn't see them until they were just about five steps in front of me. They were curious as to what I was doing so they approached me.


These were taken with my 10D and handy 3-cell, Mag-Lite. Made my colored gels out of thin plexi with colored vinyl adhered for different colors. If I used my strobe I probably would have gotten a better result but.....shoulda coulda woulda.

In all honesty, the results are cool (if they come out the way it's planned) but it has to be one of the boringest (not a word, I know I know...) types of photography I have tried yet. Anyway, if you try this, be patient and expect to go home with only a hand full of shots.

横浜開国博 • Y-150

Commodore Matthew C. Perry and his Black Ship made several trips to Japan to convince the Empire of Japan to open up it's gates to U.S. trade (as well as ports in Shimoda, Shizuoka and Hakodate, Hokkaido). Yokohama was the key city for the Kanto area and because of this, was introduced to "new" things never seen before in Japan: Silk, light bulbs, western architecture, tools, etc., etc. I am sure the Japanese introduced a lot to the foreigners that sailed in as well.

And so, this year, Yokohama celebrates its 150th year of opening its ports to the rest of the world (June 2nd to be exact). There is so much going on until September 27th: festivities throughout Yokohama, most of which are in the MM21 area, sales, specials, attractions, etc. etc. etc. and a whole lot of people! I'm talking A LOT!! --- like the rush just after a fireworks display at Arakawa or Sumidagawa. Or the rush after Yamanote-sen, Saikyo-sen or KeihinTohoku-sen have been stopped for a few hours and once again put back into service. A lot!

The photo is one thing that I got to see a few weeks ago. An art production from a French designer, "Le Machine - The Spider" is one attraction that is big in the news. This thing is about 20 meters tall (65 feet). It's controlled by man and and even spits out webs from its ass! Of course it's not actually web but water spray instead to look like web. Still cool, if you ask me.

Planet Hollywood

With the economy not being so good and businesses going under here and there, it's a shame that Planet Hollywood Tokyo is no more. Located in Ikspiari at Tokyo Disney Resort, you think it would draw in good crowds of customers on a daily basis. Within the shopping mall at the entrance of Tokyo Disneyland, people are passing day and night by the thousands. But then again, maybe they were not there for the Planet Hollywood food and atmosphere. After all, they are most likely there to buy their Mickey Mouse ears and Donald Duck quacky toys in Disneyland anyway. I believe it was the only one in Japan so it's a shame to see this place go away. It was on my list of places to go but never had made it. Bummer....

This was taken a few years ago.

Hat Man

Hat Man. This guy was on tv just about two weeks ago. He's an older guy (maybe in his 70s) that rides his bike around town showing off his fancy homemade hats. He has hats that are multi colored, light up at night, with hanging ornaments, spinning accessories,...you name it he probably has it (or will be making it real soon). He roams around Naka-ku in Yokohama. Anyway, when they were interviewing him, I remember seeing this guy a long time ago. So I went digging in my photos from the past and sure enough!!...this was taken in 2003 (check out the EXIF) in front of Akarenga Souko (Red Brick Warehouse) in Yokohama. Check out this cool hat made with a pylon and figurines. Would you wear it in public?

Nishisanbashi

富士山

Not too long ago I posted this in color. Personally I really like this one and so added edits and now reposting. The clouds really caught my attention when I captured this one. It's not often that you can see Mt. Fuji as well as clouds like this. Again, I really dig this photo so re-sharing it in B/W.

また来年〜

桜

桜

ehhh...a little late in the game but thought I'd post these shots that I took this week.

JTA Boeing 734

Somewhere over the clouds in between Tokyo Haneda Airport and Ishigakijima.

観音様

2009 NPB

Well, finally!! The Nippon Pro Baseball season starts this Friday. Or atleast for the Yokohama Baystars it does. The Baystars were dead last last season but I have a good feeling about them this year. I think they will definitely do better this year than last. Whatever kind of season they have, I'll be rooting for them anyway. Go Ohya! Go Baystars!

Kondoi Beach

Spring is here!

Is it good or bad thing? The weather gets warmer. Grass gets greener. More sunny days. End then there's.......allergies! Mine are kicking my ass everyday! The news says that allergy season is passing and will be done with shortly. I don't get it though, does that mean that all the pollen has blown off of the trees? I guess it doesn't matter...just as long as the allergies go away, I will be a happy camper. Yay Spring!

This little dude was part of a lawn decor last year. I wonder if he'll be around this year too.

Tsurugaoka Hachimangu

横浜赤レンガ倉庫

TENGU

音止滝 / Otodometaki

Otodometaki, the waterfall that the Soga Brothers made famous. The waterfall is just a few minutes walk away from Shiraito no-taki. Even though the impact of this waterfall is far less than that of Shiraito no-taki the story of the Soga Borothers isn't. There are a few versions of the story and no one knows the exact truth. But here is one of them. The waterfall mentioned in the story is Otodometaki.

Meiji Jingu