Jeffrey E.F. Friedl's Blog, page 43

My Brother Just Finished a 51-mile UltraMarathon!

Having just posted about a
tiny baby hike to the top of an anthill in Kyoto that I feel good about having been able to do, I'm put to shame by my next-older brother Mike, who moments ago finished the Comrades Ultra-Marathon
in South Africa. A normal Marathon is 26.22 miles, but this one is 51.13 miles (82.28 km). He finished in 9h 37m 26s,
the 3,198th finisher out of 18,000 runners.

That leaves a pace of 11m 18s per mile.... every mile... more than 51 times in a row. On a good day I might be able to do one mile (2%).

Congrats Mike. What an accomplishment!

My Mt. Hiei Climb Challenge 2014, Part 1

As I mentioned the
other day, I recently did my third-annual Mt. Hiei (比叡山) hike, the first
two years ago having been what prompted me to get in shape. Comparing this
hike to previous ones is a yardstick to measure how well I'm getting in
shape.

I've documented the route well enough in previous years (two years ago
 ·  last
year) so I didn't intend to do it again this year. I did bring along
a smaller camera (a Nikon D700) and the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens that I bought accidentally to
document my progress via timestamps on the photos, and for the azaleas at the
top.

I'd intended to leave at 9am, but it was already past that when I woke
up , so with my brain still half asleep I set out at 10am, snapping a
photo to mark the time...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/6400 sec, f/1.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Setting Out

at 10:05am

The walk through the city to the trailhead is about 3.5km (2.2mi), which
I use as an opportunity to explore a bit, since I normally don't walk in
that part of the city. For example, 10 minutes in I came across a very
narrow lane that I decided to take simply because I could...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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Narrow Lane

I eventually came upon a shrine that I go by often without apparently
paying it much notice, so this time I decided to pop in for a few minutes...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1000 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

City Shrine

It has a hotel right next to it, and lots of utility wires and such out front, but a nice view can be had with judicious composition...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/800 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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Okazaki Shrine (岡崎神社)

Kyoto, Japan








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/5000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

It looks like a nice spot for a picnic, but I had other plans, so after spending four minutes I continued on toward the trailhead.

At the start of the trail is a little stream just perfect for toddlers
to play in, and a preschool class was making a visit. I couldn't help but
stop for a bit to watch the kids exude cuteness...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Toddlers Playing

I soon arrived at a shrine that marks the start of the real hike for me,
and I paused for a few minutes to stretch. It took 45 minutes to get here.
Last year it took 72.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
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Starting Point

Oyamazumi Shrine (大山祇神社)

After a 10-minute pause, I started the hike proper.

I noticed that the signs on the trail markers were new, with more English:

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/1600 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
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(Compare to this sign from last year.)

They still don't have distances on them, which is unfortunate.

I also noticed a bunch of other signs that I guess other groups put up. The big one in the shot below is really
difficult for me to understand, perhaps because of the font or because they have such little detail, and perhaps because they're
not affixed permanently and so maybe get twisted so you can't tell the orientation. I found them to be quite distracting. )-:

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/640 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
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Too Much Signage

with too little information








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/6400 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
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“The Shrine Clearing”

snapped more to mark the time and location than for its photographic composition, sorry

A clearing where a fire road ends at a stone shrine gate is a notable waypoint for me... it's where
I took my first long rest in prior years (two years ago,
and last year), and marks where the trail starts to get serious.

The first year I did this it took 48 minutes of agony to get here, and I rested 20 minutes just to summon the courage to continue.
This year took the same 48 minutes to arrive, but I felt great. Not even winded. I stopped long enough to snap the photo and have a quick drink,
then plunged into the start of the challenging part of the hike.

Immediately after the stone-shrine-gate clearing is a set of very steep downs and ups and downs and ups described here. The “downs” are what scare me the most
because of knee pain I've had all my adult life. The first year I did this I had to climb down the trail backwards to avoid the pain. Last year I wore knee braces and
had better luck.

This year I was going to find out just how much better I've gotten, so I didn't wear the braces. I was extremely happy to find that I had no pain
at all, and fairly flew down the mountain with enough energy to run back up the other side of each ravine.

After about four such down-and-cross-a-stream-and-go-back-up sets, I came across the second important waystation for me, a small stone monument
that I described the first year as a rough halfway point.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
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Halfwayish

The first year it took me 18 minutes to make the ups and downs to here from the stone shrine gate. Last year it took 16 minutes. This year just 8.

Previously I'd stopped here for some food and some rest, but I didn't need either this time, so I
snapped a quick picture to mark my
progress, and continued on my way. From here it's unrelenting up up up up,
equivalent to about a 110-story flight of rocky rough sandy steps.

Toward the end of the hike I came across a group of 20 or so folks heading up at a slower pace...

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/400 sec, f/1.6, ISO 200 —
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Traffic Jam

group in the far distance marks the first people I've seen in an hour








Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/640 sec, f/7.1, ISO 200 —
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Completed

Rest area near top of Mt. Hiei

As in previous years, the scenic-view picnic
area near the top was my destination, and I
made it in fine time, if not in fine style.
From the stone shrine gate clearing to here took just 48 minutes; last year
took 62 minutes, and the year before 70.

Overall, from leaving the house to here — all stops included
— took 2h 31m. (Last year, where I stopped for photography and rests,
it took 3h 41m.)

Last year I'd taken 4.5L of drink with me, and needed all of it. This
year I brought only 2L, and had plenty to spare.
I did take drinks more often than I felt I needed because they
say that when exercising you've waited too long if you wait until you're
thirsty. Still, when I did force myself to take
a drink, I was
surprised at how much I suddenly wanted.
In the end, I probably
drank 1.5L on the way up.

I wore the exercise shirt that I wrote about two months
ago, and it was fantastic. It kept me cool and comfortable. It's not very stylish as you can see above,
which is why I wore a bigger T-shirt over it during the city part of the hike.

I also wore a
knit hat designed for the heat. It, too, isn't stylish, but it was
so nice to not have sweat dripping in my eyes. It made a big difference.

I wore some Brooks walking shoes that I'd bought last year and they too were great... no blisters.

Wearing normal jeans was not a good idea... they get sweaty and heavy. I'll need to come up with something better for next year.

It turns out that the azaleas that I'd hoped to photograph were all brown... I was a week too late. I guess they were early this year.

I didn't feel the need to rest, so I quickly took off to check out some famous temples a few km farther on that I'd heard about.

To be continued...

The Mountain Claims a Sign, But Doesn’t Claim Me

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/250 sec, f/1.6, ISO 320 —
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Here, Let Me Hold That For You

今日は僕の第三回目の比叡山の山登りハイキングをしました。登るのはやっぱり去年より早い（二時間半じゃ無くて、一時間半）。
以前はバスで帰ったけれども、今回は足で、往復で28½キロ出来ました。嬉しい。ジムのおかげさまで。

Today I did my third annual Mt. Hiei climb. The climb in 2012 is what got
me started on the road to getting fit. Then it took me 2h 6m to make the
climb and I was completely wiped out. Last year it actually
took longer (2h 24m) because I was stopping so much for photography, but I felt much better in doing it than the extra time could explain.

This year it took 1h 36m and I felt just fine when I got to the top, so much so that I didn't stop to rest, and moved on farther to see some temples
a kilometer or so down the other side of the mountain. So good did I feel, in fact, that I walked back home as well. Total hike was 28½km (17.7 mile).

It's on the way back that I noticed this sign being claimed by the tree. I think it's a “put out your campfires” sign, but I'm not sure.

Nikon D700 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/250 sec, f/2.2, ISO 720 —
map & image data — nearby photos

I passed it on the way up all three times, but likely didn't notice it because my head buried into the trail immediately in front of me.
Also related is that it was next to one of the trail signs that governed a fork in the trail that didn't matter on the way up, but made a big
difference on the way down. The sign was of no help so I just picked one of the paths, and as my GPS tracklog eventually showed, it turns out to have
been different from the one I'd taken up, so that explains why for half an hour I had the “none of this looks familiar” feeling.

But as per the unhelpful sign, it did eventually wind up at the proper spot and I can confirm that I did get home alive.

To be continued...

Lunch Report: Exquisite Teppanyaki Steak at the Kyoto Brighton Hotel

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Steak on Fire

at Himorogi, in the Brighton Hotel

Kyoto Japan

京都ブライトンホテルの鉄板焼

We had a nice family lunch at the Kyoto Brighton Hotel's teppanyaki grill “Himorogi” (燔). With a teppanyaki meal, the chef prepares it on a grill in front of you.

This kind of meal at a Japanese Restaurant in The States often involves
a big theatrical performance of spinning knives, flipping shrimp, and corny
jokes, but that's an invention purely for the foreign market, and there's
absolutely none of that in Japan as far as I know. Rather, real teppanyaki
involves quiet, reserved, and exceedingly precise preparation with the main
emphasis on quality.

Though it's not “theatrical”, it is a performance, one of perfection in movement and preparation. No movement is superfluous, every cut is precise and perfect. The chef doesn't speak except to explain
something such as which sauce is what, or when spoken to.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 160 —
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Appetizer

scallops and veggies prior to cooking








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 —
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Work in Progress








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 —
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Now with Sauce

I'm a big guy and like to eat, so this tiny appetizer scared me a bit that this would be one of those places
where you got food that was good but not enough. My worries turned out to be misfounded.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1600 —
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More Veggies

precisely cut and returned to the plate to await cooking

( the pile of garlic chips was out of place on the otherwise unworldly-clean grill )








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 —
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Placement

neat and precise








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 2000 —
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Stirfry

without the “stir”








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Touch of Spice








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Presentation

and the grill has already been returned to a pristine state for the next course








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 32mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Tempura

Tempura is veggies
and/or fish deep-fried in a light batter, so I wasn't expecting it in a
grilled setting, but they did it. The chef dipped each item into the batter (which seemed a bit thicker than normal) and placed
it within a large circle of ever-hottening oil.

The circle of oil would gradually expand as heat reduces its viscosity,
but the chef's quick spatulas kept it pooled around the items being
cooked...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Re-Pooling the Oil








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Dripping Hot Oil

to cook the top








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
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Crunchy Results








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
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Quick Sear

this fish went from raw to fully cooked in about five seconds








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
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Main Dish

I could eat the whole thing, but this was for five

Preparation of the steak was somewhat involved. First the bottom and the edges were seared on the grill,
then they were placed on a grill for a while...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
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Grill?

or just a mesh to hold away from the heat until ready for the next step?








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/320 sec, f/2.5, ISO 3200 —
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The Next Step

seemed conventional enough








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Steaming?

Then came the one moment in the entire meal that could be considered “show”...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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It's just a brief flash of fire so I don't suppose it has any practical purpose, but it offers an “oh!” moment. It's not quite the same as the flaming ramen that I once wrote about,
but seemed to match the setting well enough.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Immediate Cleanup








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Precise Movement

When you ordered you could choose between two different cuts of meat; the steaks seen above were for those who had ordered one type. The other type was then prepared, but in a different way, as the “oh!” moment for this cut came while the meat was on the little mesh.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Aftermath

The meat was served on a plate with a square indentation in the bottom, on top of a thin slice of bread place into the square. You can sort of see it
in the shot above. We were told not to eat the bread.

When we were done with the meat, the chef took the bread, now flavored with juices from the meat, and grilled it, then added
some grilled sprouts and tarter sauce...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Making a Mini Sandwich

The bread was folded over the sprouts into thirds, making a tasty little pocket of yummy.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 36mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Yakimeshi

Japanese white rice grilled with garlic and spices

it was fantastically good








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 27mm — 1/800 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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While digesting after the meal, I finally thought to take a picture of the name of the restaurant.
Based on the writing on the coaster, I thought the name was “火番”, but it turns out to be the rare
character “燔”, which I look up to find means “burn”. That seems appropriate for a grill.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3200 —
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Dessert

It was a great meal and great experience, a reasonable value for $70. Dinners are much more pricey, starting at $120 and going to $300. Drinks not included, of course.

The Lazy Photographer: Exposing for Single-Shot HDR (Sort Of)

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Cafe with a View

Wedding-Venue Rokusisui (六絲水), Kyoto Japan

Photos in yesterday's “Heian Shrine Gate From a New Perspective” were taken during an open
house at a new wedding-venue business. The fifth-floor terrace from where I took those photos
is off a small cafe where wedding guests can wait for the
events to begin.

The cafe was richly lit with shade streaming in from the floor-to-ceiling windows
that made up two walls, but it was much darker than the outside, so the
wide dynamic range (wide range between shadows and brights) made for a fun
challenge.

To create the photo above, I overexposed for the outside and then “slightly” adjusted things in Lightroom (where in this case “sightly” means “a lot”. The result above is actually not too bad, I think. At least it doesn't have too much of an HDR fakeish smell
despite the rather extreme adjustments made in Lightroom.

For reference, here's the original pre-“slightly” photo that the above was derived from:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Slightly Overexposed for the Outside

original

As you can see, quite of bit of detail and richness can be extracted from the shadows.

I also tried exposing for the dark inside, which I knew would turn the outside into a blinding wash of white:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 —
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Different Shot, Exposed for the Inside

original

The blinding nature of the outside can make for an artsy kind of view, and with a little work this could be made a nice shot.
But a “natural” view couldn't be created from it the way it was created from the initial shot because blown highlights like this are simply gone and can't be recovered.
Here's the best I could come up with:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/50 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 —
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Not Worth The Effort

best try at “fixing” the “Exposed for the Inside” shot

The first shot of the cafe shown above used an exposure that was slightly overexposed for the outside... the overexposure allowed the dark inside
to record a few extra photons, but at the same time the slightness of that overexposure kept it from blowing out the outside view, so detail could be recovered.
This brings to mind two old posts about exposure recoverability:

Overexposure and Underexposure, and the Compensation Thereof
Why I Shoot Raw: Recovering From Disasters

The lessons from both are twofold: 1) you can recover more from
too-dark shadows than from too-bright highlights, and 2) shoot raw
rather than jpeg.

As one more set of data points, here's a photo with proper exposure for the outside, and its “natural” version after adjustments in Lightroom...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Properly Exposed for the Outside

the outside is fine, but the inside is way too dark








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Properly Exposed for the Outside

adjusted, but a bit too HDRish for my tastes

Finally, it's interesting to compare these various views (as hastily and
unprofessionally made as they are) with a CGI version created by the
business last summer.

The Company's CGI View

as hosted on the Rokusisui (六絲水) web site

I think it's nicely done. They made it long before the new building
actually existed, so the inside is all computer generated. I saw blueprints for the new building early last year
so I know they had an idea of how it would look,
but it's amazing to me how much detail of the interior was planned ahead
and entered into a computer with enough precision to generate a reasonably-accurate representation of what the view
would eventually look like. I suppose it's
standard for the industry, but as an outsider who knows nothing about the
industry, I guess I'm just amazed.

Heian Shrine Gate From a New Perspective

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/8, ISO 110 —
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Torii Gate of the Heian Shrine

with the Mt. Yoshida hill visible just underneath

Kyoto Japan

平安神宮の鳥居と吉田山

The shot above is from quite the different vantage point from normal. I've posted many views of the main gate of the Heian Shrine
on my blog over the years, such as this shot more than eight years ago.
My blog's proximity search of the area reveals many more.

After living here so long it's a challenge to find something fresh, so I
was pleasantly surprised to find a new vantage point the other day when a
new business opened up after a long year of building demolition and then
new construction.

The new business, wedding venue Rokusisui (六絲水), held an open house
for local folks. The photo above is
from the 5th floor terrace that normally will be open only to the wedding
party and their guests, so I was happy to have the opportunity to see
it.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 105mm — 1/250 sec, f/8, ISO 110 —
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Heian Shrine

the building at left can be seen better here








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1600 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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Wider View

with the National Museum of Modern Art at left, and the Kyoto Municipal Museum of Art at right

The peak in far background to right of center is Mt Hiei, which I plan
to hike up to next week as a repeat of last year's hike. The mountain on the far right is Mt. Daimonji, which I last hiked four years
ago.

Kendo Masters Tournament in Kyoto, Part 2

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Just Browsing

kendo master inspects a bamboo competition sword








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 110mm — 1/500 sec, f/6.3, ISO 220 —
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What He Was Checking Out

prices range from about $100 to $170

This post continues from yesterday's “My First Look at
Kendo: Masters Tournament in Kyoto” post, which introduced the kendo (“Japanese fencing”)
event I attended the other day.

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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/320 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 155mm — 1/640 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5600 —
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Abrupt Burst

( for some reason this reminds me of “Hover Cat” )









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Preparation








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En Garde

( they don't actually say that )








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Touching Gloves

( so to speak )








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Third in Line








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Embroidery

names are embroidered in beautiful fonts on everything








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Pre-Match Jitters

I wonder whether he still gets them

These people (mostly men, but there were a few women) were 7th-dan masters (the max is 8), meaning that they've been doing this for at least 23 years. I wonder whether they get nervous before a bout.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 280 —
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The Decisive Moment

or so it seems, but since I don't really know the sport, maybe not








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Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 320 —
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I Got a Lot of Shots Like This

due to where I could find to photograph








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Nice Venue

Kyubutokuden Hall (旧武徳殿), dating from 1899








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 82mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2800 —
map & image data — nearby photos
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With patience I eventually worked myself into a position that I thought would give
great shots, right at the center line where the bonsai tree was directly in
the line of sight inside the Japanese flag. But the lighting was ridiculous
making the white background of the flag look pink. I “fixed” it in some
shots with some heavy-handed post processing, just as I “fixed” the visual
clutter of the name signs in the background on some of the shots. Artistic License.

Here's an unfixed view:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/5, ISO 3600 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 86mm — 1/200 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 —
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“Artsy View”
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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Keeping One's Eye on the Ball

( so to speak, again )








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 125mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 —
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Black Sheep

the one non-dark uniform I noticed








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 90mm — 1/200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 —
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“Luke, I am Your Father”

( sorry )








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/125 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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I eventually left the main building and wandered around outside a bit, only to find a bigger gymnasium-like building next door being used as a practice/staging area...

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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This shot is a great little vignette into Japanese culture. Shoes fill
the entryway because street shoes are not worn inside a gym (gym-only shoes
might be brought in for sports that require them), but they've set up a
raised walkway between the two buildings to allow participants to move
between them without shoes.

Inside the gym, many folks were practicing...

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Back outside at the sales stalls, we have some protective gear on display.`
As I mentioned yesterday, this vendor's prices range from $700 a set to
$10,000 a set.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Kids forced to tag along have other things on their mind...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/2000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 100 —
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My First Look at Kendo: Masters Tournament in Kyoto

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 116mm — 1/250 sec, f/3.2, ISO 5000 —
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Vanquished or Victor?

With kendo, you can't really tell

The other day I attended some very high level kendo (Japanese fencing) bouts, my first real exposure to it other than
having seen a bit six years ago during a visit to a Japanese high school.

Last week I posted a couple of lone photos here and here, but finally I'll
actually write a bit about the event.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/2500 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Registration Table

at the Kyubutokuden (旧武徳殿), the oldest martial-arts arena in Japan

Kyoto, Japan

The sign says something along the line that it's the 110th All Japan Kendo Martial-Arts Exhibition.

I live a short stroll from this place, so it's a shame that it's taken me 10 years to make a visit. I had no idea what to expect, so I went in gingerly
and observed how others acted to determine what I could do.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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There seemed to be two bouts going simultaneously, each with two practitioners facing off against each other and three judges in suits.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1800 —
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Single Bout

two fighters, three judges

Court-side are tatami areas for upcoming participants to get ready... kendo has quite the impressive uniform.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 102mm — 1/25 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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Getting Ready









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
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Face Off

The armor flap in front shows their city and name.

The bougu protective uniform is quite impressive, with 100+ years
of martial-arts tradition built on top of thousands of years of
samurai-warrior tradition. There's meaning in every little bit, as
illustrated by the length of this introductory
description. Later I noticed some stalls outside the venue selling sets of the “armor” part of
the uniform at prices ranging from $700 for a set, to $10,000. I'm sure that's just the tip of the iceberg.

As for the sport itself, apparently they get points for making a strike
to certain areas of the other's armor, but only if done with sufficient
control so as to never let themselves be open to counterattack.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5000 —
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Attack

Bouts last just a few minutes, and have a slow highly-choreographed look
for the most part, except that it's punctuated at moments by short
ferociously-quick bursts of energy of movement.

Everyone I saw was at a
sufficiently high rank to be considered a master of masters, yet some were
still so surprised and caught off guard by the sudden burst of energy from
their opponent that their feet couldn't keep up with their body's retreat,
leaving them sprawled on the ground.

Even to someone like me who knew nothing,
this was amazing to see.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.8, ISO 500 —
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Next Up

Not only couldn't I tell who won each bout, I truly couldn't tell
whether there was a winner at all. According to the Wikipedia page on Kendo
the referees have colored flags to match colored ribbons on the back of the
fencers, but this was not the case here.

I checked out the nameboard to find a hint, but after a match both names
got an unceremoniously final red “X”, and then they were slid off the end
and removed from the display....

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 5000 —
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Upcoming Bouts

An interesting tidbit from the photo above is that the bout just completed is numbered 429. It was a busy tournament.

Also of note is that the referees are listed, each name given with the
honorific reserved for the highest kendo rank. If one devoted oneself to
kendo from childhood and advanced at the fastest rate possible, this
highest rank could be achieved no earlier than 54 years old. So we know
that all the referees are older than 54, and are the highest masters of
kendo.

Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/8, ISO 5000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bouts in Progress
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Nikon D4 + Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM — 1/80 sec, f/1.4, ISO 250 —
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Changing of the Guard

so to speak

Reasonable color balance was a challenge due to the wildly-different
nature of the gymnasium artificial lighting from the shade flooding in from
the huge entrances in each wall. The color in the shot two above is probably more realistic
than that of the shot immediately above, which is balanced more for the guy in the foreground.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/40 sec, f/2.8, ISO 900 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 140mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 720 —
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Wielding Two Swords

apparently is okay








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 200mm — 1/400 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2000 —
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Chair and Vice Chair

of this year's exhibition

They had quite the good seats, but lucky for me they didn't occupy them most of the time I was in a position to get nice shots.

To be continued...

Obeisance To Tradition

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/3.2, ISO 3200 —
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Parting Bow

a kendo master prepares to depart the dojo after a bout
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I've been feeling remarkably unproductive of late, sorry. I'm hoping soon to have a proper post about the kendo (“Japanese fencing”)
event mentioned a couple of weeks ago, but for now here's one picture from it.

Mini Rant: Disappointed in Netflix Video Streaming

I've been subscribing to Netflix's
video-streaming service for a month or so. For $9
bucks a month it's a
great deal and I recommend it, but that
being said, it's also a big disappointment over
what I expected.

YouTube has defined what's expected in video streaming, and the Netflix
experience is so much worse. One problem is that
the video quality is usually pretty bad — blocky and pixelated
— even though I have a
very fast connection (even via the VPN that I require to access Netflix from Japan). I can watch super-HD 1080p videos on YouTube without
problem, but Netflix remains fairly blocky on average. (Only once that
I recall in all this time has it ever kicked into
basic-HD mode.)

While watching YouTube, if you want to jump back a few seconds, or skip forward a few seconds, you just
grab the little location cursor and move it where you want, and usually playback starts from there immediately,
because these locations not far from your previous playback spot are in the playback buffer. Not so on Netflix...
any movement of the playback cursor — even just back a few seconds — requires a full restart of the
stream, taking 10+ seconds and reverting to the lowest-quality video. It's maddening.

Other problems include...

Movie selection: I never knew that there were so many crappy
movies made over the years, but Netflix has conveniently assembled them all
in one location. To keep things consistent, good movies are kept to a
minimum.

Every time I've searched for a specific movie by name, it's not been
available. Every. Single. One. Examples include Avatar, 300, Harry Potter,
Inception, Major League, Game of Thrones, The
Spanish Prisoner, Frozen. Not available.

With an inability to find good movies by name, you're left to browse the cesspool of
crappy movies to find the occasional good movie that somehow snuck in, but Netflix makes this very difficult
because the rating system is almost useless.

First off, they're always shoving “rate this movie” interstitials into
your face, encouraging you to give a haphazard answer just to shut the
thing up. An ignorant or unconsidered rating is much worse than no
rating, but they aggressively encourage the former, strongly diluting the meaning and purpose of ratings.

While browsing you can mark a move as “Not Interested”, but there's no description of what this actually means.
Does it mean:

Already seen this movie (it was great!) but don't want to see while searching for something new.

Already seen this movie (it was horrible!) and never want to be reminded of it again.

Not interested in this specific movie that I've heard bad things about.

Not interested in this genre/director/actor/subject.

or something else entirely? Does it impact the rating system? Who knows.

When they show a rating for a movie, sometimes they show the average customer rating,
and sometime they show the rating Netflix thinks I'd give. While browsing, you'll see one or the other,
but they're presented with the same appearance so you actually have to read the fine print to know which they're showing.

And if you do want to spend the time to rate a movie, there's nothing between “Didn't like it” and “Liked it”.
There's no “meh, it was okay”. I'm sure that a thousand years of consumer research shows that a movie rating
system must have exactly five stars, but Netflix picks a lopsided five levels that artificially encourages more positive reviews:

Netflix's Rating SystemWhat I think it Should Be
✭····Hated itHated it
✭✭···Didn't like itDidn't care for it
✭✭✭··Liked itSo-so
✭✭✭✭·Really liked itLiked it
✭✭✭✭✭Loved it!Really liked it

Actually, I think a 10-star system like IMDB would be much better.
IMDB gives ratings that actually mean something.

When you're watching at TV show and the episode reaches the end
credits, they show the blurb for the next episode, making it easy to skip
directly to it. “Easy” is wonderful, but the blurb about the next episode can give away important
plot points, destroying much of the fun of watching. As far as I can tell,
you can't turn this off.

The Netflix original production “House of Cards” illustrates how little they
get the concept of on-demand video. With broadcast TV, especially before
recorders and timeshifting, the title sequence of a TV show — those 60 seconds or so of theme
music with actor and production credits over generic video not related to
the specific episode — served the important function of being a time
buffer during which the viewing audience could tune in and confirm that
they've gotten to the right channel at the right time, and if they join in
early enough in the sequence, allow them the comfort to use the bathroom or
grab something from the fridge without worrying that they'll miss
something.

This time-buffer purpose has no meaning in an on-demand world of video streaming and DVD rentals where
you press “play” when you're ready to watch. The title sequence can of course be useful to set a mood and to give credit to the actors and producers,
so it makes sense to have it at the start of the first episode, but House of Cards has almost two
minutes of generic title sequence stuff tacked on to the start of each of its 26 episodes. It's exactly the same every time, so after the first episode it's just maddening to have to suffer the 101 seconds
of title sequence just to watch the video you wanted to see back when you pressed “play”. I'd rather have commercials.

All told, the wasted time over the course of
the 26 episodes adds up to almost 44 minutes, almost as long as a full episode! Clearly, someone doesn't get the concept of “on demand”. And as I mentioned above, Netflix makes it difficult to jump ahead, so you're pretty much stuck watching over and over who designed
the costumes, and who the half dozen executive producers were.

(That all being said, House of Cards is an amazing, riveting, fantastic show. It's painful to sit through the title sequence each time,
but House of Cards by itself makes the Netflix subscription more than worth it.)

YYMV.