Rice in Japan is a symbol for many things. Food, life, nature, community, hard work, laughing and crying together, sunshine and rain. It is also a symbol of growing up. From childhood on, at least on Japan’s country side, kids learn the meaning of rice very quickly. 日本では米はあらゆることの象徴になっています。食料、生活、自然、地域、重労働、共に泣いたり笑ったり、太陽と雨など。米は成長の象徴でもあります。幼少期から、少なくとも日本の田舎では子供は米(ごはん)という意味をすぐに覚えます。 Here are some of photos of last week’s Ogawamachi kindergarten rice harvesting event. Explanations are not…
3週間前のガムランコンサートも私たちのいつもの場所、やしきぼっこという埼玉小川町の古民家で行われました。2人の日本人のミュージシャンがガムラン、という伝統的なインドネシアの楽器をやしきぼっこの一部である古い蔵のくらぼっこで演奏しました。 This Gamelan Concert happened about 3 weeks ago at our usual place, a historic farmhouse in Ogawamachi, Saitama called Yashikibokko. Two Japanese musicians played the gangsa, a traditional Indonesian instrument, at an ancient warehouse – Kurabokko, attached to Yashikibokko. もう少しで間に合わないところでしたが、人々はすでにこの狭くて居心地の良い空間に集まっており、私が二階に上るのにスペースを開けてくれました。間もなく、コンサートが始まりました。この古い蔵を優しく包み込む素晴らしい音楽のバイブレーションは筆舌にしがたく、まきとゆりの二人は素晴らしいインドネシアの風景を雨や太陽などとともに音で描いてくれました。とても癒されて心が落ち着きました。また小川町のくらぼっこでこの二人のアーティストの音楽を聞けたらと思います。 Almost did not make it on time, however, people already gathered in this tight, cosy space kindly made room allowing me to climb the…
Not too long ago our family arrived in the town of Ogawamachi, Saitama (map here) located about 75 minutes away from Tokyo/Ikebukuro at the end of the Tobu Tojo line. (about 80 kilometers by car from central Tokyo). Nestled within some smaller mountain ranges it contains a number of sometimes overlooked treasures. With this I don’t mean the already world famous organic…
Here are some of photos of a cherry blossom viewing filled weekend. It included, sake tasting, and plenty of photo opportunities around Ogawamachi’s surrounding nature. The town is located in Saitama, little more than aone hour away from Tokyo’s Ikebukuro via Tobu Tojo Line. Please feel free to send me your comments at the end of this blog. I am always happy about feedback. Thank…
Just moved to Ogawamachi, Saitama prefecture in Japan a couple of weeks ago and immediately started to explore the area with my usual partner, my camera. Ogawamachi, in Saitama Prefecture close to Tokyo, offers many opportunities to explore nature, especially with a camera of any kind. It is also kids friendly with a mountain rollercoaster, observatory and playground located at Mount Sengen Park relatively close…
Photos from the 2017 Tokiwadaira Cherry Blossom festival, close to Tokyo, Japan.
Living in Bethel, Connecticut for the last year or so offered a number of chances to experience nature from various angles. Just today I had the chance to explore my backyard forest during a blizzard. Walking through about one foot of snow, the wind in the trees sounded like a large ocean liner passing by. Branches squeaked and squealed, occasionally a tree fell with a loud…
Story about discovering small living creatures in the sand of Cape Cod beaches and how it relates to my profession.
Thank you very much for visiting my blog. Writing, and, mostly showing photos about Lancaster County’s Strasburg Railroad, was always on my mind. Many times I had the opportunity to ride these beautifully restored and maintained steam locomotives. Fascinated by the mighty metal parts moving gigantic wheels, the smoke and steam, the sound of the whistle and the surrounding history I always took a…
Thank you for visiting my blog: For a long time I wanted to show three photos my father, Hans Nagl Sr., took as a photographer while on a business trip from Vienna, Austria to the United States. This was his very first trip to this country even though he worked for many years for USIS as a professional photographer. Many of his photos represent…
Thank you for visiting my blog. Summer came and went by so quickly. Now, and I still really can’t believe it, fall arrived. To adequately welcome this season with all its colors and changes in weather, I decided to take my camera and spend an afternoon at Onset, Massachusetts close to Cape Cod. The place I usually visit is the perfect spot to forget…
When I finally acquired a decent macro lens I did not expect that this would actually provide a gateway to a completely different world. In the past insects and other animals living in our garden were just there not exactly worthy a closer look, so I thought. Mostly they all look the same anyway from an overall perspective. How surprised was I when I…
On my last trip to Pennsylvania I visited a place close to Lancaster with large bolders and thick forest. Of course I had my camera with me and soon discovered a fascinating target. Soon I discovered what I was looking for. Welcome to the world of glittering and ingenious deceptions produced by a pair of orb weaver spiders to lure flies and other tiny…
On Saturday, June 7, 2014 the Cambridge River Festival was held. It was a hot day with many people streaming past booths representing cultural aspects of Japan. Crafts, vintage kimonos, charitable activities and more were represented there. Many of these Japanese organizations are related to JREX, the Japanese Resource Exchange. Tewassa (related story), (Tewassa Website), an organization raising money towards aiding earthquake and tsunami victims…
Franklin, located in Massachusetts, is a place close to many lakes, forests and incredible wildlife. This allows me to occasionally take my camera and go for a walk in search of something great, unexpected and photogenic. On one of my most recent strolls through the neighboring forests late one afternoon in May I became aware that I was leaving the world of regulated and…
Memorial Day offered a chance to visit the beautiful Heritage Museum and Gardens located in Sandwich, Massachusetts. This Cape Cod place, besides some very interesting indoor museums, features many colorful flowers attracting not only insects such as bumblebees but also a wide variety of photographers such as me. Sticking my nose and camera deep into all kinds of bushes I was able to take…
Not too long ago I had the chance to visit a Japanese style cherry blossom festival in Brookline, near Boston. It was held at the local high school. What really stood out was that the audience, as well as the performers were all participating. It was a dancing, drumming, very happy matsuri community. I also would like to point out that Tewassa, an organization raising…
Imagine a theater stage where, at the beginning, all you see is large sheet of paper spanning from one side to the other with only a few cherry blossom pedals painted here and there. Then and artist, dressed in a beautiful kimono performs a magic show just with a few brush strokes. I never saw a modern Japanese calligraphy show except on TV and…
Philadelphia’s Cherry Blossom Festival, better known as Sakura Sunday, was recently held at Fairmount Park on April 13, 2014. It was organized by the Japan America Society of Greater Philadelphia (JASGP). Beautiful spring weather and an outstanding program featuring a variety of artists from Japan and the United States contributed to the success of this event. Without too many words the following photos will hopefully…
This is an ongoing collection of various photos taken mostly around Massachusetts throughout spring 2014. I will add more as soon as I get more chances to enjoy spring with my camera. There are just a few photos shown here as spring is just about to begin. More will be added continuously. Thank you very much for visiting. Click on an image to view…
Please click on an image to view photos in slideshow format. For many children growing up in Austria, surrounded by mountains, a future life close to the sea is mostly a far-fetched exotic idea. The thunder of waves, the changing colors of the oceans, the sounds of fishing boats’ diesel engines, seagulls sailing high in blue skies, the taste of saltwater, witnessing four seasons are impressions…
First I was not sure if I should publish this post. I realize that it is a sensitive matter for many of my friends and readers. The photos here are silent witnesses of a time only a few months after the 3-11-11 disaster in Tohoku, Japan. This is how I was able to witness this place thanks to the kind help of a local friend. As…
Tohoku Thoughts – Three Years after the Earthquake and Tsunami — Tohoku People — Kind and welcoming. Happy, cheerful, no-nonsense attitude. Hardworking, honest and good-hearted, shy at first then opening the world for you. More than anything else: Resilient and Tough. — Memories — Forests and the summer rain. Mountains, a glass of sake, Cicadas, fishing boats and oyster farms. Hot Springs, Herbs, Food from Sea and Land, Snow, Stories, Inspirations. Friends….
東京オペラシティコンサートホールではありません。しかし、埼玉県小川町にある小民家を利用した小さな演奏・集会スペースである。昔、日本の職人さんたちが腕によりをかけて作った場所です。そこには往時の精神と、幸せなコミュニケーションと人の温もりが感じられる。仙元山は長い間、この場所を見つめてきた。 そんな思いから、このスペースを小さな発表会やパフォーマンス、ミーティングなどに開放したいと思います。美しい山々と自然に囲まれた古民家で、そのパワーを感じてください。伝統を守り、笑顔で、この場所の幸せを味わいましょう。 オープンハウス:7月27日 ( 木 ) 16:00 – 18:008月5日 ( 土 ) 10:00~14:008月10日 ( 木 ) 16:00 – 18:008月19日 ( 土 ) 10:00~14:008月24日 ( 木 ) 16:00 – 18:00 よろし子お願いします。 #GoodTimes、 #English、 #英会話 、#beginnersEnglish、 #German、 #conversation 、#NightSchool、 #art、 #古民家、 #music、 #音楽、#German、 #Cafe、 #Gute、 #Katze、#nature 、#photography 、 #小川町、 #埼玉、 #オーストリア、 #Wien、 #Austria、
English 少し前に、私たちの家族は東京から60キロメートル離れた東上線の終点にある埼玉の小川町という町にやって来ました。幾つかの低山の連なる山脈の麓にあり、時には見過ごされてしまう宝物に満ちた町です。これはすでに世界的に有名なオーガニックの田畑あるいは信じられないくらいの数の野生の動植物のことを言っているのではありません。小川町産の和紙と呼ばれる丈夫で美しいことで知られる紙のことでもありません。 私がお話ししたいのは、昔の歴史的建造物のことで、時には1860年代後半の明治維新の頃まで遡るものもあります。保存状態が良いものもあります。そのような歴史的建造物を見ると、この町がいかにかつては賑わっていたかを感じる事が出来るでしょう。この町は絹の製造の中心地であっただけではありません。小川町は魅力的な過去も持っているのですが目立つことがちょっと苦手で、でも、とてもハッピーなお祭りごとが好きな町です。小川町は芸者文化の伝統でも知られていました。 今ではこの素晴らしい時代はとっくに過ぎ去ってしまいました。しかし、想像を膨らませて白昼夢に浸れば、酒の杯を合わせるカチンという音や、カラ、コロ、という下駄の音に混じって、琴の音が聞こえてくるでしょう。約束の時間に間に合うよう急ぐ着物の影、そしてもし幸運なら、美しい芸者の秘密の恥らうような微笑も見られるかもしれません。過ぎ去りし一時の夢。夢はまだ触れます、その魂は生きています。しかし、次第に図書館や書簡や写真という形で書物になって、姿を消していっています。 写真の面から言えば、建物の歴史的なシチュエーションを捉えるのに、時には何度か建物を見ないといけないこともあります。もしかしたら、何回か興味深い家を通り過ぎてしまったかもしれないことも。屋根に面白い特徴のあるものとか、玄関の影に何か隠れてたかな、とか。壁が朽ち果てて、あまりにもボロボロなので、その建物に隠された宝物に気づかなかったり。 下の写真は埼玉、小川町周辺の建造物のものです。これらの写真は保存という点でリアルな状態を示しています。その美しさだけを指摘するのは、何の助けにもなりません。これらの建造物が「さよなら」とこの世に別れを告げ、うなだれ、助けを求めて静かに泣いているのを誰も耳にする人が誰もいないのなら。 しかし、良い知らせもあります。建物の幾つかは状態も良く、きちんと手入れがされています。そういう建物は他の建物にどうすれば良いのかを示す例として使えます。 このようなタイプの写真、ノイズがあまり入らない低光撮影が出来るカメラの他に、私のスタンダードのレンズは15-20mmくらいのワイドアングルレンズや70-200mmくらいの中型のテレレンズです。ワイドアングルレンズは周辺とともに狭い建物や、狭い通りをカメラから近距離で対象を静止画撮影するのに必要です。テレレンズはカメラから比較的遠くにある、届かないところにある対象を撮るのに使われます。一脚は通常役に立ちます。対象を照らすのに、フラッシュよりも強い手持ちのライトをむしろ使います。フラッシュは影を明るくするのに使います。 私のページに来てくれてありがとう。コメントもご自由に、または質問があればEmailを送ってください。このブログはじっくり時間をかけて更新するかもしれません。この美しい町の目に見える変化を記録できたらと思います。 ココメントや質問大歓迎です。下をクリックして下さい.
As usual, camera in reach, I discovered two Gipsy Moth Larvae while doing some gardening work. Even though very beautiful, these creatures cause extensive damage in United States Forests. Originally from Europe, they can destroy entire forests by eating their leaves. Gipsy Moth Larvae can appear in massive quantities. Fortunately there are a few ways available to eradicate them. Read more about it here:…