Diana+

I have two medium format cameras, a Holga 120SF and a Diana+. I bought the Holga back in 2004 (? I think...can't really remember now), but didn't really get the hang of it until like two years ago. Then I bought the Diana+ last summer when I went to Hong Kong. Both cameras have a lot in common; besides its plastic-ness and toy/lomographic nature, it has something in common with me - we're all products of HK. The Diana was originally produced in HK in the 60s, then the Holga in the 80s.

Until recently I've only really used the Holga as my main medium format camera, 'cause it's easy to use. There's no aperture or shutter speed setting, just point, shoot, and roll. It's (sort of) reliable, except for the occasional red flares (which I - think - I've found a way to get rid of, by making my own lens hood out of card paper).

The Diana+ is slightly smaller and lighter, and gives me more artistic scope. I can change the 120mm back to a 35mm back, allowing it to take photos with the normal 35mm film. (I did have a 35mm back for the Holga too but that's really ma-faan/troublesome; and I've left it in Britain.) Plus there's a "B" button on the Diana+, so I can take long exposure photos with the cable release.

Anyway, I can't remember why but a couple of weeks ago I took out the Diana+ from my shelves and decided to start shooting! The first roll was a 120mm Fujichrome Velvia 50 (my favourite reversal film!) - I had it cross-processed at "Frame*", a photo developing & processing shop and cafe in Nishinomiya (get off at Hankyu Kotoen station; close to Kwansei Gakuin University). It was a bit of a trek, took me over an hour to get there, and quite expensive too... I might try another shop in Umeda, which a Japanese senpai from the photography club recommended. The cross-processing at Frame* was okay, I was a little disappointed 'cause the colours weren't as saturated as I'd expected. Maybe it was a little over-exposed, maybe I had set the aperture too large? The portraits of Morgan and Ivan were pretty good though, I quite liked them (and so did Morgan and Ivan).



The second roll was just a cheap, simple 35mm Fujifilm Superia 400 that I've had for ages. I loaded the film into the 35mm back. It was not a disaster, but the photos didn't turn out the way I wanted... I used the additional viewfinder (which came with the 55mm wide-angle lens) which is positioned slightly higher than the original viewfinder, so the composition of the photos were completely wrong, in terms of the level/height of the object/model. Almost everyone's head got chopped off at the top of the frame, or had the sprocket holes right across their foreheads... anyway I guessed I've learned a lesson now!

I'm planning to take the Holga (modified now - with the paper lens hood) and a couple of Velvia 50 with me to the Shikoku road trip later this week. I think it's been feeling a little bit left out 'cause I keep using the Diana+. I have this thing where I pretend my cameras are my pets, and I feel bad if I leave one unused for a period of time, which happens often considering I have erm... too many cameras? Here with me in Japan there are 5 (Nikon F50, Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX2, Fujifilm Instax Wide, Holga 120SF and Diana+), but sitting at home I think there're two/three other instant cameras (one smaller Fujifilm Instax, a much-treasured Polaroid SLR and another bigger Polaroid which takes wider photos)... I had to switch to Fujifilm Instax from Polaroid since the latter stopped manufacturing the film a few years ago.

Now that I'm starting to get into lomography, I'm considering getting a few accessories for the Holga and the Diana+. For example I'm quite tempted to get the lens adaptor for the Diana+, so I can mount my Nikkor lenses onto the plastic. And there are a couple of Holga lenses available on the internet, too, but I'll have to check whether they're compatible with the Holga 120SF, since the Holga on sale now is a newer model and I bought mine several years ago.



P.S. My favourite operatic soprano, Renee Fleming, who recently won a Grammy for Best Classical Vocal Performance for her latest solo album Verismo, will be releasing her second non-classical album (the first was Haunted Heart, a Jazz album which I quite often play on my iTunes) this spring. Dark Hope will include covers of Duffy, Jefferson Airplane, and Muse! I've seen her performance in the Metropolitan Opera's production of Tchaikovsky's Eugene Onegin (she plays Tatyana, my favourite operatic heroine; I own a DVD of this opera!) , and I saw her "live" last summer singing Violetta in Royal Opera House's production of Verdi's La Traviata on the big screen at Trafalgar Square (and heard her rehearse in a distance when I went onto a ROH tour). But I've never seen her perform live on a stage - in front of my eyes. There was one time when she performed with the Hong Kong Philharmonic Orchestra in my hometown, but obviously I was not there... anyway I'm really hoping that I can see her perform live one day, that's why I'm dying to go to the Proms this year!

Promming at the Proms

Once again, I'll be missing out on many many quality concerts at the Proms this summer. However, I'm planning to go the the Last Night of the Proms on 11th September (hmmm why this date?), not for the cheesy and cliché union jack-waving during Rule Britannia, Jerusalem, Elgar's Pomp and Circumstance March No.1 (aka "Land of Hope and Glory") and the National Anthem etc etc... but for my favourite operatic diva - Renee Fleming!, who'll be singing Richard Strauss (Fleming is one of the celebrated interpreter and performer of Strauss's songs), Dvorak's "Song to the Moon" from Rusalka (one of her signature songs), and "You'll never walk alone" from Rodgers and Hammerstein's Carousel, which Fleming sang at the inauguration of President Obama. Gosh I'm excited already just by looking at the programme on the internet!

Prom 71 featuring the Orchestre National de France, whose programme includes Debussy (naturally) and Stravinsky, also tempts me - although I don't know if I'll be in London on 7th September... I still have no idea when I'm going back.

In all this excitement I'm fully aware of the many other concerts (the majority of the Proms really) which I'm missing out on:

Prom 2 (17th July) - Bryn Terfel and Amanda Roocroft (remember her from the University of Manchester Chorus performance of Britten's War Requiem at the Bridgewater Hall last May?) in a concert performance of Wagner's The Mastersingers of Nuremberg with the Welsh National Opera

Prom 3 (18th July) - Placido Domingo, almost a Saint in the operatic world, in a semi-staged Royal Opera House production of Verdi's Simon Boccanegra

Prom 4 (19th July) - Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra plays my eternal favourite piano concerto, Rachmaninoff's piano concerto No.2 in C minor, Op.18

Prom 14 (27th July) - violin virtuoso Hilary Hahn plays Beethoven's violin concerto in D major

Prom 19 (31st July) - Bryn Terfel (again) performs excerpts from Sondheim's Sweeney Todd (in which the Welsh bass-baritone plays the title role). Other Sondheim works to be performed include A Little Night Music.

Prom 23 (3rd August) - former BBC Young Musician of the Year, Nicola Benedetti, makes her Proms debut, performing the hauntingly beautiful and ever-British The Lark Ascending by Vaughan Williams.

Prom 35 (11th August) - Tchaikovsky's violin concerto, my favourite violin concerto, ever.

Just by listing these highlights of the Proms here already starts to make me feel depressed...

Kotohira 琴平

I spent last Friday and Saturday with 28 fellow students in Kawaga prefecture in the Shikoku region. It was my first time to step foot in the island of Shikoku. It was a university trip to watch Konpira kabuki theatre. Not many student joined this trip 'cause the cost was twice of what we paid for Shirahama and Hiroshima (8000yen instead of 4000yen), but it was worth every yen.

When we arrived at the hotel in Kotohira we were given our tickets to the kabuki theatre, the tickets alone cost 13,000yen per person! Plus the hotel we stayed for the night was amazing - there were outdoor baths and one of the ladies' baths there were roses floating on the surface! The dinner was mediocre but the breakfast buffet was jaw-droppingly good. I had crab for breakfast!

Friday was spent mainly at the historical kabuki theatre. It was packed with audience, and the kabuki was much more interested than I imagined. I had seen kabuki once before, at Sadler's Wells in London, back in June '06. I remembered it being quite boring and not much happened during the performance... but this time it was fast-paced, funny, and 3.5 hours didn't seem long at all.


Saturday morning we went to the nearby Kotohira-gu (金刀比羅宮), a Shinto shrine in the hills, hence the 1368 steps required to climb before reaching the last of the numerous shrine buildings in the forest.







After we returned to sea-level, we rewarded ourselves with the local 讃岐うどん (Sanuki udon) which Kagawa prefecture is famous for. I think the main difference between Sanuki udon and normal udon is the texture, I don't know how to explain it but I liked it very much.

On the way back to Honshu we stopped at Awaji on Awaji-jima (淡路島), and was introduced to the local Awaji puppet theatre (淡路人形浄瑠璃) with a short demonstration and performance from a scene from a puppet theatre play.

I liked Kawaga prefecutre - the atmosphere was relaxed, quite different from Osaka (although Minoh is about the same! in terms of countryside-ness), and I can't wait to go there again next week - the much anticipated ROAD TRIP :D

Birthdays

Last Wednesday was Andrew's birthday, and Thursday was Reinout's, so on Wednesday evening we went out for 焼肉食べ放題 for dinner, followed by a 飲み会 in the dormitory. Reinout's mother is in Japan so he couldn't join us for dinner, but just like Cinderella he managed to get back before midnight to celebrate his 22nd birthday.



Before going to dinner, I spent a couple of hours baking cupcakes for the party. For the first time, I made 抹茶 (matcha, powder green tea) and lavender flavoured cupcakes.

For the matcha cupcakes, it's basically chocolate cupcakes topped with matcha buttercream icing. I really liked the icing - the bitterness of the matcha powder neutralises the sweetness of the icing sugar. Andrew thought the flavour was a little too strong but I think my parents (who have less of a sweet tooth) would really like it.

The lavender cupcakes were surprisingly satisfying. I thought it would be a little risky, but they turned out pretty good and everyone loved it. I didn't even consider making lavender cupcakes, until I saw a pack of lavender at a shop in Kyoto. It was originally for herbal tea, but the packaging also said that it can be used for cakes etc. To get the lavender flavour, I soaked the lavender in milk, and used the infused milk in both the cake mixture and the buttercream icing. The purple sugar is actually the only thing that hasn't got lavender in it. I'm thinking of getting some purple food colouring, so the next time I make these they can look a little more like lavender.



For Andrew we bought him various Pokemon and One Piece goods; and for Reinout we bought him 6 six-packs and a special set of beer and a beer glass, all assembled together to form a beer pyramid. I think they were both very very pleased.

Speaking of alcohol, after the yaki-niku dinner we went to the store next door and were looking for alcohol for the party. In addition to the three bottles of Smirnoff, we were also tempted by some massive four-litre bottles of whiskey that were in the same aisle. Unfortunately they were quite expensive, and I'm sure we would all die of alcohol poisoning if we drank all that in one night (not saying that we planned or intended to). Anyway we didn't buy the whiskey. Phew.

More flowers...

Yesterday I went to Expo '70 Commemoration Park (万博記念公園) - again - with my host family. Dr. Nagano was busy with work (even on a Sunday!) so he couldn't come, so it was just Mrs. Nagano, Tomomi and me. Anyway we had fun watching street performers, and picnicking under the cherry blossom. Even though the cherry blossoms have passed the full bloom period, and started to fall from the trees, it was still very pretty, especially when the petals get blown away by the breeze and sweep through the air like a light snowfall of pink and white petals.

We walked to other parts of the park, some of which I had never been to. The tulips were very very pretty, so was the Japanese gardens. But I think I still prefer the botanical garden in Kyoto, that seemed less man-made and artificial. I wanted to see the poppies as well but the weather was getting less bright and sunny and more windy, and it's quite far away, right at the other end of the park, so we didn't go. Maybe next time? I definitely have to go see the poppies sometime soon.




Today, for the first time in my life, I had classes from 9 to 6 (0850~1750 to be more precise). I am utterly and completely exhausted. Okay yes I know I picked those classes, but I (am being a geek) really like these classes I've chosen, especially the literature class - finally - some challenging literary theories and criticism to be studied in Japanese!

I've decided to take the JLPT Level 1 test in December in London, rather than in July here in Osaka. I want to enjoy the rest of my study in Japan, and get as much as I can out of the classes, and not having to stress over cramming in test-oriented revision with assignments and using Japanese practically in daily life. I have already, however, started studying some Level 1 grammar, and will continue, just slowly at my own pace.



Am about to pass out onto my bed right now...

Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden 京都府立植物園

The Kyoto Prefectural Botanical Garden is my new go-to place in Kyoto!

I went there today, with the intention of taking photos of the cherry blossoms, but ended up having more fun taking photos of the daisies, poppies and tulips.

It costs only 200 yen to get into the garden, and you can spend hours in there strolling in the woods, taking photographs of various kinds of flowers and plants, picnicking under the cherry blossom etc etc.



It's easily accessible by the Kyoto city subway (Kitayama station on the Karasuma line).

It was soooo relaxing, and today's weather was perfect (20-22C, sunny and warm but not too hot or humid). I guess April would be the best month; once the rainy season starts in May/June the temperature and humidity will just kill all the fun...

Miscellaneous

Yesterday, out of boredom, I made chocolate chip cookies.



Today was the first day of classes. I'm actually having fun! First class was the Bridget Jones's Diary class. It's actually quite pleasant to wake up to a bit of Helen Fielding and Mr. Darcy.

Second class was introductory classical Japanese, which I've always wanted to learn; it just so happened that I didn't sleep well and have an aching back, the two combined made me very very sleepy and distracted...

Then I had two periods off, did laundry and made myself a piece of ham and cheese on toast. And a cup of good ol' Tetley. Mmm...

I went to advanced conversation class during fifth period. Atsuda-sensei was simply amazing. I don't know why I didn't take any of her classes last semester. She's friendly, very chatty and has a great sense of humour. I wish I could take her listening and grammar classes on Fridays but that would clash with the Japanese legal system class at the Faculty of Law.


The sakura outside our dormitory is blooming very beautifully right now -



P.S. I think I might have written about this here before, but I just love love love avocados. There's nothing better than the joy of cutting open an avocado and find it perfectly ripen.

I usually mash it up, add the juice of half a lemon, a splash of extra virgin olive oil, salt and pepper, and chopped parsley (or coriander, though this is difficult to find in Japan). Spread it on toasts - yum.

お久しぶり！

No, I haven't forgotten about this blog. And no I don't have any excuse as to why I have neglected it till now. Laziness perhaps?

To sum up what has happened since I came back from Okinawa:

- something significant happened the day after I came back. Sometimes all we need is courage.

- parents and brother came to visit! We had a wonderful week road-tripping around the Kii peninsula, and it was the first time neither of my parents had to sit in the front seats (my brother drove for the first time since passing the test). I was a good navigator, thanks to the car-navi (aka the GPS).

- for the first time, baked cupcakes and banana cake with the dormitory's crappy microwave (it has an "oven" function). Results were satisfactory.

- hanami (cherry blossom viewing) at the Expo '70 Commemoration Park in Suita. The park was packed with people on Saturday and a drunken old man stumbled across us and made some friendly conversations. Quite amusing actually.

- have been scanning films and editing photos from last month's travels, and uploading them onto facebook and flickr. Some of the seagull shots from Matsushima bay have received good reviews from friends and fellow flickr members, which made me very happy. One of my personal favourite is, however, not from the seagull photos:


I just love the saturation on my favourite colour!

- met the Mamiya family for the first time since 2007. They were my first Japanese host family with whom I stayed with on my first visit to Kansai in the summer of 2006.

- played badminton for the first time in months! I realised my fitness level has once again plunged to the very bottom, and the effect of bronchitis and asthma have had on my breathing...not good.

- today we got our course descriptions for the spring semester and I'm very very excited about the new classes I can take, including one on the Japanese legal system at the Faculty of Law, and one on modern literature and literary criticism, both involving studying alongside Japanese students!

- and oooh, we got our grades for last semester. I did pretty well, 6 Ss and 2 As (S is the highest grade for scores between 90 and 100, A is for 80-90), but then I did take some easier classes last semester.

- I'm now considering withdrawing from the School of Foreign Studies orchestra, due to the foreseeable amount of work I'll have this semester, and I don't think I'll have time for a third extra-curricular activity (I'm already in photography club and badminton).