Ukiyoe iPhone app

During the recent wicked weather, I’ve spent a lot of time indoors playing with my iPhone and downloading apps. Much of the photography on Chibaraki was shot with either an old Sharp camera phone and iPhone.
This application, Edoshop, uses photos to make ukiyo-e-like images. Ukiyo-e is the woodblock print art that became highly refined in the [...]

Japan gets even smaller…

Billy West on his blog, Seven Ten to Tokyo, posted some photos that made me blink. He manipulated the photos with Tilt-Shift Maker. I  was really surprised at the sidewalk scene. The light and depth of the photo really fooled me at first look into thinking it was a miniature model.
Recently, Tokyo Notice Board published [...]

Gideon and Light in Matsudo

Gideon, a British expat living in Kashiwa, has a remarkable eye for sights. He brings micro and macro views of Japanese culture, nature and technology. His next gallery exhibit with 写楽 Sharaku Photo Club is next weekend.
He writes -
I’d like to invite you to my latest gallery show in Matsudo, this time with some of [...]

A secret garden in Abiko City

春一番 haruichiban, the first winds of spring came to Japan this weekend. Saturday was remarkably warm, and  put away my scarf and enjoyed the sunshine. On Saturday morning, when we were passing the Abiko stationfront in bright sunshine, we saw the monument to Taisho Period artists, and my friend mentioned that some of the houses [...]

Kashiwa Fashion Recycle Project ‘08

At the Kashiwa Information Center (Vat Building, Kashiwa east exit), you’ll find these cute Ecopost-kun, recycling boxes for used clothing. Ecopost-kuns eat your used clothing (wash it before you feed him your old glad rags) and the fabric is reworked into new art through the Kashiwa Fashion Recycle Project. At the moment, the Post-kun boxes are only [...]