With Friends

Posted on March 22, 2011 by Jim Buell
After a lot of thought and the pleading of my parents, I decided to take a short break from Tokyo to see how the current nuclear crisis would play out. I now feel as though everything will be fine in Tokyo, and I will be happy to return to my life in Japan. But when I left the country, many of us living in Tokyo were genuinely frightened. Just before leaving, I met with a group of friends in Shinjuku to relax and think about what our plans would be. 

Masae Kotorii relaxes with friends in an izakaya in Shinjuku.

Jon Palmer passes a drink down the table.

Please ignore the darkness. There are other people around Tegan McKenzie.

Some of us left the country, others when to different parts of Japan, and some stayed around Tokyo. Regardless of our current locations, I think we’ll all get together again in Tokyo soon. 
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Japan Earthquake

Posted on March 12, 2011 by Jim Buell
I was on a train traveling towards Tokyo when a massive earthquake hit Japan on March 11. The train came to a quick stop and began shaking. Buildings around the train swayed back and forth for several minutes. Large aftershocks followed for the next hour or so. Finally, Japan Railway workers set up ladders, and passengers were evacuated. 
JR employees help passengers evacuate a train near Urawa in Saitama, Japan. Seen on the New York Times. 
Passengers walk along train tracks toward the nearest station following the earthquake. 

A JR employee helps direct passengers following the evacuation of a train after the March 11 earthquake.

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Sidelines

Posted on March 8, 2011 by Jim Buell
I shot some pictures at a charity soccer match this week, but because I don’t have a lens any longer than 55mm at the moment, I couldn’t get any great sports action shots. So I shot the sidelines instead!
We’ll call this “Taking a Break.” The game was between English teachers in my company (including Australians) and Japanese staff and students we work with. The Japanese team won 2-0. 

I love lines. That’s all.

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From Lee

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Jim Buell
After visiting the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo, I got inspired by artist Lee Ufan’s series of paintings called “From Point.” You can look at some of his work here. And here are a couple of small pieces I made in response. 
 

I know this is a photography blog, and these are paintings, but technically these are pictures of paintings. So it still counts.

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Red on White

Posted on February 16, 2011 by Jim Buell
So I decided to do a little painting on my day off today. This might be the first time I’ve painted anything (other than a room) since grade school. It’s been a while. Also I use the term “painting” loosely. Basically I was dipping wood blocks into paint and using them as stamps. And I only used red paint. Baby steps. Anyway, here’s the aftermath of my experiments. 

I was frantically stamping on printer paper for practice, and that’s what you see here. This is the product of a large cup of coffee and the Velvet Underground’s White Light/White Heat. After I was satisfied with a couple of the practice designs, I stamped on actual canvases. I’ll post pictures of those once they dry.

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Snowboarding

Posted on February 12, 2011 by Jim Buell
During a national holiday yesterday, I went snowboarding with some friends on Mount Naeba in Niigata Prefecture. It was my first time snowboarding, and I can’t say I was very good at it, but I did have a good time. You can’t tell from the picture, but the place was super crowded. 
Here my friends carry their snowboards toward a lift that will carry us up the mountain for the first time. Out of the five of us, only two had ever snowboarded before. There was much falling. As a side note, this picture was taken with my iPhone – a first for this blog. Wave of the future I guess. 
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Tokyo at Twilight

Posted on February 10, 2011 by Jim Buell

Trees and a statue outside of the Crafts Gallery at the National Museum of Modern Art, Tokyo.

Buildings reflect into the moat surrounding the Imperial Gardens in central Tokyo. 
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Keeping Watch

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Jim Buell

A guard at Tsurugaoka Hachiman-gū shrine in Kamakura watches over the crowds of people gathered to visit the sacred place. It’s traditional to visit a shrine in the beginning of a new year so the crowds can be quite large. This guard was helping to regulate the flow of visitors into the building.

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Daibutsu – The Great Buddha

Posted on January 11, 2011 by Jim Buell

This huge bronze statue of Buddha was first sculpted in the year 1252 in Kamakura, Japan. It’s unknown whether the 44-foot tall statue is the original or if it has been rebuilt. The statue was repaired in the 1960s to protect it against earthquakes.

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Speed of Light

Posted on January 5, 2011 by Jim Buell
Travelers rush through Shinjuku Station in Tokyo, the busiest train station in the world. Panels of fluorescent lights normally used to display advertisements glow behind the travelers. The lights’ flicker and a slow shutter-speed distort the shapes of those passing by. 

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