Two unusual pets

Mantises are great! They are very interesting to look at, they are quite easy to care for and you can even pick them up gently from time to time.

 

Sometimes the model was a bit too friendly.

Another easy to care for, though far less active insect, is the stick insect.  

It generally behaves like its namesake, though it can move at a respectable pace.

They've got really tiny cute eyes too.

Teaching about bugs!

Noh Masks

I had the good fortune to be invited by a friend to a gallery showing of a collection of Noh theatre masks.  The masks were produced by a school teacher; who started carving when he had retired from teaching; and students to whom he had taught the carving of Noh masks.  The craftsmanship and artistry was truly astonishing, an incredible amount of emotion is expressed in the masks.

 

Autumn Spiders

 Spiders are one of my favourite macro subjects; they are interesting, colourful and tend not to move around so much.

Dinner Date

Proud mother with babies!

Yes, the blurry dots in the foreground are also tiny spiders.

Only one spider here!  Can you find it?

 It's in the centre of the web where the lines converge.  The collection of past meals, and even it's own discarded exoskeleton serve to camouflage the spider from birds, particularly as it most resembles bird droppings from a distance.

Here's a closer crop of the spider, it's a bit more visible.

Origami

This beautiful residence is available to rent in Osaka on Airbnb!

The decor is modern and clean with and origami theme to bring the rooms together and add an aspect of tradition.

Living room: plenty of space to relax after a day of exploring the city and surrounding areas!

The living room sofa folds out to become a wonderful bed.

The Master Bedroom is quite spacious.

The sofa folds out into an additional bed.

Second bedroom.

Guests are encouraged to add to the origami collection!

The kitchen is well equipped for preparing meals if you wish to eat in.  

Though Osaka is known for some of the best food in Japan!

  

The entertainment center of the apartment, with plenty of free power outlets to charge all of your devices.

The listing for this accommodation can be found here: Origami

Guillaume Geoffory - Web developer

Guillaume Geoffory is a website developer in Osaka and needed some self-promotional shots for his portfolio.  This was a really fun shoot to do!  

One great thing I overheard while taking photos in this intersection were passersby wondering if Guillame was famous.  Not yet, maybe soon. :)

Some shots at the bar, mixing business and pleasure, as it's best to enjoy your work!

The Green Fairy

 While not strictly traditional, setting fire to the sugar doused in Absinthe is quite beautiful, though this fairy dances in blue.

 

The final step is to dissolve the sugar and dilute the spirit with distilled water.

These pictures were taken at Cafe Absinthe in Osaka, a fine restaurant bar specializing in Greek food and absinthe.