JasonKimball.org

I needed to desperately get outside and snap some pictures this weekend so I decided to head to Cape Zanpa and go wild. Of course I didn’t get up at the planned 5-6 A.M. like I hoped. Instead, I made it out just after 12:30.

Nothing like trying to take pictures during the middle of the day when the sun washes out almost everything. It didn’t matter, I just needed to go outside and take some pictures.

From now on I plan on updating the site at least weekly with new pictures. Hopefully this will help inspire me to take more shots.

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Leave a comment and let me know what you think.

He thought he was a beer.   

This weekend my wife and I went down to Naha to check out the 10,000 Eisa Dancer parade. Although this was my second time at the event, I was truly impressed by the number of participants and viewers.

The 10,000 Eisa Dance Parade is held every year on the first Sunday in August. More than 100,000 people make it to Naha to catch a glimpse of 10,000 Eisa Dancers performing on the famous Kokusai street. Eisa is a traditional dance with a long history. It originates from a folk song that used to be sung several hundred years ago.

The dance style was passed down by groups of young people who would pay respect to their ancestors each summer by marching through their neighborhoods while playing taiko drums.

What made this year amazing was the fact that it was down pouring throughout the day. My wife and I spent a couple hours in Naha and figured for sure that it would be canceled. However, around 3 p.m everyone started showing up. With the rain pouring down, nearly 10,000 Eisa dancers lined up on Kokusai street and continued to dance. The truly inspiring event was the fact that even the smallest child and elderly person participated in this yearly ritual.

You can check out some of the pictures from the event below or go here if you want to view more pictures from Okinawa.

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Here are some of my latest pictures that I wanted to share with everyone. Let me know what you think.

Just click on any image to see the larger version.

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Leave me a comment and let me know which one is your favorite.

Some of you out there may recall an earlier post regarding me buying a new Nikon D40x camera. Well, it has been roughly two months and my wife decided it was time for a new lens. Going with the entry-level photographer theme I decided to purchase the Nikkor 55-200mm VR f/4-5.6 zoom lens .

This was a great choice for me because I was not looking to spend a lot of money on a lens, but I did not want to sacrifice quality. In addition, with my 18-55mm kit lens, I now have the entire 18-200mm focal range covered.

This lens is great for nature and wildlife, sports, family, and portraiture photography. Also, this lens comes equipped with Nikon’s Vibration Reduction. With Vibration Reduction on, a user is able to shoot up to 3 shutter speeds slower than normal, creating dramatically sharper images.

If you are not sure or what some other opinions, you can check out reviews by Kenrockwell.com and dpreview.com . They offer some great insight about the lens.

Here is a shot I took my first day using the lens

What impressed me the most about this lens was the price…I purchased mine for under $200. For me, this is a lens that provides everything that I need.

About a month ago I purchased a Nikon d40x DSLR camera and haven’t looked back since. Well, I have been really busy trying to learn the basics and have created a favorites page under my photo section. I think it is a great way to check out what I have been working on. My plans are too post at least once a month with some of my most updated photos.

For my first "favorite photos" post, check out the images below…

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I hope that you enjoy these images. I plan on many more in the future.

For several years now I have been interested in photography and wanted to purchase a  DSLR (digital single-lens reflex) camera. However, many of you know that they do not come cheap. Well, I can thank Nikon for making an entry level DSLR, now I have the camera I wanted at a price the won’t bankrupt me .

For those of you familiar with Nikon, you probably guessed that I bought the Nikon d40X. The d40x is a small DSLR offering some great features for someone wanting a little more functionality that their previous point and shoot didn’t offer. In addition to being affordable, the d40x offers a 10.2 megapixel sensor.

I have owned the camera for about two weeks and really enjoy everything that it has to offer. I purchased the d40x kit for under $650 which came with 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G AF-S DX Zoom Nikkor Lens, battery, battery charger, software, and a Nikon strap.

This is my first DSLR and it has been really easy and fun to learn. I suggest going through the manual and reading up on everything the camera offers before actually using it. I know it might be hard, but it will pay off in the long run.

Here is one of the first shots I took with the d40x. Of course my subject had to be our dog Dingo.

As I said earlier, I really enjoy this camera and look forward to taking some more fantastic pictures. I highly recommend this camera if you  want freedom and functionality that your point and shoot camera does not deliver on.

If you don’t know about JAlbum and you want to post a photo album or gallery online , it’s time to get with it. My friend Mot introduced me to this very easy to use and customizable photo album which I personally use for my own photo gallery . You can create a photo album in as little as 3 steps!

I orginally planned on using Coppermine or Gallery for my web albums but decided that I didn’t need all the bells and whistles and could go with software that does exactly what I want, create ablums for friends and family to view. If I haven’t mentioned this yet, IT IS FREE to download .

With over 7 million photo albums published and the software being started every 5 seconds, it is no wonder why JAlbum is a great free option for creating photo albums. JAlbum doesn’t just offer software, they now provide free <–I said it again… free album hosting that gives you 30MB of space if you don’t have web hosting capabilities.

You can easily change the style and behavior of your album by downloading "skins" or plug-ins that are primarily created by the users in the JAlbum community. I am currently using a very popular skin named FotoPlayer . You can check one of the FotoPlayer demos by clicking on the image below.

More experienced users will really enjoy the built in FTP support along with its multi-platform compatibility.

Bottom line is, if you are looking for a user friendly album creator that is customizable, then JAlbum offers some really great features for all experience levels.