Schaalsmeerpolder

Een regenbuitje was beloofd, maar op de parkeerplaats dondert een waterval uit de hemel. Ik wacht tien minuten, twintig minuten, een half uur. Dan is op wat spetters na droog. Ik stap uit de auto in een enkelhoge plas ter grootte van een zwembad.

Ik loop langs een kleine werf aan de Zaan. Aan de overkant wordt het prachtige industriële gebouw De Vlijt met de grond gelijk gemaakt. Gelukkig heb ik de foto’s nog van een paar jaar terug. Ik vrees dat er meer smakeloze dure appartementen in de plaats komen, zoals verderop.

Robin de Puy staat in korte broek in de deuropening van haar woning. We groeten elkaar alsof we elkaar kennen.

Bij de sluis wordt een man met een bootje overgezet. Hij houdt een paraplu boven zijn hoofd terwijl hij De Poel in vaart. Ik maak een foto. “De persfotograaf,” roept de sluiswachter naar de schipper.

Het begint weer iets harder te regenen en mijn kleding raakt snel doorweekt. Een Suzuki speelgoed-Jeep komt de hoek om scheuren en werpt een golf water op. Ik kan net op tijd opzij springen.

Ik loop de Poelweg af, de Schaalsmeerdijk op. Een reiger met een nog spartelende rat in zijn bek vliegt voor me uit. In de weide van de polder die diep on onder NAP moet leggen rennen vele ganzenfamilies rond. Ik zie ook mijn eerste kievit van dit jaar. Maar dat zegt niks, ik ben net terug van drie maanden verblijf in het buitenland.

Een kolk in het weiland slobbert het zojuist neergestorte water weg. Waarheen?

Ik maak het rondje af. Het begint weer te spetteren. Robin is naar binnen verdwenen. Ik waad door het pierenbad op de parkeerplaats naar de auto.

(blok 19w-p22)

The spiders of Louise Bourgeois

The Mori Museum in Tokyo has a spider by Louise Bourgeois. We also saw one in Spain, at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.

The spider is a recurring motif in Louise Bourgeois’ work—a mother figure.

The friend (the spider – why the spider?) because my best friend was my mother and she was deliberate, clever, patient, soothing, reasonable, dainty, subtle, indispensable, neat, and useful as an araignée. She could also defend herself, and me, by refusing to answer ‘stupid’, inquisitive, embarrassing personal questions.
I shall never tire of representing her.
I want to: eat, sleep, argue, hurt, destroy
Why do you?
My reasons belong exclusively to me.
The treatment of Fear.

Louise bourgeois spider bilbao
The spider in Bilbao

Louise bourgeois spider tokyo
In Tokyo.

In Tate.

Louise bourgeois spider tate

Ginza Tsutaya Books; great selection of photobooks

Ginza Six is an upscale department store in Tokyo. Most stores are uninteresting unless you are interested in luxury clothing and accessories. But on the top floor of this mall, you will find Tsutaya Books, an excellent bookstore with a great selection of photo books.

I only had an hour before we had to travel to the airport, but I found many unusual books and zones by Japanese photographers. There was even an original Les Americains by Robert Frank behind glass.

I found Tokyo Street Vol. 6 with pictures by Tatsuo Suzuki, the reprint of Provoke.

Kamakura poem

I wrote this in a whim (in English) about Kamakura. A haiku?

A faint Hawaiian vibe.
Black sand, concrete, and rusty fences.
Missing beach bars.

Japanese observances

  1. In our four-person apartment, there are two single beds and two folding beds against the wall. The folding beds are the modern version of the futon, the Japanese folding sleeping mat.
  2. Japan’s youth do not seem as scrupulous about mouth caps as the elderly. There are increasingly uncovered faces on the trains, and these are predominantly the young.
  3. You can rent a bike with an easy smartphone app. However, the app’s interface is only available in Japanese, making it unusable by tourists.
  4. When it rains in Japan, it seems to rain well and all day. Everyone outside is equipped with a robust, transparent plastic umbrella.
  5. The Japanese coast is often made ugly. Vines of concrete, nets, sandbags, and rusty fences mar beaches and boulevards.
  6. The Japanese surfer does extensive stretching exercises before entering the water. They do act a little guilty as you walk by.
  7. There are virtually no outdoor cafes anywhere in Japan. Drinking a beer or anything else on a terrace is a concept that doesn’t seem to exist. A bar, an occasion where you go for a drink, is also unusual.

To Nara, another photographer

The bus crawls through the city. We are crammed into the narrow aisle, which is too narrow for tourists with luggage.

A French girl next to me has too much hair growth on her face, a beard stubble, a thin mustache, and sideburns. The father does not interfere with the family. He stands at the front and looks worried. He consults his phone to ward off the danger of delay on the itinerary.

At Nara station, a photographer sits huddled against a wall. Concentrated, he tries to make something of the legs passing by him. I am trying to make something of how he is trying to make something.

Kyoto’s temples and making videos

I am having more and more fun making YouTube videos. They are still rudimentary, but I am getting the hang of the intricacies of Finalcut Pro (an old-fashioned great program from Apple) and YouTube. For daily videos, you also have to keep it simple. A video like this can easily take an hour to edit, and that’s a bit too long.

Yesterday, I shared the following video on YouTube about our day in Kyoto. I was quite satisfied with the timelapse of climbing the hill at the Fushimi Inari temple complex.

Creating video with GoPro Hero

I have recently started using a GoPro Hero to shoot snap videos, that is, quick shots without the explicit intention of producing visually appealing images. I edit the footage with Finalcut Pro.

Now, I am capturing our trip through Japan with it and posting it on YouTube.

Osaka station map

A man appears out of nowhere and helps us find the platform for the Midosuji line in Osaka’s super hectic and maze-like station.

He has a map.

Osaka station map