関西を見る - "I See Kansai" Photojournalism Blog

I've Pimped My Blog

After realizing that Jim Valencia Photography was in need of somewhat more distinctive and individualized Internet persona than I could achieve with this fairly generic Excite Japan blog that I've been posting to (somewhat inconsistently) for almost the last four years, this past week finally got down to it and built out a brand new Jim Valencia Photography website and a brand-spankin'-new blog.

This in no way is a bad reflection on the blog product offered by the good folks at Excite Japan. But for commercial purposes, it just didn't quite have the horsepower and flexibility that I require. Plus the CMS interface is all in Japanese, so at times I had to feel my way around in the dark to tweak posts and move widgets the way I wanted to. At least I learned some tech-specific Japanese through necessity as a result of that process.

I am not going to abandon the "I See Kansai" blog altogether (at least not at this time), since I still have some nostalgic feelings for it and may still want something with a broader appeal to Japanese readers in the future. But my posts, which were never all that consistently regular to begin with, may become even less frequent as the majority of new content will appear in the new Jim Valencia Photography blog pictured here. I encourage you to follow the link, bookmark it, add it to your RSS, and hopefully enjoy my new photos and stories.

Launched!! - The New and Improved Jim Valencia Photography Website

Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Ignition. Lift-off!!

I am pleased to announce that, after neglecting my online portfolio for far too long, I have launched a new Flash website for Jim Valencia Photography.



In addition to looking and working like it belongs in this decade, the new site houses a handful of galleries with samples from my wedding, portrait and other work over the last few years, in addition to the standard fare of contact information and pricing. After debating whether or not to go Flash for a portfolio-centric site, I must say that I am quite pleased with the outcome. I encourage you to check it out at your leisure (Don't forget to click through the menu links and look at all the galleries, and by all means if you know anyone who needs a photographer, please direct them to my new site for a look. If you have any suggestions for improvement either to the site navigation and style or to the content, by all means let me know.

The blog you are reading now will also be going under the knife shortly, and it won't just be a face-lift. We're talking major surgery here, which should result in a much more robust and interactive user experience to keep folks coming back for more, which of course means I'll need to post more regularly. That's the idea, right? Anyway, please stay tuned for a new and improved blog...

Lastly, my apologies for the shameless self-promotion, but here are few more gratuitous screen shots:






Please be sure to check out the new site to see more...

Beautiful Phuket

Sunset at Bangtao Beach, Phuket, Thailand. March 2011.

Congratulations Ethan and Akiko!

A few shots from their wedding celebration in Kobe.

More to come....

あけましておめでとう！ - 2 0 1 1

Happy New Year!

The menu of the day in Japan on January 1st is typically ozoni soup and osechi, prepared on or before New Years Eve with a variety of foods that are served at room temperature so that no one has to cook on New Years Day. Each food has some symbolic meaning.

Of course, this cuisine goes extremely well with Nihonshu (sake). After pizza and champagne for the countdown party on NYE, this combination is definitely the breakfast of champions.

Have a splendid, spectacular, super Year of the Rabbit!



Steaming hot ozoni, with anago eel, the peel of a yuzu, spinach, and the essential ingredient, mochi.


Tempura, little fish, and black beans (kuro-mame) for wishes of good health in the New Year.


Prawns, fishcake, and konbu seaweed to bring joy.


Mushrooms, chicken, various veggies and lotus root to have good vision of things to come.

Chrismas Memories - 2010

The most wonderful time of the year...

Christmas cake by Morinaka


From my tree



Thank you Santa (Especially for the little taste of home - Anchor Brewing's Christmas Ale 2010)!



Merry Christmas to all, and to all a good night...

MOMIJI - Japanese Maples at Arima

Some Japanese maples and street scenes from Arima, Kobe.

Chucks - redux

When Converse introduced the leather version of it's Chuck Taylor All-Star a few years ago, it put a sophisticated, somewhat grown-up spin on a classic. I'm enjoying the hell out of wearing my new pair.

Shot with Nikon D700 and AF Nikkor 35mm f/2 lens.

2010 紅葉 Prologue

Though it's the momiji, or Japanese maple, that grabs all the glory this time of year, it's a bit early in the season yet to see them in this area of Japan in their red and golden splendor. Not to worry. While the momiji make us wait just a couple more weeks, the cherry trees (sakura) are currently lighting up these cool autumn afternoons with their own brilliant hues of orange, yellow and red. In addition, the kaki (fuyu persimmon) are in season and beginning to drop from their trees.

I snapped a few shots this afternoon of a few trees within about 100 yards or so of my home. Today's cuts were taken with a Nikon D700 and AF-S VR Zoom Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6G IF-ED.

I took the last three of fallen leaves on Friday during a break from work, using the Panasonic GF-1 with a 20mm f/1.7. For such a compact camera/lens combo, the DOF control is amazing. I love it!

Japan College Football - 2010

On Saturday, October 2nd the Kwansei Gakuin University Fighters squared off against the Red Gang of Konan University. It was the third straight year I've attended this match-up, and each time the Fighters have dominated. Yesterday, pummeled the Red Gang, 52-7. They are definitely the team to be reckoned with in their division. Here are few highlights from yesterday's game.

Breaking free on a kick-off return for Konan University's only touchdown of the day, Red Gang RB Kouhei Takatani takes off for the end zone with 6:40 left in the first quarter.



Kwansei Gakuin University Fighter RB Yuji Ojima leaps into the end zone to put the Fighters up 20-7 in the second quarter. Kangaku lead Konan 28-7 at the half.