Tag: clouds

Cultural Shift

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"Austin Clouds" Austin, 2016
Photo info: Motorola XT1064, 3.54mm, f/2, 1/270 sec, ISO80
 “Austin Clouds” Austin, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going this evening?

Today was day 2 of my company’s annual customer conference and I was in downtown Austin all day, taking photographs and helping out with the event. It was a great experience talking with our customers and getting to know them. I am not an expert in what our product can do, so I wasn’t able to interact with the customers on that level, but at the social event it was mostly just shooting the breeze about non-work-related topics. It was great fun!

When I got home, I was thinking about watching the Japanese drama/mystery series I am into, and it got me thinking about how it’s such a cultural mindshift to switch over to that show. It’s hard to describe, but these past two days I was 100% in “America mode” 🇺🇸, surrounded by professionals talking about business and socializing as Americans do.

But what I really enjoy and am attracted to is Japanese culture 🇯🇵, and things like watching Japanese tv shows, listening to Japanese music, and following Japanese Instagram feeds… I am definitely a Japanophile. And although I am American, I love Japanese culture so much! I cannot wait for my life to shift over to that culture again.

During my normal workday, I often check up on Japanese blogs, Twitter, and Instagram accounts but these past two days I have been busy at the conference all day so I haven’t had time to do my normal routine. So I miss my Japanese “alter ego”! 😆 It’s funny but I feel like I am straying away from my desired life. I know it is just temporary, but it’s an interesting feeling to experience!

Anyways, those are just some thoughts going through my head this evening. I’ll have to think about it some more to make some kind of sense of it. But for now… I am in a happy mood.

Take it easy, and see you tomorrow!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

In a Rut, or Obsessed?

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"Low" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/1500 sec, ISO200
 “Low” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

So, I’ve been looking back at my Instagram feed and I noticed that half my photos lately have been of clouds. ☁ As you may know, I am taking part in a 365 project, which is where you take one photo 📸 per day for a whole year 🗓. So, there is a little bit of pressure to find a subject to shoot each day.

And clouds are an easy subject to capture, especially if there are really nice ones hanging around in the sky. Part of me is thinking that I am just not looking hard enough for other subjects to shoot, but another part of me thinks that clouds are so cool-looking, ever-changing, and fascinating that I need to make photos of them.

My kids know that I am kind of obsessed… when we are driving I might hand the camera to one of them and ask them to take a photo. Luckily for me, they haven’t been too annoyed. In fact, I think Koa might have gotten the cloud bug as well! This afternoon as we were driving home, he pulled out his phone to take a photo of the “cool” clouds. 😄

I think I’ve come to terms with taking cloud photos… I’ll continue without hesitation since I just love them. Why not?

********

In other news, I saw this notification pop up in WordPress saying I have earned a new achievement:

1337

Pretty funny, huh! WordPress has its own social network of bloggers, and it’s fun to read and “like” posts. It’s similar to “liking” on Instagram, but instead of pictures, they are blog posts. Anyways, it was kind of fun to get this notification. ☺️

I hope you had a nice Wednesday!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Today’s ⛅

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"Today's Cloud" Leander, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/7.1, 1/5000 sec, ISO400
 “Today’s Cloud” Leander, 2016

Had a great day today, but I think I’ll just share this photo of a cloud that Bay and I saw when we went to his school’s open house this evening. I don’t think I’ll ever get tired of making cloud photos. 😄

おやすみなさい！

– バロン Barron Fujimoto

Plot Twist

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"Evening Treat" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/170 sec, ISO640
 “Evening Treat” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！How’s it going?

I read something the other day that I thought was cool. It went something like, “It’s not a setback, it’s a plot twist.” I haven’t had many setbacks in my life, but it’s fun to think of your life as a story, isn’t it?

I know that the quote is meant to help  someone who is hurt or grieving, but even when a good thing happens to you, it is a major event in your own plot and it may be worthwhile to spend some time thinking about it.

Or find things to be thankful for.

Or building upon what happened and learning from it.

The protagonists in stories are affected by these major plot events and it shapes what they do and how they think. As protagonists in our own stories, it might be healthy to take a look at our own script as it is being written and evaluate it from time to time.

Maybe this is a naive way of thinking, but it’s fun to ponder these things sometimes.

Today’s photo is of the sunset  as seen from our house. I really love the clouds around Austin these past several days. 

I hope you had a refreshing weekend, and let’s have a great week, wherever the plot takes you. 

Take care,

– B Barron Fujimoto

Reach for the Sky

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"Reach for the Sky" Austin, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/3000 sec, ISO200
 “Reach for the Sky” Austin, 2016

こんばんは！Did you have a nice Saturday?

Today’s photo is of the clouds and cranes in downtown Austin. I had a few free hours this morning while Bay was in Japanese school, so I hung out at the Whole Foods Market patio. There were some nice views of the clouds today as you can see! ☁

This evening we hosted a birthday party for a good friend of ours. It was mostly just a potluck for the ladies, but one of the husbands also came over so it was nice to hang out and chat (in English). The food was delicious, with fresh fish for sushi, mussels, salads, fancy cured meats and paté, karaage, roast beef, cheese, wine, beer, margaritas, and of course a birthday cheesecake. Needless to say, I ate waaay too much! But you gotta live life to the fullest, right? 😄

Take care!

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Sky’s the Limit

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"Summer Sky" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/5800 sec, ISO400
 “Summer Sky” Cedar Park, 2016

こんばんは！

Another work week has gone by… it has been a tough one for me. There were some changes at my work, and although they didn’t affect me directly, there are many colleagues I am fond of who are affected… So my thoughts were with them and wondering how they are doing. 😟

That made it difficult to concentrate on work (and there is a lot that needs to get done), but I found that once I immersed myself in the task at hand, I could shift my mind from the troubling thoughts, at least for a little while.

At any rate, work is work, and it’s not the end-of-the-world so I’m sure everyone will be ok. But still, it could be a big life disruption.

Today’s photos are of one of my favorite subjects: clouds ⛅! Although school has started, we still have a month of summer left, so the summer sky is still present. I love it.

"Monochrome Clouds" Cedar Park, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/1000 sec, ISO400
 “Monochrome Clouds” Cedar Park, 2016

I hope you had a nice Friday, and let’s have a good weekend, shall we?

おやすみなさい！

– B Barron Fujimoto

Cruising

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"On the Ship" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/11, 1/400 sec, ISO400
 “On the Ship” Miami, 2016

Today we began our cruise aboard the Norwegian Sky. 🚢 It’s one of those massive ships that seem to have every amenity on board. This particular ship has an open bar… so it is affectionately known as the “Booze Cruise”. And yes, I did have a few drinks! 🍹🍷🍸🍻

"Let's Go!" Miami, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/8, 1/340 sec, ISO400
 “Let’s Go!” Miami, 2016

This day was pretty much a half-day aboard the ship but it was really fun. It began with lunch and a welcome dance up by the pool. My extended family were all wearing the same blue reunion t-shirt so we pretty much took over that deck. I think there were around 200 of us! And this family loves to dance. Besides the nightclub on the ship, just about every other family gathering had dancing. 💃 It was so much fun!

The rest of the evening was spent taking a huge group photo, a dip in the pool, dinner, karaoke, gambling at the casino, and dancing at the nightclub. And probably a visit to the midnight buffet. 🍔🍴 It was a great start to the cruise!

"Distant Clouds" Atlantic Ocean, 2016
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/5.6, 1/40 sec, ISO3200
 “Distant Clouds” Atlantic Ocean, 2016

Note: This post was written on 8/3/2016