Japanese Metalheads - Knotfest 2016

I love metal. It's one of the most important parts of my life. And while the music is the thing that brings us together. One of my favorite aspects of Metal is that it's universal. Wherever you go, whatever you do. Metal is forever. and All over the world. Metalheads are family.

Incidentally even in the crappiest light, Good subject and good timing, and a little creativity using what light you have can create epic portrait photography even on an iPhone.

See more of my Portraits of Metalheads here: http://bit.ly/loudpark16

Kitamoto Matsuri

A tiny local Nebuta matsuri that nobody besides residents and participants know/care about. Those are usually the best kind of matsuri.

Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen Matsuri (Summer Festival) #RandomJapan #RealJapan

I was in Nagano for the Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen Matsuri a few weeks back. Here is a quick and dirty selection of the sights and sounds of a typical Japanese small-town summer festival. Shot on the Sony RX100m3.

7 Days 7 Minutes (2014-03-24) Bad Religion, Spring, Futsal and more...

00:00 MONDAY On The Balcony
01:00 notTUESDAY Futsal and the City
02:00 WEDNESDAY About the Weather
03:00 notTHURSDAY International Arcade, Yurakucho (Location)
04:00 notFRIDAY A truly beautiful sight
05:00 SATURDAY Bad Religion, Punkspring 2014
06:00 notSUNDAY Follow Sunday, XIIRosary - Nina (Blog) (YouTube)

Japan How It Is - Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen Summer Festival

In the summer I went to the Cat's home town in Nagano. The timing coincided with a relatively new Summer festival in the Onsen (Hot Spring) district of the town. The Togura-Kamiyamada Onsen Matsuri.

Iiyama Snow Festival [On Location 03]

Went up to IIyama in Nagano with the Cat and her family to check out the snow festival there.

Buck Tick ON PARADE 2012 <LIVE REPORT> PART 2

continued from here.

I spent the evening in a hotel on on Dougenzaka hill with my cat and the next day she joined me at the festival. It was raining out so we hit up the Shibuya Don Quijote to get some clothes and got on the train to Tokyo, then Chiba. I got a rain coat from a guy selling them on the walk to the venue but I only used it to walk there. 

Once we got in I realised that whether I sweat under the plastic or get rained on I was going to be soaked anyway so I gave the coat to the cat and went Woodstock. The weather however DID mean that I didn't have my phone on me and so no guerrilla photography was done.

report after the jump ;)

Buck Tick ON PARADE 2012 <LIVE REPORT> PART 1

On a rapidly warming Saturday morning I took the train bound for Chiba. There were the usual disney tourists in their mickey mouse shirts. There were the gamers and otaku on their way to the Tokyo Game show. Then there were the band shirts, the black clothes, the big hair and the clashing colours. 

As we passed the mass market distractions and their consumers had dis-embarked they were all that was left.

They… We were heading to Chiba Port Park for Buck Tick's 25th anniversary. The Buck Tick Fest. On Parade 2012. and what a spectacular festival it was!