Grind Chaos 刺 vol.2

Finally finished editing the Photos from the latest Grind Chaos (2017-03-11) So far, I've put the best colour shots in the gallery here: http://bit.ly/GC-17-311

Here are a few teasers... I'm not gonna lie, It's some of my best work yet. If you're squeamish, it may be NSFL, Possibly NSFW too.

There's plenty more in  the gallery here: http://bit.ly/GC-17-311

Ladies of Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 (GALLERY 1) - Akihabaranews.com

CLICK HERE to see the first of 4 galleries of my Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 photos.

It contains a total of 50 shots like these:

SEE THE REST

TOKYO AUTO SALON 2017 - Stance & Stilettos - (iPhone 7 Plus) 東京オートサロン2017

The best Tokyo Auto Salon 2017 on YouTube (Even if I say so myself), Shot in 4K UHD on  on the Apple iPhone 7 Plus using Mavis.

This is the one you've been waiting for!

It's that time of the year again, and as in years past, Akihabaranews sent me to Makuhari Messe to capture images of Stanced rides and stilletoed companions . Unlike years past however, My camera was off at Sony for repairs and so I was forced to extract as much as I could out of my iPhone 7 Plus. Much to my surprise, for stills, with clever lighting, it churned out some impressive results.

It wasn't as good at video, but using the Mavis app, controlling exposure, and recording at a higher bit-rate did do some to help the video quality. Add motion and some fancy cuts to help people not focus on the noisy shadows and, as it turns out, something halfway decent can be extracted out of Apple's latest Flagship.

It's not going to be replacing my Sony a7S anytime soon. But for the regular folks out there who are far less worried about quality and aren't quite up at the enthusiast photographer level, I don't see any reason to spend money on any camera.


Music:
* it's different - Shadows (feat. Miss Mary)
 - No Copyright Sounds Release
 - https://youtu.be/UHbDJ1oPuGo

 - it's different: http://soundcloud.com/itsdifferent
 - Miss Mary: http://soundcloud.com/missmaryofficial
 - NCS: http://soundcloud.com/nocopyrightsounds

_________________________

Akihabara News:
 - http://akihabaranews.com/

 _________________________

More of my stuff:

 - YouTube: http://youtube.com/darcnoodles
 - instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darcnoodles/
 - twitter: https://twitter.com/darcnoodles

CYBER JAPAN DANCERS - TOKYO AUTO SALON 2017 - FULL SHOW - 4k

サイバージャパン　東京オートサロン２０１７　フルショー

The proper Tokyo Auto Salon video is on it's way... TIll then, enjoy the show.

Branded Akihabaranews, because they got me in as press.
This video, the next video and my photo galleries will be there.
 - http://akihabaranews.com/

When you're done there, subscribe to me, because you'll see it first on my channel.

Camera:
 - Apple iPhone 7 Plus (Mavis Pro camera app)

Social:
 - https://www.instagram.com/darcnoodles/
 - https://twitter.com/darcnoodles

Passion:
 - http://darc.jp
 - http://bit.ly/darcjp666
 - https://www.instagram.com/darc.jp/
 - https://twitter.com/darcjp666

Work:
 - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDYQOcu

It's better than no job. #TokyoStreets

Hatakeyama Museum Garden / 畠山記念美術館の庭園

Hatakeyama Museum Garden: Seasonal, Natural Beauty in Central Tokyo • 畠山記念美術館の庭園：東京の真ん中で四季を感じられる自然の美しさ

• • •

(日本語の説明は下にある)
History and seasonal beauty in the garden of the Hatakeyama Memorial Museum of Fine Art.

About the Museum:
The Hatakeyama Memorial Museum of Fine Art was established as a private art museum to display Japanese, Chinese, and Korean historical art objects, focusing on arts related to the tea ceremony. The collections also include paintings, calligraphy, pottery, lacquerware, and Noh costumes.

このビデオは畠山記念美術館の庭園の歴史と四季の美しさを紹介します。

記念館について：
畠山記念館が所蔵する主な作品をご紹介します。収蔵品は、国宝6件、重要文化財32件を含む1300件に及び、茶道具を中心に、書画、陶磁、漆芸、能装束など多岐にわたります。

CONNECT: www.ebara.co.jp/csr/hatakeyama/

• • •

Hatakeyama Museum Garden: Seasonal, Natural Beauty in Central Tokyo is a DigitalHub.JP Production • 畠山記念美術館の庭園：東京の真ん中で四季を感じられる自然の美しさの制作：デジタルハブJPプロダクション

Tokyo-based DigitalHub.JP produces and promotes made-to-order multimedia products of the highest quality, leveraging longstanding tech industry contacts and co-publishing relationships with Japan-focused news sources, offering both content production services and a multilayered distribution point.

DigitalHub.JPは、オンラインニュースやコンテンツの作成・配信分野での豊富な経験を踏まえ、クライアント様のニーズに応じたオーダーメイドのマルチメディアコンテンツを制作する会社です。当社には、電気機械メーカーを始めとするテク企業とのコネクション、互いのコンテンツを共有配信する国内ニュースサイトや日本関連ニュースを配信する海外サイトとのパートナーシップ提携があり、これらの長年に渡って築いた大切な繋がりを事業に最大限活用しています。

CONNECT WITH DIGITALHUB.JP:
www.digitalhub.jp
Twitter: @digitalhubjp
Facebook: www.facebook.com/digitalhub.jp
Instagram: @digitalhub.jp
YouTube: bit.ly/dhjpyoutube

• • •

In case you're wondering. This is what I do at work.

More of my stuff here:
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darcnoodles/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darcnoodles

More from the Japanese Underground:
web: http://darc.jp
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/darc.jp/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/darcjp666

Tokyo Weekender: Tokyo Auto Salon 2016 Shows Off Its Curves, Leaves a Bit in the Boot for the Future

After sifting through 2500 odd photos, I narrowed them all down 800 odd. I will post a few of my favourite cars and companions here over the next week or so, then put all the pics on flickr after they have been published in the places they need to be published.

First up is an overview of the event published by Tokyo Weekender online:

Tokyo Auto Salon 2016 Shows Off Its Curves, Leaves a Bit in the Boot for the Future

The Ladies of Tokyo Auto Salon - EXCITING GALLERY #1 (AkihabaraNews.com)

The Ladies of TAS 2015:

Of the record-breaking 309,649 people that attended the 2015 Tokyo Auto Salon from the 9th to the 11th of January, a rather substantial portion of them were rocking camera kit that costs more than I made last year. But they were not there to shoot the bold, anti-automotive establishment designs from KRC Modified, or the beautiful tread patterns on Toyo’s new semi slicks - they came for the other staple at car shows: Sexy Ladies.

Intellectually, I’m not too sure I agree with the practice of parading beautiful women around as objects of lust secondary only to the cars themselves, but sports cars are not about thinking with your brain and so...I don’t really know where i’m supposed to go with this.

Editor Reno Interjects: 
Brevity is entirely acceptable here. People didn’t click on this post to bask in the warmth of our journalistic integrity.

You know the drill. click through to AkihabaraNews.com and get an eyefull.

The Rides of Tokyo Auto Salon - BIG-ASS GALLERY #1 (AkihabaraNews.com)

On the Rides of TAS 2015:

This year's Tokyo Auto Salon was held from the 9th to 11th of January. Unlike the biennial Tokyo Motor Show, which is all about showcasing the newest technological developments (translated: how to make driving, quiet, boring, safe and slow), the Auto Salon is all about modified cars; that could mean sticking a V8 into a prius (it was done… and I want to drive it), or it might mean bolting fenders to a lambo because Lamborghinis are boring stock (;p). All the best custom madness from one of the most custom-crazy places on earth was on display.

This year saw a marked increase in non-Japanese cars on the show floor, especially from the bigger houses - it doesn’t help that Japanese automakers seem fundamentally opposed producing any new cool cars that moneyed folk would want to buy. With the exception of the 86 and the GT-R, the majority of Japanese tuned vehicles were the same mid-nineties to early-naughties classics.

It also reflects the state of the tuner market because, increasingly, the only Japanese people who mod are the overly wealthy who buy sports cars to stroll along Tokyo’s Aoyama-dori showing off how well they exploited Abenomics. Or, there are the increasingly poor car enthusiasts who scrape their continually decreasing (thanks to Abenomics) part-timer wages to spend on the 25 year old JDM because parts are plentiful and dirt cheap (and they don’t break).

The funny thing is, out of all the cars on show, the only car I desperately wanted to take home was the Car Guys/Vertex Nissan Silvia S15... Okay maybe the Roberuta Ferrari F40 too.

Editor Reno Interjects: 
Ferrari F40 all the way. No debate. Also, I made Nayalan use the phrase “Big-Ass Gallery” in the title, and I stand by the decision.

Picture galleries are all on AkihabaraNews.com go lookie!

REVIEW: Sony AX100 4K Handycam (AkihabaraNews.com)

We had the need for an extra camera to shoot the IE/KMD Venture Day 2014 event last December, so we asked Sony if they would be able to throw us a bone. We got their FDR-AX100 Handycam. While nearing a year on the market, it was still the only thing that could do what it did, with the possible exception of Panasonic’s recently released DMC-LX100.

Since then however, Sony has announced the AX100’s replacement, the FDR-AX33, which, on paper at least, has addressed all the AX100’s flaws and added or improved on a number of key features. Provided that it’s as good a video shooter as its predecessor, I can say, quite simply, that If you want a 4K camcorder, Don’t buy the AX100, get the new and improved AX33.

And that would be that, except that I did spend near on 2 weeks with the AX100, shot a bunch of stuff and had planned to say a few things about it, before the AX33 pulled the rug from under my feet… So here is the gist of it:

Read the full(ish) review on AkihabaraNews.com

I also put together a vid for it (those of you who dont care abut tech and just wanna see japan can watch it below)

My photo published in the Japan Times - A pretty good article by Baye McNeil.

Publisher, Japan Times Columnist and all together cool guy, Baye McNeil wrote a piece on the African American Youth Travel Programme. They were the NGO that organised the Silent March for Mike brown. Anyway, they used one of my shots for the article. Epic Win. The fact that I'm actually getting paid an appropriate amount of money for the shot, is even better. 

I dont want to diverge from the topic at hand, but I'm really happy that at least one media outlet in Japan doesn't expect people to work for 'exposure' / pay less than McDonald's staff get. 

Anyway. Click the screenshot or HERE to read the piece.

Click here to see the other shots I took at the march or watch the video below. Actually read the comments too, they are gold!

CP+ 2014 Booth Babes

Just axing Lightroom collections from last year so make this year's photo work a bit easier. Found some stuff that I haven't put up yet so here it is. You can see the full album HERE.

Click through to the flickr album for more.

CASIO Excursion Tests New EXILIM EX-FR10 Action Cam & PRO-TREK Watch (AkihabaraNews.com)

♫
Media dudes are climbing a mountain.
Why are they climbing a mountain?
Media dudes are climbing a mountain.
Why are they climbing a mountain?

On Monday the 29th of September, CASIO held their first ever media retreat to give the who’s who of Japanese-language tech publications and a jumped-up hooligan from AkihabaraNews the lowdown on their new modular EXILIM EX-FR10 action camera and PRO-TREK PRW-3000 series watches. It was a two day affair in the northern Japanese Alps where we essentially got to hang out with the dudes and dudettes in charge of developing and marketing the aforementioned products, learn about the features, and shoot the shizzle with them, all in an environment that they envision the products mainly being used in. Of the 8 or 9 websites and magazines who were representing, ours was the only one that caters to an audience beyond these islands. Why any of the others would have passed on a trip like this is beyond me, because essentially it was an all-expenses-paid mountain vacation for camera nerds.

Read the rest at AkihabaraNews.com 

Got some really good photos in there too

Sony α7 Ⅱ (Alpha 7 2) Part Two: The Beautiful Lovechild of Sony's α7 and Olympus' OMD-EM1 (AkihabaraNews.com)

My take on Sony's latest mirrorless interchangeable lens camera announcement.

OH YEEEEAH!

The Sony α7 Ⅱ (Alpha 7 Mark 2) has been announced (official vid embedded below), and it’s generating a buzz like no Sony interchangeable lense camera, possibly any Sony stills camera, ever has.

In part, this is due how well they managed to keep it under the radar. With the new stacked sensor announcement and the rumor mill’s fixation on the supposed ‘Pro’ full-frame E-mount that apparently is coming early next year, we were effectively blindsided by the α7 Ⅱ. 

The other big thing, for me at least, is the significance of this camera’s spec list with regards to the inevitable release of the α7R Ⅱ and the α7S Ⅱ sometime over the course of next year, because, as with the original α7, it is the base upon which the next camera I’m likely to buy will be built.

But back to the α7 Ⅱ…

Read the Rest on AkihabaraNews.com

REVIEW: SJ4000 HD Action Cam (AkihabaraNews.com)

My latest Review

The FauxPro: Showcasing SJCAM’s almost but not quite GoPro, the SJ4000 HD

The SJCAM SJ4000 action camera comes in a box that has no branding or name printed any of the surfaces. Apart from “SPORTS HD DV water resistant 30m,” there is nothing telling you who made it… Which is downright shady.

Pop it out of its box, and you will immediately recognize the design ‘inspiration’ for the camera. It is, for all intents and purposes, a knock-off GoPro, and as such, for the rest of this review it shall be called the FauxPro.

Read the rest of the review on AkihabaraNews.com

more of my stuff on the green pig here.

OSAKA - Highlighting Japan - September 2014

My latest published piece for the government run Highlighting Japan.

Writing, Photos, Video all by me.

Click through to this link if you're on a computer and click the play video button to watch it. do it. It's good. It also features Manny Marx's music. If you're on a phone/tablet... try it and let me know if it works for you...

it didn't for me and there is no way to directly view the video (even government magazines have bureaucracy it seems)

If you just want to read the article you have a few more options:

PDF, HTML, screenshot

but I really recommend the video.

The magazine itself is available on Kindle but this issue isn't out yet. and should be on Google Books/iTunes soon. I'll post a post when it happens.

Casio Sent some new toys (EX-FR10 )

I'm going to be playing with their new  (action?) camera for a little while. As always, WHen I'm done, the review will be on akihabaranews.com. As always. On paper, Casio cameras seem like gimmicks but in person they are extremely high quality and very appealing. I wonder how good the image and video quality will be.

It's Not Sushi - Okonomiyaki at Houzenji San-Pei, Dotonbori, Osaka

I had a job in Osaka for Highlighting Japan recently and as part of it, I was treated to Okonomiyaki at a small restaurant called Houzenji San-Pei, in a small back alley behind Dotonbori, in Osaka.

Music: Darc Urban Jungle by DJ Russel CrossFire

Highlighting Japan   All About Media Group

Sony a7S Tokyo Street Shots ~5 hit combo~

READ MY REVIEW OF THE SONY a7S HERE.

I took quite a few street shots for the Tokyo Street Shots addendum to the a7S review. They also helped me get to terms with the camera for my review of it. Ive put all of them up on my flickr and dropped 5 here to entice you to go check the rest out.












Still here? go see the rest on my flickr!

REVIEW: Sony α7S (Alpha 7S)

My latest camera review... I'm doing a lot of these recently:

In my many ramblings on cameras and photography (or arguments, when Canon/Nikon sycophants are involved), I have always stuck to 2 main points:

1: The 1940s flappy mirror box design (DSLR) is ancient tech that is marketed by old men for old men, and it’s holding back imaging technology.

2: Sensor size and megapixel count don’t matter if they’re not optimized. It’s all about getting as much light as possible onto that sensor to make the most of its size.

So, more megapixels means less light per pixel, and a larger sensor with fewer megapixels captures more light and detail than a sensor twice its size.

With the ever increasing push for high megapixels in both the full-frame and APS markets, there were really no options for low-light performance or image quality that warranted the almost exponential price and size premiums over the smaller Micro Four Thirds system cameras (like the Panasonic Lumix GH4).

Armchair enthusiasts point to reviews and beat their chests about this, but real world experience has told me that unless your photography requires that extra 5% of performance that the highest-end (double-sized and triple-priced) DSLRs provide, anything bigger than the Micro 4/3 sensor was a waste… Until Now....

Read the rest on AkihabaraNews.com