Seize the moment! Let's come back here

Originally published 20 June 2022

Welcome to my home! - DICE was my gateway song to the wonderland that is BAND-MAID’s discography.

Last Saturday I briefly popped by the Japan Festival. I figured it would be quite packed so I went with a lighter set up: only the Fujifilm X100V, and the OM-1 with the Panasonic 35-100mm for the longer reach when needed. It proved to be a wise choice as it indeed was so busy I barely had space to get close to the stalls, let alone back up to frame shots properly if I went with a longer focal length. The X100V definitely came in handy. The only time I used the OM-1 and the 35-100mm was when I was taking photos of what’s happening on the stage.

This will be a short one in terms of write up - there’s not much new to talk about really as I’ve already covered most of the points about the X100V in the previous post. It was basically just a fun afternoon spent taking photos! The X100V pics were again edited to my personal taste in simulating film.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/125s, 2500 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

Probably the first thing to notice are the hand-made art hanging all over the place.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 2500 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

I suppose technically the first thing I would have noticed would be the people coming in. There were quite a number who dressed up!

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 8000 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

Some were in traditional attire…

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 4000 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

…while some went the cosplay route.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 500 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

Not sure exactly what this is (phoenix maybe?) but it sure was colourful and eye-catching.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 3200 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

Now this next lady was entirely in pink, including her hair. Yes, there was some pink lighting happening (it was in the make-a-wish and photo area) but it’s not the reason for the colour in the photo - she really was just drenched in pink.

Admittedly I was simply envious of this girl’s shoes.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/125s, 8000 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

There were a number of different things happening on stage throughout the day. I spent most of my time walking around the stalls so I didn’t get to take many photos of the events.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 6400 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

As an aside, it was really quite dark in the TSB Arena. I was a bit concerned with the really high ISOs, sometimes hitting the max the X100V can go to. I wasn’t sure if I would get anything decent as I thought the high ISO noise would ruin the photos. I did run the files through DxO PureRAW 2 and I was hoping for some improvement, but I was pleasantly surprised at how well it cleaned the noise up without losing too much detail! Colour me impressed (pun unintended but not in retrospect). So take note that the X100V isn’t this naturally clean at high ISOs.

Anyway, the seating area was pretty much packed the whole time I was there.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/60s, 12800 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

The 35-100mm came in handy as I was too far away with the X100V to take more detailed photos of the stage. But besides these shots I used the X100V for the rest.

*Panasonic 35-100mm f/2.8 @ 100mm, f/2.8, 1/60s, 1600 ISO | OM System OM-1*

And of course there were a bunch of different stalls to check out!

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 5000 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 1600 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 2000 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 1250 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

Check out some stuff from Ema Frost. No, I’m not affiliated with any of the links I’ll be posting - I’m just trying to support other people, especially when it’s somebody’s passion in something creative! It’s not as if I’ll be linking to every one of the exhibitors, just the ones I thought were cool.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 640 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

As usual, I gotta get up close to get some decent detail shots when using the X100V.

But as also mentioned in the previous post, it’s nice to have a less intimidating camera to take photos of people with.

There was a bigger stall with a bunch of anime stuff…

…and I’m still not sure what is happening here?!

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 800 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

It’s a shame I neglected to record the name of this artist (and also unsure whether the man in focus is the actual artist) as I would have been keen to see more of their work.

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 1000 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

*Fujifilm 23mm @ f/2, 1/160s, 10000 ISO | Fujifilm X100V*

This lady here had what is probably my favourite exhibit. I adore the art style so much!

You can check out Welly Girl, and the insta page.

The art above was from the lady below, Amy Couling.

Tanuki & Co, and Jun Arita.

“Uhh excuse me?” - as if I wasn’t going to take a picture of this! I may or may not regret not buying it…

I still don’t know what the orange thing is; I didn’t get a chance to ask.

Cycle blender? Ah technology.

Upstairs in the TSB Arena was a class of some sort. Sewing, I think?

And also a kid’s play area, with kid’s sumo activities.

And there were also some examples of ikebana on display.

I didn’t get to take any more photos of the different events on the stage as I had to go off and do something else, but I at least managed to get a good walk around seeing the exhibits.

Sadly I didn’t get to try any in the food section but I tend to eat Japanese frequently enough so I don’t feel like I missed out too much - just gotta go around Wellington some more to try the different places.

As always, thanks for coming. I hope you enjoyed some of the photos. Peace out!

Seize the moment! Let's come back here

Praise for the sweetness of the wet garden

I recommend biting off more than you can chew to anyone