Comiket doesn’t make Art.

Taking a small detour from the usual stuff in Japan, I attended Comiket… An action packed three days of pornographic mayem, mixed with graveur idol worship.
Okay, it’s not that bad (though not far off it) but it’s an event worth experiencing while you’re there.

It’s a bit of a street photography nightmare though, almost all photography is banned with exception of designated area’s (Cosplay). Most of the time security guards would jump on you if they see you ready to click.

Don’t expect too much from these photo’s, they’re more for just a quick glance. ^_~

It could have been colder…

Having short chats with locals aided by my quality Japanese language skills (reference the Indian vs Italian F-You vs You want to eat joke) this year appears to be a mixed amount of cold and hot (relative to years prior).

I had fully expected to see snow during the short excursion to Kawaguchiko… And I did in a matter of speaking. The short of it is, Until you get around the 1500m’s above sea level area, you won’t see any… And when you do get that high, it’s barely enough to register as snow fall.
Add to that, it was clearly at least a week old.

Even when I hit the Subaru Line (for those who don’t know, it’s the road that gets you to the fifth station on Mt Fuji), we were stopped short at 2020m’s above sea level.
Where God did see fit to stop the snow from coming down in qantities below 2000m’s, he/she saw fit to plunge so much on top of Mt Fuji, that the fifth station was forced to close.
Oh well… At least I got past half way.

Actually, I did intend to climb to the third station during this time around, however, after getting to the first station and being sorely dissapointed, along with half trodden snow all around, I thought it’d be in my best interest to head back, and return towards the end of my trip when there’s fresh powder.

I will add that it was cold, so taking the camera out for quick snap wasn’t really a goer for me… I still have to buy gloves… which is something I’m probably best taking care of sooner rather then later.

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On a side note, there’s been a bit of discussion lately over the new 5D Mark II.
I want to sway in a little on the arguement (although I don’t have much readership) and just say how admirable the camera has been performing on this trip. It’s been easier to use it more often then it has the 1Ds III. That said, I’ve found my 1DsIII to be really responding well to some of the stuff I’m playing with.
Since I’ve been here, I’ve visited my favourite camera store as well (Fujiya Camera in Nakano) and wasn’t suprised to see the 5D Mark II selling for 263,000 yen as a body on its own.
As some who know me, prior to leaving Australia, I purchased mine there… It’s the first DSLR body I’ve purchased in Australia, and I bought it for RRP (actually $100AU, but who’s counting that?)
All things considered, the 5DII price in Australia translated to Yen came out to 253,000 yen at the time. Even now, it’s somewhere close to that.
I’m certain that you will not find a 5D Mark II cheaper in Japan then Fujiya, and if you do, it’s not by any large amount.
Will all things considered, a few people have mentioned the price of the 5D2 coming down in the future (in Australia) and my comment or thought on this is, don’t count on it. The price that Canon Aus currently have now is globally one of the cheapest. If the price doesn’t go up (and I’m counting on it doing so once Canon’s paid orders are completed with Canon JP) then they certainly won’t drop until the Dollar increases in Strength.

But enough of that, I’ve included some other photo’s from the trip below.

I’m sure we’ll get to the nice pictures soon…

Canon 5D Mark II - 24mm TS-E @ f/3.5

What a plane the A380 is… No really.
If you have the chance, fly on one.

One problem with boarding a plane late at night is that it’s too dark to take pictures through the thick glass that usually separates you from the airfield, with all the glare from the duty free shops.
Fortunately when we landed today, the terminal we parked at must have been especially designed for viewing the aircraft… Because it was fantastic! (as the above shot demonstrates). The problem is you’re ushered along, giving me very little time to get the exposure right. In any case, it’s not an artistic shot (even though it’s photographed at full tilt. ^_~) It’s more for the memory.

Below are some further images from my seat (my bag is currently on the seat).
BTW. Business class on Singapore Air is worth it! Qantas could learn a thing or two from them.

How to have ones cake, and eat it too.

Help yourself to a slice...

Just logging into my journal at Changi Airport, I can’t help but be very impressed with the sudden spike in visitors today (almost 60 as of this post).

Here’s the first picture for the journal… The Vanilla slice I so enjoyed eating.

More information to come, though for the travelling photographer out there… Excess luggage is your best friend if you pre-pay.
Some airlines these days offer the option to purchase excess. Something along the lines of $20 will buy you an extra 5kg’s.
The ulternatives are, get business class if available (30kg’s straight up) or pay excess at check in, usually in the order of $20 per kg… Which adds up.
For the record, my suitcase itself weighs in at 23.8kg’s… That’s a little over the standard. Considering I’ve been careful to manage what I’ll need (It’s also a winter holiday, so everything is a little heavier anyway) I think I’ve done very well… Unfortunately that’s due to go up soon enough with the addition of a pair of Ice skates soon to be on their way.
I digress… carrying camera equipment is somewhat hard too, so if you can get yourself one, a wheelie airport bag is a great idea, along with a backpack…

I definantly think my mode of packing will change during this trip. In fact, it has to in order to be accomodative.

And the journey begins…

One thing I’ll give to being a Qantas club member, is that the lounges are pretty good… And if you do enough travelling, the price can well be worth it.
Consider if you will, the cost of the average beverage at an airport lounge, and multiply that by the number of times you travel, you start to see a small saving, considering you have more to get on with.

So, the journey has begin. I have two hours until the scheduled departure time, and then it’s Jetstar to Singapore (only option from Darwin).

From Singapore it’s a longer flight, this time on their A380, with the sufferings of business class. I’m sure I’ll hate it.

As promised, I have a break down of my kit, however, photo’s will have to wait until i arrive in Japan. The following is my Camera bag for this trip, which may or may not end up slightly heavier over time.

Bodies: Canon 1Ds Mark III, Canon 5D Mark II
Lenses: 24 f/3.5L TS-E, 24-70 f/2.8L, 50 f/1.2L, 70-200 f/2.8L
Tripod: Some crazy overpriced Carbon Fibre thingy from Manfrotto
Misc: XPS 1330m (currently what I’m writing on), 580EXII & EXI, and all the dangly bits they come with. Add a Rode Sterio mic for use with the 5D2 in movie mode.

Welcome to my Journal…

To those who’ve magically stumbled upon this ‘journal’ welcome. The idea is a simple one, to tell the story of my travels as I go about my ‘business’ (read hobby) of photography.
I plan to cover all aspects from the preparation prior to my journeys including the equipment I take with me, as well as regular updates during the time, and finally an assessment of the journey including aspects I feel require changing for future attempts and information I feel is important to share.

Shortly I’ll be listing my first trip journal for Winter 2008-2009 in Japan. A brief description is my mostly Solo travels around the Northern regions of Japan, from December 24th through to January 31st.