The devil in me. The guy in the pink shirt. He was my aim as I was just waiting for him to fall in the pond. Then it occurred to me....someone else is probably focused on me waiting for the same thing. Neither of us fell in, btw, so that's a good thing. This was taken at the pond near the entrance of Hachimangu Shrine at Kamakura. 鶴岡八幡宮, 鎌倉, 桜, Cherry Blossoms, Kamakura, Hachimangu Shrine, Canon 5D, Sigma 150mm APO Macro, SLIK ABLE 400 DX-LE, キャノン,　シグマ

Last year, I missed taking photos of the cherry blossoms and wasn't going to let that happen this year. So I woke up this morning, ate breakfast, gathered my camera gear and off I went to Kamakura (central Kamakura, that is). Cherry blossoms hear Ofuna station. 桜、大船、Canon 5D, Sigma 150mm APO Macro, キャノン、シグマ
More cherry blossoms in Ofuna. 桜、大船、Canon 5D, Sigma 150mm APO Macro, キャノン、シグマ
A bride and groom in front of Hachimangu in Kamakura. What a perfect saturday to have a wedding, temperature in the low 70's, sunny with scattered clouds, cherry blossoms fully bloomed but....a ton of people. Canon 5D, Sigma 150mm APO Macro, キャノン、シグマ

All kinds of cherry blossoms are blooming already. Still, most are just barely starting to bloom and the weather news say that this coming weekend will be the best time to view the cherry blossom. These were taken this past Sunday at Kenchoji in Kita-Kamakura.

Stray Cats. No, not the band...real ones. Two kitties sleeping underneath the cat in the tree (the pic that I posted a few days ago). Come to think of it, the cat in the tree may have been the boss cat. Maybe?!?

Way underexposed! Obviously, my aim was to catch the sunlight shining from behind this Zushi street sign. I guess I did that but captured a lot of the black in the shadows.

OK! In one of my recent posts, I mentioned that the plum tree is not so easy to find and that only major parks have them. Well, I take that back. They're everywhere! On sidewalks, in people's yards and so on. For as long as I've been here, you'd think I'd know.
This (same with the plum pic) was taken at Sankeien. As far as I can remember, Sankeien has always had stray cats roam the area. They seem to be used to us humans because they don't run away when you get close to them and they sleep anywhere and everywhere, as you can see in this photo. For whatever reason, this cat decided to sleep about 7 feet up in a tree, near the entrance of Sankeien, as if he/she was waiting for someone to come along and snap a shot of him/her.

Since I'm digging in the past, here's another photo from Okinawa. This was taken at Churaumi Aquarium. The aquarium is famous not only because it's in Okinawa but also because of the WhaleSharks that they have (the big thing in the middle). The shark has the biggest mouth of all sharks I have seen, at just about the width of it's body. That's one BIG mouth!!!

Ok, I was asked to post the winning photo so here it is. Actually this is from the past and some of you may have seen this one before. I've always liked the photo. Never did I think I'd win but then again, never did I think I'd enter a contest. This photo was taken at Taketomi-jima, Okinawa.

I remember this day very well. I remember seeing a lady on the edge of the pier. I don't quite remember if she was sitting or standing but shot away regardless, in which I captured this shot. She was there for a while and she was alone. I remember her approaching me on her way back to where I was standing near the beach. She asked me to take her photo with her camera. I took the shot for her but what I remember mostly was getting this really gloomy feeling about her. Was it her aura? Was it because she was alone? Whatever it was, it was a feeling that I won't forget and maybe that is what makes this photo so special to me.

Anyway, this is it and I hope you enjoy it!

Mt. Fuji....coming and going

In the morning, I have a choice of different routes to get to work. I shuffle through the routes by my mood. If I feel like seeing the ocean, I take one route. Feel like seeing people or the city, I take another and so on. One route I take runs along Kamakura and Zushi beach and I get a great view of Mt. Fuji as long as it's a clear day. This is the view from Zushi beach with Enoshima in front.

I took this this past monday and since I left a little earlier than ususal I had time to get out of my car and go down to the beach for a better shot.

On the same day, this time on my way home from work, this is what I get to see on a clear day. This was taken on a different route than I used in the morning but still a great view.

Rinshunkaku.
at Sankeien.

Plum Blossoms are in full bloom! And there aren't many places to actually see these flowers. Major parks may have a few trees but mostly have cherry blossom trees instead. Sankeien Garden is a good place to see them because they've got a ton of Plum trees there.

We (my sisters, brother and I) grew up in Honmoku, Yokohama, where Sankeien is. Since we lived only minutes away, we basically know this place like the back of our hands. Since I live further away now, I don't get to visit as often. But every time I go there, it brings back memories of growing up . This photo was taken just inside the south gate.

Sankeien is a major tourist sight in Yokohama (download the guide book for Sankeien Garden here!) Most pavilions were built in Kyoto, dating as far back as the 15th century, then brought to Yokohama. Plus, Sankeien has the oldest Pagoda (built in 1457) in the Kanto region. Sankeien also has events going on throughout the year: Plum Blossom viewing, Cherry Blossom viewing, exhibitions, night openings, etc. etc. etc. If you're looking for a taste of Kyoto in Kanto, it is definitely the place to visit.

Here's a pic of the main gate at Kenchoji temple in Kita-Kamakura. I remember reading somewhere that Kenchoji is the oldest temple in Kamakura....may be or may not be, can't be too sure. Even though I didn't get the whole gate in this shot, with the people walking under it you can get an idea of just how big and beautiful it is.

Alright! We finally got snow! We've been anticipating snow, in this area, for the past month or so. Until today, we got very very little.

News weather said that we had snow in the forecast so I went to bed excied, of course! I remember waking up at 2am and checking the weather outside, only to find rain. Went back to sleep with no hopes. Then waking up again at 6am noticing the different sounds coming from outside, I took another peak out the window and all I could see was white. So excited, I couldn't go back to sleep thinking of how I'd be taking photos and where I'd be going. Well, the snow did not let up. Instead, got heavier and snowed until 5 this evening. I really didn't want to chance getting my camera or lenses wet so my day of photography was shot. I did try at the park right nextdoor but sure enough, could not do much with only two hands.

Instead, ended up taking a short walk around the neighborhood with my cellphone. These are two shots that I managed to get. Nothing very special but gives you an idea of the snow fall we had.