Tag: postaday

Already March

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USA. Texas. Austin. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.6, 1/60 sec, ISO1250
 USA. Texas. Austin. 2016.

こんばんは！Hello! How’s it going?

Can you believe it is already March? This year is flying by like crazy. Soon it will be summer and then I hope things will slow down a bit since that is my favorite time of year. I miss it!

Today is “Super Tuesday” here in the States. It’s the day when several states hold their primary elections to help determine the official candidate for the two main parties of the US Government. Here in Texas we got to vote today, and I went to the polling location near our house to cast my vote. It was very easy and fast. I think it’s our duty as Americans to vote in the elections, even though you might live in a state that is always lopsided in its results. At least if you vote, you can complain about the leaders. If you don’t vote, do you have the right to complain?

Today’s photo is from a pizza restaurant that I often go to for lunch with friends. Lately, I’ve been enjoying making photos in black and white. I love the aesthetic and the simplicity of black and white, without the distraction of color. But it’s difficult too… and I am learning a lot about shooting in black and white. I have a ton to learn still but it is so fun to discover and grow!

Well, I think I will read a bit tonight since I am getting close to finishing The Alchemist. I am enjoying it so far!

おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto

🍛 Double curry day

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/120 sec, ISO6400
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！Hi everyone, how’s it going? How was your Monday?

Mine was pretty good, although I ate way too many sweets today. As you may or may not know, I don’t usually eat sweets or sugary things like sodas. I don’t have too much of a sweet tooth to begin with, but since I don’t eat candy regularly I don’t crave it either. But today I had a lot of sweets!

A coworker is visiting from Sweden this week and he brought some chocolates so of course I had to try a couple of them 🍫 (they were delicious) and then there was some dessert in the breakroom after lunch. I didn’t partake in the chocolate or carrot cake, but I did have some Bluebell Dutch Chocolate ice cream 🍦 (also delicious). Then this evening we had some cookies. 🍪 That’s way too much sugar for me!

But besides all the sweet stuff, I had a whole lot of curry as well. We went out to lunch at a Thai restaurant where I had a super-spicy green curry and rice. It was tasty! As I mentioned before, I love Thai food. I could eat it every day. Well, maybe not that often, but I do enjoy it a lot.

Finally for dinner, my wife made a gigantic pot of Japanese beef curry which is always a favorite. 🍛 We had it with eggs and rice for the perfect meal. I always eat too much, but I cannot help myself… I’m sure you understand. Doesn’t it look delicious?

Oh, by the way, happy leap year day! 🎉

I hope you have a wonderful Tuesday! おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

Oscar Sunday

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/3.2, 1/60 sec, ISO1000
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！Hi all! How was your Sunday? Mine was pretty good!

This morning, I took Koa to baseball practice and he learned a lot and had some fun. The coach has a motion sensor that attaches to the the baseball bat and can record a lot of data about the hitter’s swing, including bat speed, bat angle, etc. From that data, the coach can get a good idea of things that the hitters need to adjust in order to hit better. It was really cool! I am expecting Koa to be a big hitter this year. ⚾️

Tonight was Oscar night… the 88th Academy Awards. For the second year, our family of four had an Oscar watching party with ballots where we marked who we thought would win in all the televised categories. This year I got most of the winners correct but it actually wasn’t so fun because I had a huge lead over everyone else. I have to admit to having a good system to choose the winners, but next year I will just go by intuition instead. I feel kind of bad that I won so decisively… what can I do to make it up to them?

Oh well, watching the big show was still fun. But I get so nervous watching the speeches that I will leave the room and return when they are over. I have this thing about live performances… it fills me with so much anxiety that I’d rather not watch. 😰 Someday I need to overcome this. Or maybe I don’t. It’s not like it is a big part of my life anyways.

Today’s photo is another “Slice of life”. Our kids’ favorite lunch is instant ramen. Koa likes to put rayu (sesame and chili oil) into his, and Bay prefers cayenne pepper. They like it spicy! Looking at this photo, I noticed that Bay has some really nice hands. I think it’s because of all the piano practice he does everyday. 🎹

Well, tomorrow is Monday and the start of another busy week. Let’s do our best!

おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto

Screentime Saturday

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"Orchid" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: SONY NEX-6, 0mm, f/0, 1/60 sec, ISO250
 “Orchid” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！Hello! How was Saturday?

Today I spent a lot of time in front of my computer screen at home. I wasn’t working but rather catching up with Asa ga Kita, the asadora that is currently running on NHK. The subtitles that I use have been completed all the way up to week 10, so I was able to watch from week 6 to 10. The story is pretty good! The acting varies from excellent to not so great. I think the best performance so far has been by Miyazaki Aoi who plays Asa’s older sister, Hatsu. On the opposite end is Dean Fujioka who plays Godai Tomoatsu. He’s not terrible, but his acting is pretty stiff and robotic. But that is a minor complaint. So far the story is good and I can’t wait til more subtitles are released!

Today’s photo is a close-up of an orchid that has finally bloomed after over a year. It’s a really pretty color, isn’t it?

Well, time for bed. Tired but feeling good!

おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto

Quickest week ever

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"Harumaki" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Harumaki” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！Happy Friday! 😀

In yesterday’s post I mentioned that this week has been going by so fast. I was wondering if today it would slow down and drag on… but no, it kept on flying by! I think although I am very busy, I am having fun, and you know what they say, right? Time flies when you’re having fun!

Speaking of fun, last night I printed out 8 Instax prints. Why did I print so many? Well, I bought some new print sleeves and they looks nice and fun. A little crafty but I like them a lot. I’ll post a pic tomorrow, when the light is better (as usual, I am blogging at night before I go to bed).

The Instax Printer continues to be a lot of fun… I have a few things that I think are important and I don’t place restrictions on when buying or creating. One of them is photo books, and another is printing photos! It’s kind of an interesting aspect of photography for me. I get a lot of pleasure from snapping photos, processing the images, printing the photos, and looking at the prints. Photography is so cool because there are so many angles to the entire process. And there are other aspects that I haven’t even explored, such as exhibiting larger prints. Something to look forward to for sure.

Today’s photo is of some harumaki (egg rolls) that we had alongside some Thai curry for dinner. The harumaki looked better than they tasted, honestly. These were store-bought frozen egg rolls, but deep-fried so they look really good and had a nice flaky crunch to them.

Well, it’s time to get some rest. I wake up early on Saturday’s too so I need by beauty rest. 😜

おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto

Podcasts

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USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/6.4, 1/30 sec, ISO6400
 USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！How’s it going? It’s just about Friday… this week has gone by so quickly. Maybe the fastest for me in a long time, maybe ever. I am so busy at work that the days just fly by!

I haven’t talked about the podcasts that I enjoy listening to these days lately, so I figured I would mention a couple. Of course, I listen to a lot of photography podcasts but my favorite ones are Street Focus with Valerie Jardin and the Photofocus podcasts with Scott Bourne and Marco Larousse.

What I enjoy about these is that they are not really centered on gear or technology. Instead, they focus on the art and inspiration pertaining to photography. I think that at this point in my photography hobby, I am less into gear and specs and more interested in photographic expression. I’m not saying that I am an expert… on the contrary, I have so much to learn about the essence of photography and what it means to have a certain style. I don’t really have one… and as a non-professional, I don’t feel the need to have one. At this time, I just want to document our lives. I try to think what could be interesting to my great grandchildren who might wonder how his or her ancestors lived.

And from a lot of my photos and posts, I bet they would know that Mariko is an amazing cook and baker. Today’s photo is of some donuts that Mariko made at home. I haven’t tried one yet, but they look amazing, don’t they?

Well, I am pretty exhausted… I have been fasting during the daytime and having one meal in the evening. So, I feel great physically and mentally, but get worn out quickly. But it feels good actually… hard to explain but I like it. Makes me feel alive I guess.

Bed time now though. おやすみなさい！

-バロン Barron Fujimoto

Play ball!

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"Koa on the Mound" USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.
Photo info: FUJIFILM X100T, 23mm, f/2.8, 1/125 sec, ISO2500
 “Koa on the Mound” USA. Texas. Cedar Park. 2016.

こんばんは！Brrrr…. it’s cold tonight! ❄️

As you can see in the photo above, we were at the baseball fields. Koa’s new team (The Rockies) had its first game, and it was super chilly out. The kids wore undershirts but of course they were still cold. I even had extra clothes on (a sweater, two jackets, thermal leggings under my jeans, a scarf, and a lined ski cap) and I was freezing!!!

But the game itself was fun and Koa did well. ⚾️ That is him pitching in the photo and he didn’t give up any earned runs. He came into the game as a relief pitcher, with the bases loaded and got out of the inning only giving up one run (on a throwing error). I was so proud! 👍

I am glad that Koa likes to pitch and can go up in the spotlight and do well. I know it can be nerve-wracking! I used to pitch in little league as well, and I don’t really remember much of it, although I think I was pretty good. So I guess pitching runs in the family.

I am finally starting to warm up and I think it’s time to hop into the cozy bed. Talk again tomorrow!

おやすみなさい！

-B Barron Fujimoto