Khujuraho

We went to the famous temples of Khujaraho but as is usually the case I found more inspiration in daily life.

インドにある有名なカジュラーホーの寺院群に行ってきましたが、やっぱり観光地より日常生活を撮るのが好き。

Hounen Matsuri

I was a little reluctant to attend the Hounen Matsuri (豊年祭) in Komaki despite it being only a short bicycle ride from my home. The rumours of the ‘not-so-respectful’ reactions by certain non-Japanese visitors at the sight of a giant wooden phallus being the main reason.

However, after just travelling thousands of miles to photograph the Kumbh Mela I found it difficult to justify not attending. Unfortunately some of the non-Japanese lived up to the reputation but when they did it was always laughed off or largely ignored by the locals.

It was nonetheless a bizarre sight to see a giant wooden penis being carried down the road I cycle along daily by sake-fuelled men and women cradling wooden penises. Equally bizarre was the sight of some of the visitors dressed up in fancy dress.

The characters 豊年 mean bountiful/abundant year and although the festival and local shrine is visited by couples hoping to conceive it is also attended by anyone hoping for a prosperous year.

Website update

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I’ve recently updated my website with two new portfolios based on my recent trip to the Maha Kumbh Mela.

Please feel free to take a look if you can spare the time.

Both projects can be found here.

The Ganges

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A few more from along the Ganges.

The Park

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Went to a park in nearby Gifu city last week. There was a somewhat premature plum blossom festival without many trees in bloom but fortunately this grandfather – granddaughter sword fight made up for it.

For what it’s worth I strongly advise mistaking plum blossoms for cherry blossoms in Japan.

Click on the photos for a much sharper experience.