Cherry blossoms in winter

Shiju no tenarai (taking up something new at 40)

I'm an awfully fickle person. I often take up something new -- like yoga, macrobiotics, classical music -- and devote my time and energy to learning it, but after a while I suddenly get tired of doing it and move on to the next interest. In the world of my ever-changing interests, few things can survive. That's what my past experiences tell me.

So I'm not at all confident that my latest interest, photography, can keep me interested for a long time. I hope it will, at least for some more time, since I've just signed up for a photography class. 

The photos are from a shooting tour we went on recently as part of the class. The place is Sakura-zaka, a nightlife district in Naha. The area is full of things to catch your attention, with its old rusting buildings, dark little alleys, and colorful signs of bars with funny names on them. It is uniquely photogenic and I was really like a kid in a candy store. 

But as I found out later, my photos of this very unique and interesting place are neither unique nor interesting. 

I don't know how I could have made them unique and interesting. I have absolutely no idea. But I know that it must be really hard and take a lot of learning, experience and talent to do that. A friend of mine who is a professional photographer has told me that taking good photos is as difficult as painting good pictures but most people don't understand that and value photos unfairly lower. After my disappointing first shooting tour, I totally agree with him.