_valerian

Chikako, Makiko, Fugu, and Chikako’s uncle. He caught the fish with his home-made metal speargun. This was the largest of 10 that he had shot through the head with 4 foot metal spear (stamped with the names of all the members of his family and Mint their dog). One almost bit off Makiko’s finger because it was not dead yet. We ate fugu raw, in salads.. in a soup..

This is the apartment of Chikako’s cousin who like Chikako moved to Tokyo but for the summer she has been working at a scuba tour shop on the island. I stood on a wall when I took this, and behind me was a lava flow out into the sea, parts of which had been paved over and the wall is there to protect this area from the bigger waves. In the foreground you can see the railing that leads you to the top of the wall, and in the background is Hachijo’s very own Mt. Fuji. There is a dairy farm right below the clear cut area on the mountain. From that level there are stairs up to the top.

This is from the top of the volcano- to the right you can see some of the coastline of the island. 854m is the height of the mountain. I was the tallest on the island anyway, but up there I was the tallest thing for miles.

Kevin and Makiko never have looked as dramatic as this.

Kevin has a little more about our trip on his site.

I am back and in Tokyo now. Actually I never technically left, as Hachijo Island is still part of Tokyo. I climbed a volcano, swam in the ocean, shot fireworks in a graveyard at midnight, ate lots of fresh fugu, shot 30-something rolls of film, met all kinds of people-

lots more but I have not the time now-

pictures soon.

Howdy
If you would like a postcard for my show let me know. Send an email to me –> jvsypal (at) yahoo dottu komu and I will mail one to you.

I guess I could even sign it for you too. For an extra 1000 yen. jyoudan desu.

yeah.

This is true. I picked up a free issue of the Japan Advertising Photographer’s Association magazine- and in the exhibition schedule I found a notice for my show: “John Shipal Nebraska, the good life”. eh, close enough..

Here is another un-cool “what I did today” entry–

This afternoon I met Onishi sensei today to go over my prints- - and we were both Anshin shita- (Anshin? Let me get the dictionary), we felt relieved, at ease. For him it was because I had everything printed out, and for me, that he said they were good prints. Whew. We met in Ginza- a place I never feel like I ought to be in, but a place I like to go to. Onishi san had his camera with him too.

After we split I went to wendys. Yep. Sometimes I want a chicken sandwich, a large pepsi, and to hear fiddy-cent playing on the store’s piped-in playlist. There was an middle aged woman having coffee with her 80-something year old father there. Did Fifty ever think that his music would be heard by Japanese imperial army veterans? That is something I was thinking about when he (Fifty) sang that line in his new song about a a lady friend with no clothes and oshiri-up with her face down on what could be a bed, but maybe the back seat of a Bently. Not that the old man would have understood the english anyway. Another time that the music I was hearing did not fit well with what I was seeing (and not counting japanese tv programming) was at a jr high school fashion show. Someone had an ABBA best-of album playing, and my students came down the runway to Dancing Queen.

After lunch I found a geat little camera shop in Ginza, Gin-Ichi. The clerk was nice enough to let me handle a Hexar RF despite the fact that I was disgustingly sweaty and had taped over the red dot on my leica which I had slung over my shoulder. My M6, as I mentioned before, had gotten all messed up. I asked them what I ought to do and one other clerk made a phone call and found out. For about 4000 yen they would make it all better, and get this– have it done by tomorrow. Excellent. Now if I could just sell it for at least 120000 yen that would be great. There is something about a Leica MP which I just can’t forget…

I have not talked about camera lust for a while here- but yesterday I bought a camera accessory that I did not need, but wanted anyway:

Attaching a Nikon MD-4 Motor drive now makes my F3P complete, and twice as heavy. It takes 8 AA batteries. Not that I will use the motor so much. While it has a very satisfying WHRRCLICKK sound when you take a picture, that same sound can get in the way… It is not nearly as quiet as a leica. Two stories though- First, I took this photo:

with my old F3P in a quiet Odakyu train car. Everyone knew when I took that picture. Later I ended up selling that F3 to get a Bessa R2, and that can be considered as a trading down. I came to regret that, especially after the Bessa kissed the pavement after it’s fall from my shoulder.
The Second Story- sometimes that pro-sounding shutter sound makes you seem to be pro-looking. I was shooting in Shimokitazawa in 2002 with one and there saw two boys eating ice cream on some steps steps that faced a narrow but crowded little street. Their mom did not care and so I just got closer and kept talking with them while shooting. After I thought I was done I stepped back and looked around. A semi-circle of onlookers had formed to watch…. awesome. If anyone wants to think I am with a magazine or whatever that’s fine with me. I must say though, this story ended up being much better than the actual photos.