Lighting Hero & Villain of the month is now up!

06 October 2006 Now that the heat of the summer is over, the Lighting Detectives converged on Sankeien Garden in Yokohama to see the new harvest moon glow over traditional Japanese architecture and garden grounds and experience moonlight. Even though it turned out to be a rainy day, we were still positive that the clouds would disappear as we left for Yokohama. Survey By: Yusuke Hattori Stormy Sankeien Garden After a train and bus ride, 22 members of the Lighting Detectives arrived at Sankeien at 4:00 in the afternoon. Of the 17 architectural structures strategically placed around the garden, 12 are labeled Important Cultural Assets and were moved to the garden grounds from Kyoto, Kamakura, and other places from around Japan. The garden has a long distinguished history and in celebration of its 100th Anniversary, the garden was open to visitors at night. In the middle of our moon watching, the weather took a turn for the worse and chased everyone, but the Lighting Detectives indoors. Soaking wet from the waist down and most umbrellas blown inside out, the excitement of the storm faded and members grew weary as dusk set in and the moon came up. Plan B As Lighting Detective spirits and body temperatures started to dip, we all gathered indoors at the Kakushokaku, formally the residence of local merchants, The Hara Family, and recently renovated and restored to original state for the public’s use. The detectives ate…

2018/07/21-07/22 Yumi Honda + Simeng Huang + Noriko Higashi This tour was planned to make up for last year’s U-turn over Hachijo-jima. We took a chartered bus from Tokyo to Achi Village in Nagano Prefecture, which has been selected as the village with the most beautiful starry skies in Japan. A total of 15 participants enjoyed the summer stars and sun. Waiting to see the stars at Heaven’s Sonohara ■The Starry Sky as a Tourist Resource Even on a bright night with strong moonlight, the number of stars was completely different from what you would see in a city People lying down on the mountaintop, waiting A guided commentary on the stars using a laser pointer Tsumago-juku, the 42nd post town on the Nakasendo trail. A sight unique to the mountains: a roof thatched with wood and held down with stones The waki-honjin’s irori-bata and high windows. The seat for the head of the household is in the foreground A nostalgic streetscape This “Achi Village Starry Sky Tour” was devised as a way to attract tourists back to Hirugami Onsen—which had been popular until the time of the Aichi Expo—by using the ski resort during the summer. While reading an interesting article on the bus, we, the Lighting Detectives members, learned that the event, which was started by villagers about five years ago, has now become a year-round attraction. With that in mind, we headed from Tokyo to the western…

Date of Issue：February 7, 2019 ・Activity 1／City Night Survey：Rio de Janeiro/ （2018/10/13-10/23） ・Activity 2／TNT Forum 2018 in Santiago（2018/10/17-10/18） City Night Survey：Rio de Janeiro/ Santiago 2018/10/13-23 Mikine Yamamoto + Kouki Iwanaga This was our first South American survey in about 15 years. We tracked the light expression of Rio de Janeiro, a port city marked by both entertainment and poverty, which hosted the FIFA World Cup in 2014 and the Olympics in 2016 and has become increasingly international. While possessing famous coasts like Copacabana and Ipanema and being counted as one of the world’s three most beautiful harbors, it also has the “favela” slums covering its hillsides. Surrounded by magnificent nature, Santiago, Chile’s largest city, has annual rainfall of only about 360mm, meaning it is sunny for most of the year. We investigated the lighting situation of this city blessed with natural light. The nightscape from Pão de Açúcar: A beautiful contrast created by the rich topography Viewing Copacabana Beach from Pão de Açúcar Favelas built on the mountain slopes ■Rio de Janeiro / Brazil Rio de Janeiro is an international tourist city that hosted the Carnival and the Olympics in 2016. It is said to be a microcosm of the country, where light and darkness coexist: scenic areas with beautiful topography blending nature and culture are situated next to slums. We surveyed the light expressions of this city, which has various faces, including the glamorous light of tourist and resort…

Interviewer: Hikaru Kawata Kawata：Today’s topic is automatic mannerisms and involuntary habits.  I would especially like to talk about the habits we have that we like and those we want to change. One habit I have that I am really fond of is the bodily position I find relaxing.  Ever since I was little, whenever I wanted a quick nap or just to relax for a moment, I would sit in a cross-legged position and bend my upper body over into a round ball.  Mende：That sounds really painful, anything but relaxing.  I don’t think most bodies bend that way.  Kawata： I find it really calming.  I get really cold hands and feet so I tuck them around my torso, in a very revolutionary style.  Not many people can copy this habit, so I really like it.  Mende：Yes, it is very unique.  Any bad habits? Kawata：I get nervous in front of people and under the pressure I bite my tongue.  I can’t seem to relax, it is a very bad habit.  Mende：So, speaking of physical habits,  lately when I am working at my computer, my wife will suddenly say, “Turtle!.”  I realized that while working at my computer over long periods of time I gradually start to hunch over.  Bad habit! Kawata：How about a good habit? Mende：I like to play a lot of different sports.  When I am trying something new, I always do research beforehand so I can perform better.  I think…

When Conducting a Lighting Survey Interviewer:　Emiko Nagata Nagata： For today`s talk I proposed that we talk about what to do during a lighting survey, but this is a topic I really want to avoid. (ha, ha, ha…) Mende： What?! Nagata：Actually, for a while now I have felt very stressed out about what is expected to be gained from a lighting survey and what consists in the final report. After the several surveys that I have completed, the reaction to the final report was always very lukewarm… Mende： Hmmm?! Really?! Nagata：Especially the criticism about the pictures I took. Back then, what I thought was the purpose and relevant for a lighting survey was not what was expected from everyone else. From that point on I have questioned and thought endlessly about “what does one do when surveying light?!” Mende：Hmmm. So I bet you weren`t looking forward to the conversation today! (Ha, ha, ha!) I have always thought I was clear that the purpose of a lighting survey is not to take pretty pictures. That said, as a survey methodology, one should be able to take decent pictures. This is a bare minimum skill and forming a habit of brushing up on such skills to build one`s career is important. So, as a lighting designer, I think it is important to be able to take good pictures. Nagata：Yes, and when I go on a survey I get caught up in the formality…