The water place suddenly appeared after I went over a small mountain and it looked like an oasis in the hills. At first I thought it could be an unexplored village of Native Americans. It was so beautiful that I didn't want to go back to my real life.

The downtown is a sort of a large port town. What I like about this city is that there're not many skyscrapers, so it doesn't oppress me. Suburb of the city, there're unique and small towns on the bay.

It was a small town called Ballard located in the north of the bay. My heart skips a beat when I found a lady sitting behind the window that I looked unintentionally. In such a time, my right brain instantly goes to another place and I don't care what I'm walking for. I had the nerve to feel under a delusion that only she and I are in the fantasy world that is separated from outside. When I reflexively (it was surprisingly quick) aimed my camera to her, she noticed me. I signaled her to ask if it was OK to photograph her and she gently nodded. That gesture became a charming melody, and I took several shots. But, this shot was take before she nodded and it became a natural description of what's inside her. Could it be sorrow, suspicion, interest, mercy, or sweet feeling?

I like the loose air of the evening. I wonder if I can most relax in this long bright evening until 9PM. After the crowd goes home, the town starts to slow down and let time pass quietly.

This is Lucie, an image model of a girl Lira in a fantasy novel "The Boy with Golden Eyes" which won many awards. Although Lira is a tolerant and brave girl with a bright character, Lucie is an intelligent, pretty, and shy girl. She lives in NY, but she spends her summer vacation in Seattle with her parents and her older brother Sam who is also an image model of a boy Rupert with the golden eyes. In this occasion, the writer Marjorie Young helps marketing the books the Volume 3 has been released recently and the plot is thickening. I hope the Japanese translation will be released some day.

Blue ocean and sky represent summer scene. In cold and dark winter season, I always dream of such scene. And when summer comes, the image becomes the reality and I enjoy the season with all my soul. I used the 21mm to shoot the wide view of Bellingham Bay. The shade wasn't attached correctly in the gap, so the corners got vignetting. It's never an excellent shot, but I like this falloff.

At an Italian restaurant on the Samish Bay. What are they making a toast to? Is it a starting, ending, or continuing of something? To their relationship, or to their job? Whatever it is, a toast means agreeing and settling on something. So, they must be celebrating. I feel good, too looking at them and I said "kanpai" in my heart.

Unusually, I sat on the passenger's seat and I was prepared to shoot anytime holding my camera. I felt so easy not to drive and my eyelids started to go down as I view the flowing scenery. I looked to the front obscurely and found a car pulling a trailer was going under an old-looking wooden bridge. There's nothing special on the scene, but I pressed the shutter button in haste. It's an ordinary scene, but there's something I feel.

Even though I'm in Canada, I don't feel I'm in a foreign country because everyone speaks English in Vancouver and it's geographically my neighborhood. So, I feel easy to speak to a man on the street. He said he recently came out of prison where he discovered his talent for drawling while he was learning it surrounded by iron lattices. Indeed, he was drawing a nice illustration. He dreams of holding an exhibition after he got people's attention on the street.

The sun started to set. I've been living in this house for more than 10 years, but I have never seen a silhouette like this. The afternoon sun is reflected on the kitchen window and it shines on the car parked on the street. Now, the car reflects the light and it comes back to my window and illuminates my room. The area and shape of light and shadow changed every second and I felt as if I were watching a slow-motion movie.

I participated in a Leica Academy workshop in Vancouver. It was held in a small room of a chic and classic café that was renovated (the workshop room is in the back of this photo). It was different from the usual inorganic classroom, so I felt relaxed and I hoped to learn some art.

However, the content wasn't something I expected. The main point was how the Leica M Monochrome is great, and they hardly ever talked about the value of monochrome photography or how and what we should photograph. Although it was interesting to listen to photographer who belongs exclusively to Leica and mainly takes monochrome photography, almost everyone among some 10 participants didn't have the MM and they tested it on the street after the lecture. Yet, it was fun to speak with professional photographers who are interested in the MM and a Taiwanese-American Joe who sat next to me and came from a quiet city called Bellingham located in 30km away from Canadian boarder. Later, I had a chance to visit him on a weekend and he showed me around the city. It has nice historic brick buildings and houses built in about 100 years ago (I also visited his house. It was stylish and had a historic air). There're nice restaurants, cafes, and galleries, so I'd like to revisit there to enjoy the taste of the whole city. This photo was taken at a café. The ice latte was so tasteful!

This photo was taken in downtown Vancouver by Joe before I knew it. This is a unique photo of myself because I seldom get photographed by someone else. I seem to be determined and speaking to myself, so am I aiming at something? Do I always look like this when I walk around? No, maybe I'm just saying that it's hot and I should take my shirt off. Did I leave my hat and my monopod somewhere? I'm carrying my camera bag. The MM is hung from the right shoulder and the M9-P is held by the right hand. At least my equipment look perfect.