Dids and Didnts in Japan

Longwood Gardens
If you live in Pennsylvania or anywhere nearby and haven’t visited Longwood Gardens, you’re doing yourself a big disservice. Even if you aren’t into plants, this place will still blow you away. If I were filthy rich I’d have a place just like this.  It has an interesting history that you can read about here.  Many generations of people have had their influence on the property, but Pierre du Pont of the Dupont chemical and engineering family created most of what visitors see today including the massive conser

Nihon no Tomodachi (Japanese friends)
I will be heading to Philadelphia tonight to pick up my three Japanese friends. They spent the weekend at Niagra falls and I’ll be playing tour guide the rest of the week.  Our first trip is to Longwood Gardens tomorrow and I can’t wait to explore it with my new camera. Right now they have a chrysanthemum display which will thrill my friends, I’m sure. Chrysanthemums figure prominently in Japanese culture, most importantly as the crest of the Imperial Family. More junkyard shots:

Junkyard and its Dogs
I think maybe next to nature, junkyards and trash are my favorite photographic subjects. I have loved dumps and junkyards ever since I was a little kid and that hasn’t changed. I guess it’s one of those things - along with flea markets and auctions - that meet the primitive seeking compulsion. My cousin’s son feels the same way, but he’s also an antique car fanatic.  He also just got a new Canon Rebel and needs some help using it, so the obvious place for us to go for our first lessonwas a salvage yard. We went to a salvage yard today that was a blast. The proprietor was probably the nicest junk guy I’ve spoken to (I called around to a couple o

Tunic
In Spetember I posted about an artist friend of mine needing some custom garments for his work. I finally got the project done and here’s the result: It was really easy to put together, but the fabric was difficult. It’s a polyester velvet and I swear I’ll never use it again for anything. Cotton from here on out.Â

Addendum to Fairy Ring Post
Remember this fairy ring I found in Florida? I just got an email from an Eastern Penn Mushroomer, John, who told me: that fairy ring you photographed is of Chlorophyllum molybdites, which is responsible for more hospitalizations in the U.S. than any other poisonous mushroom. (It leads to projectile vomiting and diarrhoea, a