Across the night

It's like living in a different world seeing at night a city that is so familiar by day.
Mizuki and I had been covering an event up in Nagreyama, Chiba. It is a small city out on the edge of forever whose only claim for notability and distinction is perhaps the very strange yearly 'Hige-nade Matsuri' or facial hair patting festival.

It's actually a Shinto festival almost a thousand years old. Each year the carers of the shine are renewed and the old ones line up and face the new ones and each side exaggeratively stroking their very grand mustaches and beards (is has been know for some carers who have not grown any facial hair to wear fake ones) while drinking copious amounts of saki.
We had been to a clothes show of a new local designer, who had no facial hair I might add or indeed any on his head. The event started badly when we lost electricity in the building for almost twenty minutes and the event staff walked amongst us setting up candles. It was almost an hypnotic dance of flames as they moved through the darkness in a swaying manner. I think that I can finally understand the attraction moths feel when they seek out the light in the dark! Consequently the whole show was delayed and we didn't conclude until 00:30.
In the back of the car taking us home, Mizuki reviewed her photos and all the while her eyes were closing. Eventually she stopped trying to fight it and her head slumped down.
The streets seem deserted almost until we arrive in Matsudo where I see people heading home or just standing around on corners or outside bars smoking or texting. I see an occasional night club with large burly men who wear stoic expressions guarding the entrances. Most stores and cafes are closed at this time and are lit only by small security lights but some have late night customers with a face or two at the window, drinking, eating and talking. I hear the driver curse whisperingly an another annoying road reconstruction crew with lethargic traffic signals slow us from our destinations and from the hundreds of taxi's that are on the road, a young couple desperately trying to hail an unoccupied one. Thankfully once we entered the city proper and reached route six it was much faster and we made much better progress as we crossed the river and onto Edo dori in Asakusa without any delay.
Mizuki feeling that she was almost home woke up and checked all about her to see if she had dropped or misplaced anything. After dropping her off it was another fifteen minutes up through Ebisu to home once again. It was almost 2:15 and the streets were fairly empty but still so many delays.
Nanako had gone to work and Hitomi was sleeping soundly. I just brushed my teeth and climbed into bed next to her and feel asleep almost instantly as I cuddled up to steal her warmth.

It seemed that I'd only just closed my eyes before the clock told me it was 7:30 and Miss behave was peeking at me from one eye. There was no time to play because of my schedule. I got up and showered and Hitomi was kind enough to make a little breakfast while I did my make up and hair.

Today's shoot was taken by Masaaki, a new photographer with 'Yoshie'.
We took the car to the dockside to get a true essence of urban ambiance for the backdrop. The avant-garde fashion designer Naoto Hirooka, loves to use such areas for his backdrop shoots with his Gothic street designs and urban-wear and I think there was a little emulative reasoning behind location choices but then I'm the one in front of the camera and so I have no say, just my usual silent jazzy opinion!
The first two sessions went pretty well and even though this photographer was new we felt a rapport as he liked what I did and only said something other than "that's great, hold that, a little to the left" when he wanted a particular angle. A non-verbal communication was established between us using smiles, winks, nods and the occasional look at the refreshment van that parked conveniently close by to cater predominantly to the local workers.
We did manage to get some food before we moved location to the freight yards and I had a quick change of clothes after my hair and make up.
As usual I have placed samples in my private albums and those with passes can see.
Those without should contact me if you wish to view.