Despite
waking up yesterday with what felt like the beginnings
of a cold, I went to Enoshima anyway to see the Annual
Mikoshi Festival that takes place each January. I provided
all the gory details in my
previous writeup on this subject, so Ifll not go
into too many of the specifics here.
The waves were a lot larger this year, so they did
not carry the Mikoshi too far into the ocean. But, I
was able to grab some video of the event this time.
Check out the clip here:
High
Quality 4:06 (13.4 mb) .wmv file
Low
Quality 4:06 (6.9 mb) .wmv file
Warning, I will not be held responsible if you get
motion sickness from watching the jittery clips. I was
getting jostled around pretty good and it was impossible
to hold the camera steady.
It was really crowded around the event, and the only
things that helped by get as many keepers as I did are
the facts that I was taller than most of the other photographers,
and I was wearing waterproof boots so I could walk out
into the surf a little ways to get a better angle.
I did have one wave go over my boots and I walked around
for the rest of the day a little soggy, but I did get
a few shots I am pleased with so it was worth it.
One thing that makes photographing an event like such
a challenge is all the other photographers with the
same bright idea as me. It is not uncommon for photographers
to sometimes outnumber participants at an event like
this, and this day was just about that bad.
I know it will always take a certain amount of jostling
to get into position at a festival, but one thing I
canft stand is when people barge through the crowd with
a large shoulder bag on one arm, and a heavy tripod
slung around the other. They manage to bang into everyone
around them without so much as a gsumimasenh. (Which
is exactly the reason I go for a small backpack and
if at all possible I leave my tripod at home. If I have
to carry a tripod I opt for a small one that fits strapped
snuggly below my backpack. This allows me to weave through
crowds with ease, and without bumping into anyone. I
wish the 2,716 other photographers on the beach yesterday
had the same idea as me. I canft remember how many time
I was setting up for a shot when some dolt would pass
by me and his/her tripod of shoulder bag would catch
me, ruining the framing I was setting up. Japanese combat
photography at its best.
--
After the fun and games wrapped up in Enoshima I hopped
the Odakyu line for Shinjuku and after a quick lunch
of Ramen and Gyoza I made my way over to Odaiba to get
some shots of the Rainbow Bridge.
It sure felt good to get out and take some picture
again. Itfs been far two long (3-4 weeks I think) since
I last went out and spent an entire day on the weekend
capturing some light.
Instead of taking pictures, Ifve been spending my weekends
either doing family things for the holidays, or working
on this second version of Sushicam that will very soon
be ready for prime time. Ifve tested out a few of the
more popular and well supported Content Management Systems,
(Drupal, Mamboserver, and Wordpress) checking out the
available plug ins for each.
I had almost settled on Drupal, but since the current
version is really weak in image handling I had to pass
on it. Supposedly the next version of Drupal will be
much better at image management, but Ifm ready to make
the leap now, so I had to look elsewhere.
Seth and associates has worked up some magic again,
and I am now firmly convinced that Wordpress 2.0 is
the CMS of choice for me to use for the new version
of Sushicam.
I'm working on formatting the template now, and as
soon as I have something ready I will post a link here
so everyone can see what the new Sushcam will look like.
It will take some refinement before it looks and acts
the way I would like it to, but overall Wordpress 2.0
seems to be very close to perfect, right out of the
box.
Ifm thinking it will be ready to go by next weekend.
(Maybe even sooner)
Comment 16
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