Friday, December 18, 2009

Experience Japan

Experience Japan & some tips...

TokyoTower Jpn Horizon Bento

Day 1 : Monday, Nov 17, 2008 - 11:45 AM

Narita Airport


Immigration Narita
Immigration Airport - Concourse

Navigating the Narita Airport is quite easy. It’s laid out in a pretty standard way.

The Immigration Officers are very courteous. If you forget to fill out the embarkation card, they’ll assist & direct you to a separate table for you to be able to complete the form.


There are two ways in getting out of the airport going to Tokyo.

Taxi Central Station Train 3
Taxi w/ GPS... Cool! Color-coded signage Narita Express Ticket Booth

You can take either a taxi, which is very costly, or you can ride the train which is approximately 1 hour travel time to Tokyo.


For a first timer, it’s like navigating a maze when taking the train. Fortunately, the Japanese used a color-coded signage as easy reference for commuters.
Train 1 Train 2
Akihabara Station Central Station leading to REMM Hotel

Every train station has a train route map which is printed in Nihonggo, but don’t worry, you can ask for an English version. Note the nearest train station on your destination & the train line serving the route. For example, for Tokyo, you can take the Narita Express.


TIP
You can ask the exact train fare from any train station clerk and buy the ticket at any ticket vending machine. Don’t worry if you dropped a large amount, the ticketing machine is “honest”. It will return the exact change. And you can ask for a receipt.


1:30 PM

We checked-in at the REMM Akihabara Hotel, which is just a walking distance to the famous Akihabara District where you can find all the cheapest electronic equipment & souvenirs.
Hotel 1 Yodobashi 2 Yodobashi 1
The famous Yodobashi - where you can buy all the latest electronic gadgets & equipment.

Especially digital cameras & computer peripherals. You can even get a good bargain for a second hand digital cameras even the latest models. Second hand in Japan does not necessarily means that it is used. The one I got has only been fired for at least 50 shots.

Hotels in Japan has a unique design on their Toilet which I find very functional although some people find it funny.
Toilet 1 Toilet 2 Bed

Leo Laporte, Jason Calacanis, & Patrick Norton (TWIT Podcast) even laughed and made fun of it on their very recent podcast , TWIT 169 - The Donkey of the week episode. Mr. Alex Lindsay (Pixelcorp) happens to have a trip in Japan this week.



Day 2: Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2008
Panasonic Plant - Yokohama

We visited the Panasonic Plant at Yokohama. After which we proceeded to the Panasonic Center. We had to walk at least a mile from the nearest train station. Although it’s very cold outside, it's an experience, especially, we got to pass by an authentic old Japanese house.
Old House Yokohama 1

Yokohama 2 Yokohama 3 Yokohama 4

Yokohama 5 CCTV 1 CCTV 2

Mr. Tom Iwamoto & the Panasonic guys are very hospitable... they treated us w/ their "Original" Japanese Bento
Bento Ummm... delicious!!! Group 1


From Yokohama, the Panasonic provided limousine service for us to proceed to the Panasonic Center.
Bridge Underpass

Escalator Shimbase Stn
Japanese are very sensitive & respectful. In every escalator, if you're in a hurry, you can take the right side portion as an "express way". Everybody is standing on the left side to give way to "running" Commuters.


Coffe Coffee 2
the "Govt. Officials"... :-)

Thursday, February 5, 2009

Harbour Nights


I took this pix during a dinner out with my wife & kids & siblings at the Manila Bay Harbour Park. Actually, this my first time to do a night shot w/ longer exposure. I did not have a tripod that time, so I put my D40 on top of one the perimeter lights in order to have a steady shot as possible. I was surprised with the result. But then I have to run because the guys are already leaving the site.
May be next time, I'll get back to shoot on my personal time.

And then I saw a very similar pix posted on a famous Digital Photography magazine, it felt great!

Now I am more inspired to shoot on every chance I can get.

http://tinyurl.com/ca3vj9

Wednesday, February 4, 2009

My Waterworld


My Boss was kind enough to give me a present, that is my first DSLR camera. My Nikon D40 was good enough for a neophyte photographer like me. I was fortunate enough to have lots of friends who are seasoned photographers, like Ogie, Sami & Christian. Ogie opened up my eyes to beauty in Still Photography. Sami is my idol & Christian is my technical mentor.

One time, we had a swimming party in a resort in Bulacan, Philippines, while strolling, hoping to find a good subject, I saw theses kids playing in a tube in the pool. It was 12NN and the sun was right on top of me. Armed with some useful tips from my friends, I aimed my D40 to these kids and fired at least 5 continuous shots.

Personally, this is my favorite, and so with some Flickr friends.

All I did w/ this pix is some minute adjustments and dropped all the saturation for a nice B&W render. Hope you'll like it too.

More to come!