Glossy Ibis (トキ)

Agama Lizard - Maldives (アガマトカゲ-モルディブ)

Getting Lucky (ラッキーチャンス)

It's not often these guys let you get close to enough to where they perch to take a decent pic. This black kite moved a few times, but finally got used to me following him and let me get reasonably close for a decent shot. (taken on the same day as the one below)
普段、鳶は人を見たらすぐに飛んでしまうからなかなｋ良い写真撮れない。このやつは何回も移動したけど、だんだんなれてきたから近くまで行けた。（したの写真と同じ日に撮った。）

Snow Monkeys (温泉に入る日本猿)

Last year I wrote about the snow monkeys in Nagano Prefecture. Well I went there again a couple of weeks ago. What an amazing place. The monkeys just love the hot springs.

去年長野県の温泉に入る猿について書いた。この前、また行った。本当にすごぃところで、温泉を浴びてる猿を見るのが面白い。

Tiny Frog (ちび蛙)

I was just looking back through some of my old pictures from my old point and shoot Kyocera digital camera that I had before I bought my D70. I found this one. This little frog was tiny. Look at the thin stem of the leaf he is sitting on! He was living in a friend's pot-plant on his balcony overlooking a rice field.

この蛙は一眼レフを買う前に使ってたカメラで撮った。本当に小さい蛙だった。親指と同じサイズ！座ってるところ（葉）を見て！友達のバルコニーの鉢植えに住んでた。家の隣にはたんぼがあったから毎年そこまでやってきてたようだ。

Squirrels

These cute little buggers were running all over Hyde Park in London, and were relatively easy to get good shots of because they were so used to the people everywhere.

ロンドンのハイドパークにはリスがいっぱいおった。かなり人間になれてたから比較的に撮りやすかった。

Black Kite

Here is another shot of one my favourite birds in Japan - the tonbi (black kite). Usually you see these fellas from below, so it is quite uncommon to see what they look like from above.

I've been spending the last few days tinkering with my photos website and changing bits and pieces. Check it out at http://giphsub.smugmug.com/ or click on the link for Giphsub Photography on the right.

Which ones are the monkeys??

In January I went to Nagano for my annual snowboarding trip with a bunch of friends. Maybe you have heard of the snow monkeys in Japan. They took over an onsen (hot spring) area years ago and have since become quite a tourist drawcard. You often see pictures of them sitting in the hot springs with snow piling up on their heads! Anyway, being so close to Hakuba, where we were staying, we decided to head on over and take a look. It is something I had wanted to do for years but had never had the chance. Unfortunately it was a bit overcast and not snowing at all - Japan had a shocking snow season this last winter - but the little critters didn't disappoint! My mate and I followed the little monkeys all over the place. They were totally unafraid of the humans invading their space. It was amazing watching them getting in and out of the onsens, and I would highly recommend a trip to Jigokutani onsen near the Shiga Kogen ski resorts if you are ever anywhere near Nagano Prefecture in Japan. While my mate and I were fascinated with the monkeys, it seems that my girlfriend was fascinated with the monkeys taking pictures of the monkeys!

Anything that moves!

Well as I said, I love to get out and take photos, but the subjects I get the most fun out of (and find most challenging) are living things. Anything that moves, scuttles, runs, crawls, jumps, squirms, rolls or flies. If I can find it, I'll have a crack at catching it on film (or memory card!). So todays picture is of a small frog I found at the edge of a rice paddy in the middle of the inaka (countryside) in Hiroshima Prefecture. I love the way it's little head is just peaking up out of the water.

First attempt...

Well this is my first time at blogging, and seeing as I enjoy getting out and taking photographs, I thought I would make a bit of a photoblog. Not really being a writer by nature, I thought I'd let my pictures and photography do most of the talking. I hope to be able to update this quite frequently with some of my favourite pics I have taken and will take. So here is the first splash. This is perhaps one of my favourite photos in my collection. It is a tonbi, or black kite. I took this up in Tottori Prefecture in Japan, which sits on the Sea of Japan, facing out towards the Korean Peninsular. I love these birds, and was very happy to have gotten this shot.

Any comments, hints or advice on my pics are definitely welcome. If you like my pics, then link my blog to your site! I'll happily reciprocate.