One at the beginning:

One at the end:

Of the same run. No other explanation is needed.

Drink at Hand: Horizons Organic Chocolate Milk (love it after a bike ride!)

Another Thirsty Thursday here again…time to pour something yummy and make those weekend plans. This week we jump across Pacific to share a little Japanese festival fun!

Our West Coast readers have probably noticed a few signs or community advertisements for festivals in the nearby Japanese communities here in the US, so we decided to share our experience at the real deal in Japan. Summer time in Japan is full of festivals, and you can find a matsuri, or local festival, in small towns around Japan nearly every weekend during July and August. Just a few train stops from where we lived in Japan is a town called Hachioji. We usually went to Hachioji to hit up our favorite ramen and gyoza shop, but in late July they hosted the Hachioji Matsuri.

Early in the day, teams carry small shrines called mikoshi through the streets.

Then hundreds of women clad in kimonos and yukatas line up to do a tradition folk dance. Its more like a choreographed parade than a dance, but its beautiful to watch.  

There are old women…

And young girls…

And lots of paper lanterns…

Hope you have a great weekend!

Drink at Hand: Ventana Rubystone

Thirsty Thursday are usually a little post where we come up with a suggestion for weekend activities. This week we’re not making a suggestion. We’re telling you. . . if you are American, you must watch the US Women’s National Soccer Team as they play for the World Cup title on Sunday. Even if you aren’t American, you should still watch. USA vs Japan. . . only few people could have predicted these two teams in the 2011 World Cup Finals. We will be rooting for the good old USA, but we are also so happy to see the Japanese team in the finals after everything that has happened this year. Most of you probably know that we were both soccer players at one point in time. And, at some point, we considered ourselves decent players. Our experiences playing the beautiful game pretty much ended with college. However, we were both quite lucky to play for our military national teams. Terry played with the team in 2005 in Victoria, Canada and I played in 2004 in Virginia and in 2006 in the Netherlands. We can only imagine what it must be like for the USA women. The games this year have been awesome—watching the upsets, feeling the joy, and feeling the pain. The final has the makings of a great match. Best of luck to both teams, we hope the match is as well played as the others we’ve seen. But make no mistake, this household is all USA. Go USA!

Drink at Hand: 2008 Ventana Pinot Noir

Last Friday morning I got up super early to make the 50-minute drive to Pinnacles National Monument. I wanted to be there for sunrise, just to see what the early morning light was like in the west side of the park. Its never hard for me to pop out of bed when I’m headed out to shoot a sunrise, especially when I program the coffee pot to grind a fresh cup for me as I wake up. Out the door, down the 101 and right on time for arrival at the west entrance about 20 minutes before the 5:58 am sunrise. As I’m making the final turn toward the park, a waiting CHP car in the intersection flashes its lights. The officer tells me there’s a wildfire up the road and the route to the park is closed. Grrr!

After getting up that early and driving all the way down there, I wasn’t about to just turn around and go home. I needed a Plan B. I knew I wasn’t too far from Arroyo Seco Road, and from my 6-hour bike rides out there, I vaguely remembered some pretty trees in some pretty fields. So off I went, racing to find something interesting as the sky continued to brighten.

I found this spot along Arroyo Seco Road. The trees and the open pasture looked interesting. I paced up and down the side of the road looking for a good composition, but it wasn’t easy. I couldn’t get the tree completely isolated from the busy scrub brush-covered hills in the background. I enjoyed the challenge though…there is something therapeutic about being out in the chilly morning air, peering through a viewfinder, searching for something inspiring. I love mornings with my camera.

Of course my attention always turns from the wide landscapes to the little details close-by.

The cloudless sky continued to brighten so I headed back down the road toward home…but not before I spotted this old barn in a field down below the road.

I knew I had to make one last stop on the way home. Several times a week I ride my bike out River Road, and recently there has been a beautiful display of yellow and purple wildflowers in a pasture beside the road.

So the morning didn’t work out the way I expected, but I still found some nice scenes. More importantly, I still got to explore with my camera. And that makes me happy.

Get out there and explore this weekend!

Drink at Hand: TJ’s 2009 Petit Reserve Tempranillo

Terry and I used to shoot a lot of waterfalls. When we lived in Japan we actually had a book the listed locations of hundreds of waterfalls. Of course, the book was in Japanese so I had to play a little game of trying to match the thumbnail map included with the directions to our bilingual road map, but we still found quite a few of the waterfalls. When we went on vacations we’d continue our hunt for tumbling water, leading to hundreds of blurred water images from all over the world–or at least all over Asia and the US.

I don’t know why we don’t hunt for waterfalls anymore. I know there are a few not far away along the Central Coast and spring is always a great time to go find a fall with fresh snowmelt and spring showers fueling the flow. Perhaps we just need to make time. Or perhaps we just need a little reminder…and that’s what Thirsty Thursdays are for…a little reminder to go out and doing something or find something cool this weekend.

Enjoy the waterfalls. I tried to include a name or location, but some of them I don’t know or don’t remember.

Little Missouri River, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas.

Another view of the Little Missouri River, Ouachita National Forest, Arkansas.

Somewhere in northern Japan.

Tucked away in the rainforest near Cairns, Australia.

Close-up of water gushing into Milford Sound in New Zealand. Terry shot this with the 100-400mm lens from a boat.

Stream emptying into Lake Superior along Pictured Rocks National Seashore, Upper Peninsula, Michigan.

Somewhere near Marquette, Michigan.

Another waterfall somewhere near Marquette, Michigan.

We spent a whole weekend scouting falls in north central Japan and found these two images along the way.

Close-up of a rushing stream near Nikko, Japan.

Get out there and explore this weekend!

Fortunately my job was fairly easy. Honor is beautiful and Niccolo is a cutie and together they are adorably fun. The hardest part of the evening was the wind howling off the ocean, but we made it work. Here are a few images from our whirlwind shoot before these two headed off to dinner and the big dance.

Thank you Honor and Niccolo. You guys are great.

Drink at Hand: 2009 Trader Joe’s Grower’s Reserve Zinfandel

In honor of the first night in the Friday Night Racing series tomorrow night at the track, I thought a little Hellyer Park Velodrome love was in order. Terry, who has suffered through supported me at just about every possible form of bike racing out there will tell you that track racing is the most spectator-friendly cycling discipline. Cyclists whip around a 300-meter banked track on fixed gear bikes with no brakes. It sounds dangerous, but the lack of brakes, coasting, or shifting keeps everyone moving at a consistent pace, so events with experienced racers are actually very safe. The racers compete in various events throughout the evening, from 1-on-1 match sprints to straight-forward scratch races to chaotic points races, and there’s even a kiddie kilo for the little ones to take a lap around the track.

The Friday Night Races are quality events. Race Promoter Hernando throws a pretty rockin’ party at these Friday Night Races, and local racer/photographer/designer-extraordinaire Steve Anderson designs awesome posters to get the word out. Seriously, how cool is this poster? On a typical Friday night you can expect to see numerous world and national champions, current pros, and up-and-coming uberfast racers throwing down the gauntlet and going all out–incredibly fun to watch.

For photographers, the track is stacked with shooting opportunities. Early the evening the light streaming from the west end of the track is great.

The racers are very accessible at the event as well. Between events you can get down on the infield for a different perspective.

A few shots of the racing action…

This is one of my favorite moments that Terry captured at the track…these two had just finished an incredible head-to-head battle in a match sprint. Afterwards, in true Hellyer fashion, they congratulated each other on a good race. That’s the best part of the Hellyer community–everyone is supportive and encouraging. A very inviting place to race.

Hellyer Park Velodrome is located in Coyote-Hellyer Park just south of San Jose (995 Hellyer Avenue, San Jose, CA 95111). From the 680/280/101 interchange take 101 south for 5 miles to the Hellyer Ave exit. At the bottom of the off-ramp turn right. At the stop sign go straight into Hellyer Park and follow the signs to the velodrome. The spectator gate is located on the south end of the velodrome (from the parking lot walk counter clock-wise around the track to get to the gate). There is a $6 per vehicle Santa Clara County park entrance fee, but admission to the race is free!

If you can’t make it out to the track this Friday, there are more Friday Night Races in August and September. Racing goes on at Hellyer on days and nights other than Friday too, so check the Hellyer calendar to see what’s coming up. If you’re interested in racing at Hellyer (which I highly recommend!), you’ll first need to complete 3 beginner sessions. These sessions are typically on Saturday mornings, but again, check the calendar.

Should be a great weekend…get out and enjoy it!