Tokyo, fashion house

 Omote-sando dori, Tokyo. The road (dori) running between Hara-juku and Omote-Sando, Tokyo's fashion suburbs. The architecture of the fashion houses Dior, Louis Vitton, Prada and Tod's is as stunning as the designer fashions they are home to. During the winter on a cloudy day the glass and concrete almost blend into the background, a far cry from those that cloth themselves in these stores.

 

Jailbird

Up above King Edward Park are these old, resting, military installations. Late afternoon sun, long shadows, creative model, you can't go wrong...

Seen from a Beach...

Cruising along an ever narrowing road we came upon this most beautiful beach. 'Big Beach' (or Oneloa in Hawaiian) is referred to, in the guide book, as the crowning glory of this park. Climbing over a volcanic headland we found 'Little Beach' or (don't go there with your daughter; it's a nudist beach in any language).

This part of Maui is just stunning. With fish tacos we picked up along the way this was an awesome spot to enjoy the late afternoon. A little late and pretty well all swimmed out from earlier in the day we regretfully stayed on dry land. That won't happen next time.

Long time coming...

It's been a while since the last post here. Life moves slowly at times. Just booked a trip to Melbourne in a couple of weeks. New grist for the mill...

Man's Best Friend

Again a couple of snaps of some of the puppies I have met on my travels. These guys are hanging about protecting their homes. One cranky lil' snapper and these other two sad looking fellows locked in with the deception that they own the place.

Continued Walking (because Still Walking doesn't really make sense)

Have embarked on a quest to walk the walks of the many walking books I have in my possession. With great luck and perseverance I will attain my goal and achieve happiness, fitness and enlightenment etc. (or at least a hearty appetite)

It's an honourable quest, well within my abilities, and so rich with rewards. Some of the beautiful landscapes I have so far encountered.

Everyones Best Friend

I have a friend who loves dogs. She fosters neglected dogs at her home and when a new owner comes along, with a tear in her eye she farewells her four legged friend. She does this selflessly and totally out of love for an often forgotten minority.

Spending more and more time making images on the coast, particularly around the ocean baths of Newcastle I started to pick up on the number of dogs that were out taking people for a walk. Starting to watch the dogs as they passed I realised that they were already sussing me.

I began to note that there was a fearless eye contact being made by almost every dog I passed. Whereas it's often difficult to engage a fellow human eye to eye, the humble K9 is totally up for it. As the human cruises coolly by, trailing haplessly behind and sticking to the correct side of the path, the dog is making full eye contact as it passes by. It's almost a staring contest, and they never blink first.

I decided to start responding to their gaze and snap some images. They are truly the perfect subject. Completely relaxed under the stare of the lens. Humble and unselfconscious. Full of emotional responses and comfortable with the display of any emotion they happen to be feeling from moment to moment, love or rage, joy or sorrow.

More than a Day at the Beach

More than a day, more than a beach. This has been brewing like the churning ocean from the day I picked up my fathers old Yashica twin lens. I'm back here again and here I will stay.

Unburied Treasure

Some treasures I found on the way to the beach today. Beautiful day, blue sky, shining sun, glistening water, pair of underpants, crushed can, burnt out car, general household rubbish.

Thanks for providing me with a surplus of interesting things to photograph with new camera, new lens (though not really mine) and new attitude to the whole photography thing.

Digging in for the long haul now...

Off the Beaten Track

Actually you can't imagine a landscape any more beaten than this one. A bit further south from where I have been walking and into the Wyong Shire. I walked into this area on a fire trail with the usual accompanying debris by the side. Washing machines, wheel rims, bottles, paint cans etc. If it can rust or shatter you'll find it in the bush in profusion. Oh and it helps if it is not particularly damaged by fire like the rest of the environment. Even the dumped bundles of newspapers haven't burnt, while all around them is ash.

After walking for a distance I leave the track, something now possible since the fire came through. It's beautiful and liberating to walk through the trees and really feel the slope and curve of the land. None of the pungent prick, the stab and scratch, the spiny barrier the bush usually provides to block free access - there is no bush. The only impediment to my progress across the land is the frequent fallen tree and these are easily circumnavigated.

The thing I begin to notice after a while is an absence of the usual detritus. No rubbish anywhere. In general I cant avoid the rusted metal and broken bottles that litter the landscape. Now I've started to look for it and to my astonishment I find nothing. No rotor from a washing machine. No rusting car body. No soft drink can or bottle top. It's extraordinary and it feels very odd after all I've seen in the past weeks (and years).

The conclusion: no tracks into the bush = no dumping of rubbish. Simple.

I believe I have discovered an area free and clear of any human interactivity. I believe, in a haze of fantasy, that I have stumbled into some sort of bushy paradise. Has any fellow human set foot here before. Am I the first upright walking biped to navigate this zone. All evidence points in that direction. I revel in these notions for a time as I enjoy this experience. It does feels like as though I am an explorer. And perhaps I am one of the first to see the landscape here in this way at this time.

The bush at the moment, may not have the natural beauty we usually associate with our natural environment, but right now is an extraordinary time to go into the bush for a walk.

I pissed on a burning log today

Every day since the fire I have walked in the once familiar bush behind my home and in the surrounding area. There has been no time since I began walking here that I have had this feeling of discovering something new every single day. There is so much that I have never seen before and may never see again. Each day, even each moment, the landscape through which I traverse is different.

It surprises me the resilience of this fire. We were evacuated two weeks ago tonight. The fire burnt through, the flames went away, the RFS mopped up, the days have cooled down, a heavy rain storm hit the area... Every day when I walk in the bush, I find many smouldering tree trunks, red hot coals, wafts of smoke through the once solid and impenetrable bush.

I pissed on a burning log today, as I do everyday. I only wish I had more to give.