I'm not really sure what it is with me and aquariums. I seem to end up in one no matter where I am in the world. Sydney, Singapore, Okinawa and this one...Reef HQ in Townsville. A bit closer for me than all the rest and just as spectacular. Of course the fish, sharks and turtles are all really great but nothing is as exciting to a small child as a cleaner in scuba gear and face mask cleaning the inside of the glass!
Friday, May 4, 2012
Thursday, May 3, 2012
Ryukyu portraits
This lady was selling traditional cookies at one of the recreated traditional houses. What a fantastic smile.
Another fantastic smile - this lady had remembered my kids' names and brought them out to dance with her on stage at a large dance performance at the end of the day.
The Ryukyu Mura is a great place to watch traditonal Okinawan dance, performed by women in costumes worn by their ancestors. You can really see the Chinese influence from an island which traditionally had very close links with that part of the world.
Here's our wondering minstrel friend again, this time with his mate the Lion God - or Shisa as it's known locally. And here are some more portraits of the fantastic people we met that day:
A really wonderful day with some incredibly hospitable people. Again it's one of those experiences that I would highly recommend but the recommendation comes with a caveat. It was so wonderful for me and my family mainly because we speak Japanese. I didn't see much evidence that the people there spoke much English at all. Of course I wouldn't expect them to, as I don't expect anybody to anywhere I go. But without a doubt being able to communicate was a huge part of what made the day so much fun for us. I did see a lot of American families there (Okinawa is home to a huge US Military base) and they seemed to be having a great time as well - just in different ways. Anyway I hope you like the portraits. For the technical amongst you they were mostly taken at ISO 400 or 800 with a 24-70 f2.8 lens. Except for the first shot of the minstrel - that one was the 10-22mm, and the one of the minstrel performing with the Lion God was the venerable 70-200 f2.8. Enjoy!
Monday, April 30, 2012
Churaumi fountain
Next stop is a historical village showing the ancient Ryukyuan culture which dates back thousands of years to when the islands were closely allied to China.
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