My favourite colour is blue. Or maybe, purple, because in painting, it can appear either cool or warm, depending on the adjacent colours. Naturally, I find the colour indigo, which is between blue and purple in the electromagnetic spectrum, fascinating, with all its history and applications in art (fashion) and martial arts.
In Japan, the import of silk from China was restricted during various prolonged periods, and cotton was difficult to dye with anything, except indigo. Over time, an intricate process, indeed an art form in itself, of indigo dyeing
Nowadays, indigo is often used to colour denim fabric. Interestingly, the much thought-after Japanese denim
I took some macro photos of the fabric of two pairs of jeans that I own: a factory-distressed pair bought as a souvenir while I was on sabbatical in Japan (I was lucky to find a size that fit) and a brand new “raw” denim pair (i.e. it has not been washed after dyeing). True denim enthusiasts are rumoured to go month or even years before washing their raw jeans in order to develop the wear patterns that are unique to the wearer. I don’t think I will go that far (my kendo keiko gi is sufficiently sweaty, so I would rather keep my other clothes relatively clean), but breaking in the new jeans will be a fun little project, even just for observing the changing hue of the indigo dye. Perhaps, I will take more closeup shots of the fabric to record the process.
I don’t think I will be able to reproduce the cool wear patterns of the pre-distressed jeans, but it is neat to know that they will be will be one-of-a-king and, in a very direct way, an expression of my lifestyle.
Still, there is something to be said for aiming high, as David Swartz explained in “
.” I am fascinated by people, who explored similarities and interconnections in the underlying principles of scholarship, arts, and martial arts. There are many illustrious examples in history, from 
.
to his wife in 1963, when they were dating. It resonates so deeply that I would not be able to formulate my own resolutions more clearly or more completely.
“
In other things that I do, the routine is not as rigid, but there is some structure, and I find that I depend on it more than I thought earlier. For example, in my research, I like to read technical papers during certain times of the day, and I try to reserve specific amounts of time for my own writing. I find that brief, regular sessions, a concept that I learned from “
” in the middle of 17th century, and he was far from being the first person to do it.
being particularly popular among many pros. Personally, I find that a regular 
works well for my lighting gear, while the cameras and lenses go in a 
.
. Initially, I looked for 
, with the size and hardness of the brush linked to the pen pressure.
, and anthropologist, who addressed this question more that fifty years ago. I am glad that my daughter is not attached to the idea of the “real” Santa Claus, but is really enjoying him as an element of the Holiday.
and 
) on a 
. Here is the most important adjustment that I had to make in order to achieve sharp focus since I started using these lenses, which produce ultra-shallow depth of field: it is not possible to pre-focus by half-pressing the shutter button and then re-composing the frame – the resulting slight change in the tilt of the camera results in an out-of-focus image. Instead, I place an autofocus point directly on the subject’s eye (the one closets to the camera, to be exact), take a shot and then adjust composition in post-processing by 
” that delaying gratification is an important skill for children to learn. As any skill, it requires practice, and the initial attempts are not always successful.