We took a nice drive this afternoon on the Hiei Parkway in the mountains to the north-east of Kyoto, to see the foliage. We hoped that up in the mountains it would have progressed a bit more than it has so far in the city, but it turns out to still be pretty much at the beginning.

At one point we paused at a moss-covered clearing that was somewhat littered with chestnuts. At least I thought it was moss at the time, but looking at the picture makes me think that they were super tiny little ferns. Maybe that's what [...]

As I mentioned yesterday, I went to Osaka to visit some friends. We met at Osaka Castle Park (a lovely place that I'll write about another time) and enjoyed the afternoon together.

I had my camera with me, of course, and took the opportunity to try my hand at some impromptu family portraits.....

I've known Kevin for the better part of 20 years, and he attended my wedding 10 years ago. We don't get to meet very often because he lives up toward Tokyo, so I was happy that a business trip brought him down my way.

I apparently met [...]

Returning this evening from a most pleasant day visiting friends in Osaka, I noticed this couple sit behind me on the train.

Their style would be called ゴスロリ (gosurori -- "Gothic Lolita").

I asked whether they dressed like this on a daily basis, to which she responded that yes shd did, although today was just a bit extra special (perhaps referring to her fabric crown, but I can't be sure). I asked why today was special, to which they conferred a bit on how to express it, finally saying that they were going to a "tea party."

They were polite [...]

After yesterday's first taste of autumn while being stuck with nothing better than a point-n-shoot, I thought I'd head back to the same area today with some better equipment. I brought my Nikon D200, Nikkor 70-200 f/2.8 VR zoom, a Nikon TC-17EII 1.7× teleconverter (my first outing with it), and my monopod. And Anthony.

What I neglected to bring was enough time, light, or skill.

I got there just before the last direct rays of light disappeared, and without the dynamic clouds of yesterday, there were no visual fireworks in the sky, so the whole point of being there sort [...]

Anthony and I went out today to try the remote control car he got from Grandma and Grandpa for his birthday last week, our schedule or the weather conspiring to prevent us until today.

We headed to the rear of the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art (in the same area as the "Hanami and Lunch" picture on this post) and gave it a try. I happened to have my point-n-shoot with me, so snapped a couple of pictures...

I'd not charged the battery in the week after opening it, so about the time he was getting used it, silly me, [...]