Tokyo blogging

A reminder if you're interested in what I'm getting up to in Tokyo, to check out my photolog of the trip at katiedoesjapan.tumblr.com. I'm having SUCH an amazing time, tokyo is as incredible as I thought it would be. Taking tons of photos and writing up a massive diary which I'll share when I get back.

Go east...

Photo: Rache555

It's finally here, we're off to Japan tomorrow! I have my geektastic Google map ready and stuffed full of amazing-sounding things to see and do (probably much too much to fit in), I've loaded my cameras with film and charged up the E-P1, and got my guidebooks and rail-passes packed.

I'm going to try and upload some bits and pieces while we're there (at least in Tokyo where we get free internet, not sure about Kyoto). I've set up a Tumblr at katiedoesjapan.tumblr.com should you wish to follow.

See you in 2 and a half weeks..!

Fantastic Mr Fox

I saw Fantastic Mr Fox at the weekend, a special gala as part of the BFI Film Festival. I'm not usually a big fan of 'kids' films but being directed by my favourite, Wes Anderson, I thought it was worth seeing.


It most definitely is; it's full of Wes's charm, humour and idiosyncratic design (love the 'chapter' headings) and dialogue. It's full of little details that Wes fans will appreciate, like the Team Zissou-esque bandit masks and the ubiquitous loser-athlete character (Foxy's son Ash, voiced by Jason Schwartzman). I wonder how the actual kids in the audience found it as it's packed with adult jokes and references (the chararcters even swear in code: 'cluster-cuss', 'cuss with his head', etc), but I guess the rowdy action fun appealed to them as well as me. It's perfectly cast and the stop-motion characters and their world are totally charming. Go and see it!



Love the design of these posters, too - sharp and colourful.



Images: Rotten Tomatoes

Olympus OM-10

Since I got my Olympus E-P1, I've been trying to actually learn how to use it properly, and I thought a good way to learn would be to get an old SLR and learn everything the old-skool way. To that end I bought an 1980s Olympus OM10 (only £10 on eBay), and have been steadily amassing a small collection of lenses to play with. The bonus is all the lenses can also be used on my E-P1 with an adapter so it's a pretty cost-effective way of trying some new things out.

Here are some snaps from my first two rolls with the OM10:




These are from the Maker Difference Pop-up Letterpress Studio in Carnaby. They have a real old-skool letterpress setup going on, and were also running workshops (sadly they filled up before I could book).


My local cinema - I love how retro it looks, and it's lovely and plush inside, too.






Some snaps from the always-photogenic Borough Market


Clissold Park up in my old neck of the woods, Stoke Newington. Definitely turning to autumn by the look of the leaves.


Sofa outside a junk shop on Brick Lane

Finally here are a couple of pics from the E-P1 with an old Olympus 50mm f1.8 lens. I like this lens so much it's become my default. I like how it makes the digital photos look more filmic, and it's very good for indoors low-light shots.

Daily Drop Cap

LOVE this project by type designer extraordinaire Jessica Hische (who I've written about before). She's designing a gorgeous decorative drop-cap for every alphabet letter and releasing one a day. They're under a Creative Commons licence for free use on blogs, which is a genius idea for getting her work to go viral! Check out all the ones she's done so far here.

via made-in-england

Hello Kitty's 35th birthday

Aww, everyone's favourite cute little white no-mouthed cat turns 35 this year! Check out this sweet animated video of her evolution (she hasn't changed much, apart from the outfits). I'm still trying to convince Josh it'd be a great idea to visit her theme park Sanrio Puroland while we're in Tokyo, although I guess a visit to Kiddyland to stock up on plush goodies might suffice.


Sanrio Plushies by Bento Business

via designrelated

Ryantoon

Rob Ryan's lovely shop on Columbia Road has been temporarily replaced by Ryantoon - everything's black and white, presumably in tribute to Newcastle Utd football team? Anyway, it's visually lovely and I adore the new products. If you can't get to the store, you can buy from his Etsy shop.