Flickr Japan Photography

The Golden Hook Japan

Jim Atwood — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 15:02:32 +0000

The Hook is another interesting kanji character in calligraphy form found often around temples and shrines in Japan. I like the color contrast and scratchy feel of the photo.

Sunflower Sun Japan

Jim Atwood — Fri, 21 Aug 2009 12:07:17 +0000

Sunflower Sun shows how big these guys can get. They are massive at times. I wanted to show more of the sunflower here, but honestly the background left a lot to be desired. Instead I elected to get down low and shoot at an angle to give add dimension and size. The petals are aging as you can see, but the central part of the sunflower is amazing. The detail is just astonishing to look at on these sunflowers.

Pigeon in Grunge Japan

Jim Atwood — Thu, 20 Aug 2009 12:33:43 +0000

These birds are abundant in Japan and quite frankly they bother me more than I enjoy them. They are extremely aggressive when you have food around and I think they come much too close to kids and me sometimes. With that said, they occasionally make for some interesting subjects and I particularly liked this shot with the grunge and off color background.

Bugs Galore Japan

Jim Atwood — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 08:33:56 +0000

These are nifty little bug or “mushi” cases in Japan that allows young kids to keep their captured insects and bugs in. You’ll notice the one on the right looks like a camera. Japan makes all kinds of these cases and they are quite fun. Kids will often take these cases home and to school to show their parents or friends the catch of the day. The cases are very well secured so the bugs don’t usually escape unless you leave the door open of course.

Turn to Stone Japan

Jim Atwood — Fri, 14 Aug 2009 03:37:51 +0000

I’m always looking for a different approach when taking photographs of either similar or the same subject. I thought the closeup, angle, and design of the Kanji character provided an interesting perspective.

Zenkoji Temple Gateway Japan

Jim Atwood — Wed, 12 Aug 2009 07:36:36 +0000

The Great Zenkoji Template Gateway in Nagano City, Japan. The size of this gateway is awesome. It is also newly rebuilt and finished just last winter. You can enter the gateway and take stairs to the top for a birds eye view of the Zenkoji Temple grounds. It’s quite a site and a must see if you visit Nagano city. This week during Obon week there are many events and festivals in the area. This video was taken with the Creative Vado HD pocket camcorder. Video by Jim Atwood Photography at http://jimatwood.net.

Clam Shell Keitai Japan

Jim Atwood — Thu, 06 Aug 2009 08:03:31 +0000

Talking about my old “Clam Shell” keitai or cell phone in Japan that I use in my car. Clam Shell phones are extremely popular in Japan and one of the big reasons why non clam shell phones have a difficult time becoming popular.

Urban Street Art Japan

Jim Atwood — Sun, 26 Jul 2009 12:10:12 +0000

Japan is full of colorful and artistic graffiti these days. When I first arrived in Japan over 17 years ago, you didn’t encounter much street graffiti or city art, but these days tagging and character art is all over the place. In even smaller countryside cities like Nagano you find graffiti very common. This is due in part to the aging of the city and not enough new construction projects. It is also because there is a growing interest among young urban artists to do graffiti. Plus, the police in Japan do absolutely nothing about it. So it’s pretty much free reign these days for Graffiti artists to run rampant spraying their thoughts on the city walls and street buildings. As a photographer, this just means more cool and interesting subjects to photograph. The video below is a collection of Graffit shots I took in Nagano and Nagoya cities in Japan. Enjoy!

Flash Light Motion

Jim Atwood — Sat, 18 Jul 2009 12:08:01 +0000

I moved the camera a bit to get a motion blur effect. The background is a blue plastic tarp with holes in it. There is also a second layer of rope in the background. I particularly like the blue tones and the slight 3D feel of the photograph.

Kanji Japan by Jim Atwood Photography

Jim Atwood — Tue, 23 Jun 2009 11:46:42 +0000

Kanji Japan is a photography collection of Hiragana, Katakana, and Kanji that make up the Japanese writing system. I find these writing characters to be an artform in itself and are a joy to photograph. Images were taken by Jim Atwood Photography at http://www.jimatwood.net in Nagoya, Tokyo, Yokohama, and Nagano Japan.