A tavern is a bar like a saloon that often appears on Western films (Actually, they used to call old Western style bar "saloon," but these days they call it "tavern."). This tavern opened in 1890, so at that time, those Cowboys must have banged the double door to enter, and drunken a bourbon Whisky all at once with a shot glass. The yellow-tinted photo in the picture frame was shot in 1910, and everything, including the moosehead on the bar, hasn't changed since then. This place has been looking at people's lives for over a hundred years.

There're taverns everywhere. This is the one uncle Charlie used to frequent when he was young and the current owner is like his grandchild. From his house, it's about 20 minutes by car and he's always looking forward to a ride to this place. He sits on the same position and never moves having some fish & chips, herrings, and beer or coffee. His large and stiff hand holding the cup is a piece of art formed by his experience in wood cutting, fishing, and farming. When I see him relaxed, I can't say, "Shall we go?" and I stay with him until he leaves. And, I listen to his adventures that he had told me until I remember all of them. No matter how many times I listen to them, I'm still excited to hear them.

They say the city is next to the nature, and they're right. If you drive about 100km from the city, you can come to the forests that are almost unexplored. There was a big beavers' nest. It's over 1m high and has a corn shape. It is made by gnawing branches and piling them up. I felt like I could listen to their noises, but I left quickly because I didn't want to disturb the couple with children.

Cows gather in knots before the sun sets. They seem to be brought to their barn and then fall asleep. Even though it's hot during the daytime, it becomes cool and breezy at this time of the day, and I feel like I'm purified by the pleasant wind passing on the field.

It has been said that Henri Cartier-Bresson liked geometric composition. He positioned himself a little bit away from the subject (I hear he mostly used a 50mm) to get a wide perspective and captured light, shadows, and things as the plastic arts while including people's lives. I didn7t mean to be overly influenced by him, but maybe I thought of his photography for a moment when I took this shot.

These days I take many near-distance shots with a style of Ihei Kimura. It's thrilling and I use wide angle lenses in order to gain depth of field and increase the number of shutter chances. I sometimes trim, but I think I should make the most of the very perspective of 28mm.

How stylish is she! I particularly liked the combination of her shoes and socks, so I almost shot only her legs. Is she taking a break on the hill? I couldn't see her expression because of the sunglasses, but the large cloth bag and the key hung by the blue cord from the neck were mysterious.

He stood out because he was spotlighted by the daylight. He was wearing the unique hunting cap backwards and the classic goggles looked cool, too. Is that a tail of a green pheasant? This show stealer of the day was looking down, so I got close impudently, looked into the viewfinder, and shot. He noticed me right after I pressed the shutter, I'm sure he was surprised to find a camera right in front of the eyes, but I was also surprised and waved my hand instantly.

Whenever I encounter a scene like this, I aim my camera unconditionally. I also wanted the reflection on the window, but it was too late. I wish I noticed it a few seconds earlier.

Was it drawn freely? It's an interesting wall. I thought of a composition that the Lionman stands over the woman's head, but the angle was too parallel and I lost the timing. I should react more instantly.

I understand that you're upset, but a man just doesn't want to be attacked in public. If it lasts more than a minute, he wants to run away. He wants to say sorry but can't do it right away. Be quiet for 5 minutes, and he will kiss you on the cheek. That's the way a man feels and acts.

This is just an ordinary scene of two ladies sitting face to face, but I like it because of the tone and their calm facial expression just like how the gentle surrounding light. I'm glad it's not color. I'm touched by this scene and press the shutter as if I'm on a cotton candy.

I shot some infrared photography using the UV/IR filter IR850 which arrived before the other one I ordered. Basically, blue sky becomes darker and the green becomes whiter. The deciduous trees were whitened, while the evergreen trees were blackened. There were many clouds because the weather wasn't nice, so the infrared effect may not be reflected on the image. The land is dark and the large puddle is white reflecting the cloud. I hear the focus point in infrared is different from the one in visible rays. They say we should stop down to focus better by taking advantage of the depth of field. But, this means you need to use slower shutter, so you must use a tripod. As I take a look at various infrared photography shot by other people, and as I do have the Leica M8, I came to want to try it.

Soon, there will be a Leica Academy's M Monochrome Photo Workshop in Vancouver (3 hour's drive from Seattle) and I decided to participate in it to learn more about monochrome photography, I think I will be overwhelmed by the new knowledge, but I will also forget it in few months. So, I'm going there to learn something new.