Early Blooms

 

I thought the forty mph gusts of wind would keep the tourists at home, but no such luck. The city was overrun with them. Where we did get lucky, tough, is spotting a few early cherry blossoms at the Tidal Basin. In a few days, it will be a madhouse down there.

Free Coffee

On a cold winter morning, we drove up Mt. Asama to a place with a pretty spectacular view of the mountains and the city of Saku, which is located in a wide valley. When the air is especially clear, as it was on this day, you can sometimes see Fuji-san, which lies some 200 km to the south. It was a phenomenal view. Plus, on days when Fuji is visible, coffee refills are free. Nice! 

Tasting notes: Photograph taken with the telephoto lens on an iPhone 14 Pro in RAW format, and cropped some in post. Count me impressed.

Sometimes the world has a load of questions

Even though it looked a little dicey outside and my intuition said ‘it is gonna rain’, I checked the weather app on my phone and there was a zero percent chance of precipitation. So I hit the road. I needed to clock a few miles. About 20 minutes in, past the point of turning back in other words, the sky opened up and there was a bit of a down pour. I took shelter under the canopy of a tree to wait it out. That’s when I noticed one of those big metal boxes that look like they have something to do with high voltage power. The raindrops were creating interesting patterns on the metal surfaces. Fortunately, these days everyone has a default camera with them, myself included, so I was able to record the scene. In fact, the only reason I’ve totally missed a photo opportunity lately is when I couldn’t be bothered to take out my phone. Like that time I saw a cat peeking out of a culvert on the side of a country road. 

I really wish I hadn’t had my phone buried in my backpack that time. 😤

Still life with double basses

In general, the playing of classical music is not a particularly dangerous sport, at least not physically, but I have to tell you that the daily grind of the orchestra pit can take a toll on the health and well being of your instrument. You gotta be careful and plan for the worst! When we go on break, I generally try to place my stool strategically in order to dissuade folks from trying to step over the neck of the bass. Yes, they will try crap like that. And, should their toes catch the E-string, a whole chain of nasty events can ensue. 

Have a productive weekend of shooting, everyone.