Retrospective 2008 - Part 2

Here I present my best photos of 2008. As usual this year I continued the themes of detritus and the vernacular landscape. Be it the remains of city infrastructure or the everyday objects that facilitate our economies, I try to highlight things that we see everyday, but might not notice or think about.

I was helped this year by the trick Lensbaby lens and Adobe's Lightroom software. Most of these photos were shot in RAW and converted to JPEG for posting to flickr. I use a Canon EOS 40D camera.

These photos can also be found at my flickr set: Restospective 2008
Part one can be found here. Part three can be found here.

Address Sign - Inari Shrine, Kyoto


Supporting Failure - Himeji, Hyogo
A support from what was the Himeji Monorail.


Brilliant City / Maroon Train - Juso, Osaka
A Hankyu train crosses over the Yodogawa into Umeda.


Kaijyohoancho - Kata, Wakayama


Abandoned Cable Car - Hiei-zan, Kyoto


Bicycle Parking - Wakayama-city, Wakayama


Take the Other Route - Hasedera, Nara


Waiting in Line - Inari Shrine, Kyoto,


Shimbun Signs - Hasedera, Nara
Newspapers have local delivery distributors in Japan. In urban areas most only sell papers from one company, but in rural areas one distributor might take on many papers. These signs advertise which papers this store distributes.


1963-1 - Joto-ku, Osaka

Retrospective 2008 - Part 1

Here I present my best photos of 2008. As usual this year I continued the themes of detritus and the vernacular landscape. Be it the remains of city infrastructure or the everyday objects that facilitate our economies I try to highlight things that we see everyday, but might not notice or think about.

I was helped this year by the trick Lensbaby lens and Adobe's Lightroom software. Most of these photos were shot in RAW and converted to JPEG for posting to flickr. I use a Canon EOS 40D camera.

These photos can also be found at my flickr set: Restospective 2008
Part two can be found here. Part three can be found here.

Sea Dice I - Kata, Wakayama
The ubiquitous concrete blocks that cling to Japan's coasts and river banks.


Waiting for a Taxi in a Juso Blur - Juso, Osaka
The Juso area of Osaka is a major junction for the Hankyu line, but also a large entertainment and pink light district.


Mattchi-Tabako-Takihi - Fushimi Inari Shrine, Kyoto
A rusted sign warning of fires sits in a bed of dry leaves in Kyoto's famous Fushimi Inari Shrine.


Iko-do - Himeji, Hyogo
A rusted storefront in Himeji


Ohmi-cho Ichiba - Kanazawa, Ishikawa
The entrance to Kanazawa's famous Ohmi-cho market street.

MonoBakery - Engrish

MonoBakery, originally uploaded by sleepytako.

McDonald's can sell smiles for free. Here they bake them.

Mono is for monorail, the Osaka Monorail to be exact.