I guess I should start with a brief update as to what's going on, so here goes nothing.  The studio is in it's new location, here in Asakusa (previously Iriya).  The wedding itself went off quite well and without much trouble (if any) other than the groom was drained of energy and was incredibly tired the entire day.  The family from Canada came to visit Japan for the first time and everyone had a pretty good time - no sickness, no health troubles, no worries.

Now things have settled down and spring is on it's way.  Oh, as a side note, it turns that I have suddenly developed hay-fever... that's a new one for me.  I can't say I'm a huge fan of it by any strech of the imagination but I guess I'll just have to deal with it from now on.

Not a huge update, but I'll do my best to keep you folks entertained from here-on-out.  If you have any requests on write-ups, please post up your ideas and I'll do what I can to help fulfill them.

Cheers!

It has been quite a while since I last updated the website blog and after March's events, its probably time to do so.

As most of you know, there was not only a major earthquake that shook Japan but a massive Tsunami to follow shortly there-after. While the quake caused much damage, it can be said without a doubt that the tsunami was the main source of destruction and death. We keep those affected in our hearts and thoughts,

While many foreigners tried to escape japan via Narita airport in the hours following the quake, I on the other hand was stuck close by the airport and with the trains and expressways shut down, took nearly 33 hours to get home to Asakusa in Tokyo. The days after were filled with stress, concern, and very little sleep as we experienced over 300 strong aftershocks within 48 hours of the first quake.

Luckily for a Canadian way of thinking, we had enough food and water, however many didn't and very soon all of the supermarkets, grocery stores and even convenient stores were sold out of anything that contained food value. Feel free to criticize my next comment but i have a feeling that if such an event might occur in the states, the liquor and water would be the first things missing from the combinis (convenient stores). The one product that was virtually untouched in stores here... The liquor.

I made a few preparations as well, more out of necessity than anything. Firstly I collected all of the empty plastic bottles that I had and 'un-crushed' those which I had made ready for recycling. I then cleaned them and filled each with purified water, just incase we were hit again and lost water pressure to my 8th floor apartment. Next as a utility water reservoir, filled the bath tub to overflow. If the water pressure went, at least I could use this water to flush the toilet or take a sponge bath.

One other minor preparation I made was to do something that many have teased me about... I bought a fishing rod. If all else fails, I am close to a river and while the fish may not be the best to eat, at least we won't go hungry. I spoke with the owner of the fishing shop and aside from his regulars, I was the first person to buy a rod in the four days since the initial quake, much to my surprise.

For me and the studio, business dropped sharply. Bookings were cancelled and many people chose to take a nice vacation, until things settled down. One man told me on the phone that those people were over reacting and that we had nothing to worry about... This coming from a sociopath who, if back working in middle America would amount to nothing more than a line cook at McDonalds. Needless to say, things got worse before they got better. Two of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power centers exploded outwards due to a buildup of nitrogen pressure within the facility, radiation leaked and many of those lost to the tsunami started showing up again along the shores of Chiba.

That was over six months ago...

Food has returned to the shelves of supermarkets, combinis and other centers (although most products still sell out early in the day which before was an unusual occurrence). It was established that TEPCO, the company in charge of the reactors has lied for several months about how severe the problem was (is) and radiation hotspots that are beyond safety limits are popping up around Japan, even so far south as Kashiwa, Chiba (source: Mr. S. Marking, independent research). However, even with the troubles, the constant aftershocks and the worrying families back home, we continue with our lives. The studio is now open again Monday to Friday and friends are slowly returning to Japan.

It's beyond asking for you to wish us luck. Luck is something we've proven that we have, for now, just think of us and if you see a donation box, consider dropping in a few hundred yen,

Cheers from Japan.

Unlike back home in Canada where a dark street can be nerve-wracking to walk down for even someone experienced in fighting, the dark alleys of Tokyo are rarely anything to fear for anyone other than little children who still worry about the boogy man.  While it is true that there are certainly some areas of Tokyo that are more prone to crime than others, it is very rare to find an actual mugger, violent gang or even a person willing on picking a fight with you.

Japan... country of low crime.

While the last couple of updates have given a basic idea of what is going on now, it should be noted that the trip getting from my old work-place to my apartment in Asakusa, Tokyo took a little longer than expected. What usually is a 2.5 hour bus-to-train-to-bus ride took nearly 30 hours door to door. A cramped car with little provisions (most had been sold to the locals in the minutes following the first quake) and a 45km trip home proved quite a trial unto itself.

One of the main reasons it was such as task is because of the quake, the expressways were shut down which required us to crawl along the pavement of side-streets which were packed with thousands and thousands of cars. It was near grid-lock for 40km until in the early morning when one of the expressways finally opened up.  Some may say that they felt the quake and it wasn't very strong, however it should be noted that it was strong enough to bend the top of the Tokyo Tower.

I would like to bring to you some TV screen-grabs I produced from AsahiTV, FujiTV and NHK TV News station.

Also, please pardon the mis-alligning of the images that I have posted up.  I am still getting used to this new blog format.

As you may have seen in blogs like this as well as on CNN or other news media outlets, the stores are becoming barer and barer by the hour.  I am lucky enough to live overtop of a small grocery store and made darn sure we stocked up on as much as possible but with police driving through the streets urging people to stock up on water, things are becoming a little scary.  Saturday evening I had to bring my wife to the hospital to deal with a 38.9C fever.  On the way home we stopped by 7 grocery stores and 11 convenient stores before finally finding one little 7-11 that happened to have 3 'boxes' of french fries left (フライ　ポテート).  Thankfully I rarely eat very much (albeit being chubby) so I bought a single box of fries for myself, a couple bottles of tea and a couple little squeeze-bags of mango flavored 'diet jello' for my wife and away we went.

While the damage and death toll here in Tokyo is minimal, that isn't to say we aren't having problems of our own.  Wish us luck everyone.

 

Listen to the my Radio Interview here:  

http://www.newstalk1010.com/shows/ryandoyleandtarekfatah/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10214710

As I type this, the ground is still shaking underneath of me, slowly rocking my chair side to side.  The TV has been turned on to Asahi News since my wife arrived home yesterday around 8:30pm and every time another quake comes, we receive a 10-15 second pre-warning on TV with a loud buzzer, it is at that moment that we know we need to brace ourselves for what may either come as a small shake or may end up being a larger quake similar to the one that struck us yesterday around 3:30pm.

I will first load up photos that are relevant (I took nearly 300 photos since yesterday but most are not good description of the setting) and then post up my Facebook status updates for you to see.  Thank you again for taking the time to view Pozland Photography's homepage and if you are ever in the Tokyo area, feel free to stop by the studio

Also see the CNN article here:  http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/11/did-you-feel-the-quake-send-us-your-ireport

3:41 Holy CRAP!!!!!!!!!!!!
3:56 Its still shaking in chiba. School I'm shooting in is shifting. Theres a CRACK in the dirt... Again, holy crap
4:08 The hell its going again!!!!!!
4:12 Someone report in on the fires please
4:21 IT'S SHAKING AGAIN WTH?!?!?!?!
4:30 Live footage of the disaster in Tokyo: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/tokyo-livestream (I know it's a picture of Gundam but it's a link to a video stream)
4:36 Phones are out still - SOFTBANK SHUT DOWN THEIR SERVICE TO "ENSURE SAFETY"! WHAT THE HELL IS WRONG WITH YOU SOFTBANK!?!??!?!
4:44 Most of Central-Chiba is dark - lights are out
4:56 I see houses as we drive by with candle-light showing through - good thing it's not winter.
5:01 If you are trying to call people in Tokyo use (03) numbers. Mobile networks still down. (Thanks for this, Anthony)
5:14 (NOW!@ IT'S GOING AGAIN! YES!! AGAIN!!!! #chiba

5:18 Most of Central-Chiba is dark - lights are out

5:20 I see houses as we drive by with candle-light showing through - good thing it's not winter.

6:12 Took someone's advice... here we go at iReport: http://ireport.cnn.com/people/Pozzy

6:20  1) I wonder if my TV is ok?

         2) Why the hell did I keep my lenses on the TOP shelf!?!?!? I --HOPE-- they are ok! 

         3) Good thing I drained the tub!

7:09 Cool, CNN International contacted me and I might be doing an interview on the phone with them because of the photos I submitted. Nifty :)

7:25 More shaking going on here in chiba too. More confirmed dead in Tokyo due to natural gas.

7:38 INCOMING EARTH QUAKE!!!! JUST GOT A CELL WARNING ON 5 PHONES AT ONCE!!!!

7:40 There's the first little shake... Now waiting for the next big one

8:08 CAN ANYONE CONFIRM THAT ONE NUCLEAR REACTOR CANNOT BE COOLED?????

8:23 Another earthquake is going on... Tonight i ain't sleeping...

8:39 Another small shaker just.now

8:47 Another shake!!!!!!!!

9:39 Am ok, making my way home... 59Km to go.

--UPDATE VIA GERALDINE BOYER - FAMILY MEMBER-

4:39AM UPDATE: Christopher said he is at Wangan Narashino which I believe is their expressway and is still trying to make his way back to their apartment. He has been walking all night and will continue his trek. His cell phone battery and his Mac (boy does he hate it now!) battery are both dead. It is 4:45AM over here - keep the good thoughts going to him to give him strength to get home safely.

-- UPDATE VIA FAMILY MEMBER /END --

11:02AM IT'S SHAKING AGAIN GOD DAMNIT!!!!!!!  ... But at least I'm home! 

11:16 Yay, I'm on CNN again! (So is my photo) http://news.blogs.cnn.com/2011/03/11/did-you-feel-the-quake-send-us-your-ireport/

11:42 You Toronto listeners tune into 1001 FM - I'm on the radio right now speaking about the earthquake AS IT IS HAPPENING http://www.newstalk1010.com/shows/ryandoyleandtarekfatah/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10214710

11:51 Holy crap, a powerful one right now!

12:22 Just got interviewed by the producer of Anderson Cooper for CNN - Going on Monday most likely

12:26 Annnnnd it's shaking again

12:47 No sleep for the exhausted - heading up to the roof to see if I can spot anything out of the ordinary.

1:08PM It appears that Number 1 Nuclear Powerplant in Fukushima Exploded - Video coming to YouTube c/o Adam Zillin :  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TzLzROoHLEc

7:36PM Sorry folks, no updates for a while, I had to get some sleep

7:40 IAEA Just upgraded the 'Safe Distance' from the Nuclear Plant from 10km to 20km

8:39 Wife has a fever - taking her to the hospital close-by with our Bug-Out-Bag (water & other materials) - please contact me via Pozland's CONTACT ME TAB if someone desperately needs me

10:01 Japanese officials day the explosion at the nuclear power plant did not damage the cores and they are continuing to cool them as we speak.

10:18 CNN reports the explosion at the power plant was caused by water vapor and not a nuclear explosion. Cooling is continuing.

11:26 Three people close to the nuclear reactors in Sendai are now suffering from radiation sickness - Asahi News

11:33 We are shaking again!!!!

11:41 ANOTHER QUAKE!

11:43 Last earthquake a few minutes ago was Scale 6 - not horrible but certainly enough to get my heart beating.

11:48 ANOTHER QUAKE, DARNIT!

11:56 Reports of a small town of 17,500 people on the coast has been washed away - 10,000 of the residents are still missing.. God bless them all.

11:59 Another quake! STOP IT DAMNIT!

12:02AM Last quake was just centered in Chiba - be careful you Chiba-ites

12:06 One more earthquake RIGHT NOW in Niigata!

12:08 Holy crap it's a long one...

===

Those are all of the updates over the last 36 hours.  I am now signing off and heading to bed exhausted and fully clothed.  Good luck to the rest of you folks in Japan and to those over-seas, next time the Red Cross comes around for donations, please consider giving, even a few dollars.  You'll survive without that extra cup of StarBucks, right?

Nite everyone.  Wish us luck...

Other times it's not so much that you can't be rude and ask someone to make the same movements, walk down the street again or try and get their child to make a funny face a second time, but there are times when your hands are tied and it is impossible to re-create an action or experience.  Such is the case here as a buddy of mine back at the University of Saskatchewan over-cooks the 'rare' ordered steaks.

And to cap things off, sometimes you just need to ask a friend "hey, can you make a silly face for me while I take your picture which will eventually be published on the web about 5 years after I take said photo?"  Yea... well... that should explain itself.

What he was thinking of to inspire this image is anyone's guess.  What do you think?  Perhaps he was picturing the cameraman nude, or maybe thinking of his upcoming credit card bill?

This second is courtesy of the Saskatoon Fire Department and in part thanks to my friend Kerry who arranged a small meet with some of the local heroes.  These men and women put their lives on the line to save small cats in trees along with million dollar housing units.  Hats off to them and great respect going out to them due to the nature of the job.

During the summer months, it is quite common to find a group of three or four young men shooting in a large field not far from the town of Blaine Lake somewhere in mid-Northern Saskatchewan.  One of them is a good friend, Colin who is by far the best shot I know.  What is it about being left-handed that helps to lend itself to being a marksman?  For those curious, this image has not been reversed.