Thanks to Japan’s Golden Week celebration, finally, I got a well-deserved break. Being away from calculations, reports, material requisitions, proposal is definitely a breather. Add the fact that you escaped from the hustle and bustle of the city, you are in for a treat. For six incredible days, the diminishing rate of my falling hair slowed down. I am thankful for that. It meant no pressure. Just pure, unadulterated and uninterrupted fun.
This is just for the camping activity. Other will be blogged soon, if not, perhaps next year.
From the mountains of Chiba, I went to the mountains of Yamanashi and settled to the hills of Shizuoka. Exhausting? Not quite. Not when you have Kuya Ben, Ate Maki, Kuya Rad, Ate Rya, Ate Mami and Kuya Winnie around you.
We all met at Lake Tanuki, a man-made lake where you can witness the magnificence of Fuji-san. But there are times Fuji-san is too shy to show-off, just what happened on the first day of the camp. The camp was spearheaded by the oldies (I won’t be mentioning names) and the youngsters obliged. Haha! Four of us went from Shizuoka and the three from Kanagawa. While waiting for the traffic-delayed campers, who arrived past 1, instead of wasting our remaining energies, we submitted to the call of dreamland. I never realized that sleeping on the grass or on the wheelbarrow was pretty relaxing after all.
As soon as the Kanagawans set foot on the grounds, we hurriedly set-up the tarp and prepared our lunch. Everything was finished in a jiffy. Either we were too hungry or too excited. After which we erected the tents, our resting venue for the night. And once again, everything was done in a flash.
One of the reasons behind this camp was to practice the so-called strobe technique. The use of external flash to further bring life to subject. As I am not really sure if I am defining it correctly just go to the internet and search about it. Or ask Kuya Rad.
I am not really into flash photography but playing with external flash was spine-tingling. Arranging of multiple lights in various angles and locations was challenging. Not all the times you got what you have in mind but there are also instances that the resulting photo is much better than what you have anticipated.
The session was momentarily stopped by Ate Maki. She had to go to her kingdom or else all of her enchantress would troop down to Lake Tanuki, disturbing the other campers. And with a simple wave, she’s gone. The rest of us continued playing with strobes until our stomachs complained. By the way, we feasted on the foods prepared by Ate Merly, who cares about cholesterol? I can only eat like that once in a blue moon here in Japan so why not abuse the opportunity then?
Seriously, there are moments that you just don’t want it to end, and this is one of them.
From the mountains of Chiba, I went to the mountains of Yamanashi and settled to the hills of Shizuoka. Exhausting? Not quite. Not when you have Kuya Ben, Ate Maki, Kuya Rad, Ate Rya, Ate Mami and Kuya Winnie around you.
We all met at Lake Tanuki, a man-made lake where you can witness the magnificence of Fuji-san. But there are times Fuji-san is too shy to show-off, just what happened on the first day of the camp. The camp was spearheaded by the oldies (I won’t be mentioning names) and the youngsters obliged. Haha! Four of us went from Shizuoka and the three from Kanagawa. While waiting for the traffic-delayed campers, who arrived past 1, instead of wasting our remaining energies, we submitted to the call of dreamland. I never realized that sleeping on the grass or on the wheelbarrow was pretty relaxing after all.
As soon as the Kanagawans set foot on the grounds, we hurriedly set-up the tarp and prepared our lunch. Everything was finished in a jiffy. Either we were too hungry or too excited. After which we erected the tents, our resting venue for the night. And once again, everything was done in a flash.
One of the reasons behind this camp was to practice the so-called strobe technique. The use of external flash to further bring life to subject. As I am not really sure if I am defining it correctly just go to the internet and search about it. Or ask Kuya Rad.
I am not really into flash photography but playing with external flash was spine-tingling. Arranging of multiple lights in various angles and locations was challenging. Not all the times you got what you have in mind but there are also instances that the resulting photo is much better than what you have anticipated.
The session was momentarily stopped by Ate Maki. She had to go to her kingdom or else all of her enchantress would troop down to Lake Tanuki, disturbing the other campers. And with a simple wave, she’s gone. The rest of us continued playing with strobes until our stomachs complained. By the way, we feasted on the foods prepared by Ate Merly, who cares about cholesterol? I can only eat like that once in a blue moon here in Japan so why not abuse the opportunity then?
The rest of the night was spent talking, listening to music, sharing jokes and ghost stories. The weather was still fine before we hit the mat. At around 2 or 3 am, I was awaken and saw the three entering the tent and didn’t mind them as my consciousness was still being drowned in the labyrinth of dreams. It was only in the morning I realized that they checked our things as well as the tents since it started raining before dawn. So much for the hope of seeing the sunrise. Haha!
The rain planned to ruin our activities for the day. However, Kuya Ben, who knows some Japanese superstition, decided to hang a tissue on the tree, to stop the rain. Call it coincidence, but the rain stopped for a while. Of course, what to do next? Take the cameras out and start the shooting spree once again. A group of kids even volunteered to be shot. And Fuji-san appeared for a minute. But we just can’t stop the rain from falling and we have no choice but to wrap up.
The rain planned to ruin our activities for the day. However, Kuya Ben, who knows some Japanese superstition, decided to hang a tissue on the tree, to stop the rain. Call it coincidence, but the rain stopped for a while. Of course, what to do next? Take the cameras out and start the shooting spree once again. A group of kids even volunteered to be shot. And Fuji-san appeared for a minute. But we just can’t stop the rain from falling and we have no choice but to wrap up.
Seriously, there are moments that you just don’t want it to end, and this is one of them.
どうも ありがとう みんなさん!
/totomai
05/12/09
PS
Other events will be blogged separately as this site is for blogs, not for novels. LOL!
