NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Nikon D4 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 50mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — image data
Angry Cloud
over Kyoto, Japan

As I posted the other day in “Pregnant Cloud Over Kyoto”, we've gotten quite a bit of locally-intense afternoon thunderstorms this summer. I'm not normally here in the summer, so this has come as quite the surprise to me, a pleasing one having grown up enjoying intense thunderstorms in Ohio's hot and humid summers.

京都の夏、午後は雷雨が多いですね。好き。

I took these pictures two days before the “pregnant cloud” shot, but I was working intently on my latest Lightroom plugin so didn't have time to post them.

The cell was moving south to north, and behind it to the south it was quite clear...

Nikon D4 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 50mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — image data
Clear
relatively speaking

Bright fluffy clouds even peeked through the curtain of rain...

Nikon D4 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 50mm — ¹/4000 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — image data

Nikon D4 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 50mm — ¹/1600 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — image data
Four-Shot Panorama

It's not a particular compelling panorama, but I like the effect, so here we are. Here's a bigger version you can scroll from side to side:

Localized Cell — scroll side-to-side — 水平にスクロールしてね —
or click through to an 8,500-pixel-wide version

Here's what the weather radar looked like at the time, with my position being marked by the black square:

It soon passed...

Nikon D4 + Sigma “Bigma” 50-500mm OS @ 240mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/6.3, ISO 200 — image data
Just Behind The Cell

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Back in Lightroom 2 days I had a plugin to extract JPGs from a Lightroom catalog's preview cache, something really useful when trying to recover something if you had somehow lost the master images. It wasn't my most popular plugin, obviously, because folks would use it only when trying to recover from the double disaster of losing their images and having no backups.

It was a lot of work and helped perhaps at best a few dozen people, but well worth the effort to help folks trying to recover years worth of memories. It was my only plugin to have no registration hangups to get in the way of a panicked user.

Unfortunately, changes under the hood in Lightroom 3 caused it to stop working, so the plugin hadn't received a meaningful update since 2009, and faded into uselessness as folks migrated to Lr3 and Lr4.

But with a little under-the-hood help from Adobe, I've been able to get it to work for Lightroom 4. Lightroom 3 is still (and will always be) unsupported, but in theory you should be able to upgrade an Lr3 catalog to Lr4, then use this plugin extract the previews.

I hope you never need it, but if you do:

Jeffrey's “Extract Cached Image Previews” Lightroom Plugin

For Lr4 it now also extracts video thumbnail frames (which are quite tiny so probably of no practical use) if they exist.

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Getting Started
Elapsed Time: zero

Today's post is a followup to “Last Chance For the All-You-Can-Feast Beer/BBQ at the Hotel Avanshell Kyoto” from the other day. Anthony and I went again last night, and in the interest of science and to record history for posterity, I documented everything that I ate or drank with grainy iPhone snaps.

昨夜、ホテルアバンシェル京都の焼き肉食べ放題に行きました。 めっちゃ食べて、めっちゃ飲んで、めっちゃ楽しかった。すべての飲食物は撮影して(iPhoneで、御免)、この記事で見せます。80キロ192センチの私は５キロアップしました！

As I mentioned in “Going Max Cliché While Learning About Off-Camera Flash” a month and a half ago, I've been getting into pretty good shape (and even compared to that post, I am in much better shape today) and one of the methods that seems to be working for me is that I generally avoid carbs. But especially today, beer is one carb I'll allow myself. 🙂

The first snap above shows my first beer (Asahi Super Dry) and the first plate of raw boneless beef rib. The amount of beef would be, at most restaurants, considered portions for three or four people. In what has become my general approach to eating, I'm allowed to have as much of anything as I want so long as it's not carbs, so over the last few months I've been eating a lot of meat, so this falls in line with that.

The restaurant allows you two hours ... for the purposes of this photo log, I'm starting the clock at zero (0h 0m) with the photo above.

Eleven minutes later...

Beer #2
Elapsed Time: 0h 11m

One needs refreshment after a long hot day, so the first beer goes quickly. Beer #2 is Asahi Black, representing the other half of the total beer selection on offer.

Plate #2
Elapsed Time: 0h 23m

Plate #3
Elapsed Time: 0h 39m

Beer #2.5
Elapsed Time: 0h 42m

The keg had run out while pouring this one, but I was happy to take it as is. Sometimes I ask for just a half glass anyway, so that I'm more apt to finish it while still cold.

Beer #3.5
Elapsed Time: 0h 59m

At the half way mark, I've had 3½ beers and in Japanese-restaurant portions, enough beef for about 10 people. 😀

Plate #4
Elapsed Time: 1h 4m

Beer #4.5
Elapsed Time: 1h 24m

I'm generally a “lightweight” when it comes to drinking, so I don't tend to drink all that much, and even as recently as the start of the summer would have forced myself to stop after two or three because that's all I could handle. But oddly, now that my diet and body has changed drastically, I seem quite able to handle much more in stride. Very odd considering that I weigh so much less than before.

Of course, being able to handle it is one thing, and having it be good for you is quite another, so I definitely don't want to make a habit of drinking this much, but again, this was a research project for my blog so it was my duty to see the event through to the end.

Plate #5
Elapsed Time: 1h 37m

Lively
Elapsed Time: 1h 45m

Beer #5.5
Elapsed Time: 1h 48m

The lady in line in front of me for beer ordered a half-n-half (half dark, half normal), so I did the same. Looks the same as the dark beer by itself, which really isn't all that dark to begin with.

And that wrapped it up.

Water #1
Elapsed Time: 2h 6m

After we got home (taxi, of course), I thought I should increase the non-alcohol liquids in me, so I drank quite a bit of Caffeine-Free Diet Coke while I worked on my plugins. This is not marketed in my part of the country, but it's quite cheap to have shipped, so I buy it by the case at Amazon.co.jp. I went through nine cases during the summer, allowing me to avoid the temptation to drink calories. I just received another shipment the other day, so I'm stocked through to the end of the year.

Anyway, despite all the beef, all the beer, the water, and all the Coke, I didn't feel bloated and my new bought-in-Japan jeans (for the first time buying off-the-rack pants in Japan) still fit nicely, despite being the same waist size that I wore in high school almost 30 years ago. Very weird... as if my legs had been hollow.

As a lark, I stepped on the scale. With jeans and shirt, I was 85.9kg (189.4lb). Earlier in the afternoon, after my workout and fresh out of the shower, I had been 79.8kg (176lb), which is, frankly, a ridiculously low weight for my 192cm (6'3½) height if my build were normal, but it's all muscle and no fat these days, so I'm happy with it. Anyway, that's a lot of beef and beverage, more than 10 pounds even after discounting the weight of the clothes. I have no way to explain how this is possible... I feel like I'm inhabiting someone else's body. Sometimes I wonder whether the “someone else's body” I'm inhabiting at the moment is even human.

I woke this morning at 6:45am and felt just dandy. And, unusual for me, slightly hungry. I might have an avocado as a snack if the feeling persists.

Oh, and I must admit to a certain amount of sandbagging with the photos of the beef... normally I would put much more on each plate, using fewer plates, but in an effort to make the total amount seem even more disgustingly excessive than it actually was, I showed some purposeful restraint at each trip to the grilling bar. 🙂

And finally, as a geeky side note, here's how I got the elapsed-time captions on all the photos:

% exiftool -T -filename -d %s -DateTimeOriginal *.jpg                                 \
       | perl -ne '($F, $T) = split;                                                  \
                   $D = $T-($START||=$T);                                             \
                   printf("exiftool -Description=\"Elapsed Time: %dh %dm\" %s\n",     \
                           int($D/3600), int(($D%3600)/60), $F)'                      \
       | sh -s

It's ugly, but that's fine for a one-time type-on-the-command-line thing like this.

Can't wait for Sunday, the final day the beer garden will be open. Already have my reservation.

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

I've just released the new Lightroom Plugin that I've been working on for the last few weeks:

Jeffrey’s “Folder Status” Lightroom Plugin

It lets you create per-folder metadata flags that track personal workflow milestones as you work with images in a folder (for example, “Keywording Done”, “Off-Site Backup Saved”, “Geoencoded”, etc... whatever you want), and through export-prerequisite rules based on these flags, to help ensure that you don't accidentally export photos from folders that haven't yet received at least whatever minimal processing you think is important.

How you work with it depends greatly on how you set it up and what kind of things you want it to help you with, but to illustrate, here's how it can look within my personal setup:

Full docs over on the new plugin's home page.

NOTE: Images with an icon next to them have been artificially shrunk to better fit your screen; click the icon to restore them, in place, to their regular size.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/100 sec, f/11, ISO 12800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Self Portrait
and beer and some BBQ-ready beef

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 320 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rooftop BBQ Beer Garden
on top of Hotel Avanshell Kyoto

There's one week left before the summer roof-top all-you-can-feast BBQ-and-beer garden at the Hotel Avanshell Kyoto closes forever. I've been meaning to post about it for ages, but time has conspired against me, and now it's almost over. This is the final week for this season, and since the hotel itself will close down at the end of the year, final is final. If you're in Kyoto next week, don't miss it! The last day is Sunday the 9th. I already have my reservation.

今週は最後だ！ホテル アバンシェル京都のすばらしい焼き肉食べ放題ビール飲み放題は今月９日（日）で終わり。残念ながら今年は最後で、今週は最後のチャンス。おすすめです！

For adults, ¥3,500 gets you two hours of all-you-can eat/drink gluttony, with a variety of foods and drinks, though beer and yakiniku BBQ are the main attractions.

I've been a number of times throughout the summer, so this post is made up of a mixture of shots from all the trips.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Food/Drink Alley
all you can eat

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 45mm — ¹/100 sec, f/6.3, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Free-Flowing
Asahi beers on tap, 200 〜 400 per night

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250 — map & image data — nearby photos
Nice Views
provide ample additional attraction early on

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — ¹/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Relatively Rural Area

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Slab of Beef
I'll have three or four plates like this
photo by Zak Braverman

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm — ¹/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Ready To Get Started

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/400 sec, f/7.1, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cheers!
( hadn't drunk yet... my glass is half full because I ordered it that way )

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2800 — map & image data — nearby photos
Cooks Quickly
photo by Zak Braverman

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — ¹/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 4500 — map & image data — nearby photos
Lots of Other Stuff as Well

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 220 — map & image data — nearby photos
Getting Lucky with the Sunset

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 52mm — ¹/400 sec, f/6.3, ISO 720 — map & image data — nearby photos

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/40 sec, f/13, ISO 10000 — map & image data — nearby photos
Rain in the Distance
when on the open roof, you take your chances
( one area has a cover so if you get a reservation there, you're good even in the rain )

E-P2 + Leica 25/F1.4 at an effective 50mm — ¹/50 sec, f/1.8, ISO 100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Vigorous
the flames sometime add their own bit of excitement
photo by Nicolas Joannin

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1100 — map & image data — nearby photos
Time For Another Round
beef and beer.... yum

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2200 — map & image data — nearby photos
photo by Zak Braverman

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 60mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1400 — map & image data — nearby photos
photo by Zak Braverman

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — ¹/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 — map & image data — nearby photos
Fun Time Had By All
folks at the next table memorialize their visit

Prior blog posts that came from visits here include “Impromptu Portraiture Practice: Bill in Kyoto”, when I tried a new approach to portraiture with a stranger I met, and some shots of me sporting “Uniqlo Dry Color T: My New Summer Wardrobe”.