This page is a list of some of the questions I often get and that aren’t answered directly by the about page. They are in a random order. I will try to keep this updated and if the list grows too long, I’ll try to better organize them too.
So… who are you and what’s this site about?
Please read the about page.
Why is the title for some posts black and big and other posts blue, underlined, and smaller?
Link posts get a smaller, blue title, which is the same formatting as all links on this site. I do this as a cue that those posts are different. Though some link posts include long comments by me, most of them only get one or two sentences; sometimes I don’t even give any comment (beyond the title), just the link. Even though link posts may be the most common posts I write, I don’t consider them the main attraction to this site. Also, some people may not care for them or my commentary, hence special formatting which allows them to be easily recognized and skipped.
What’s the deal with Japandave.com
As I mentioned on the about page, I don’t want to go into the details. Suffice to say it was where I hosted my webpage from around 2006 until 2017. At various times during the span it was fairly popular. Due to that and some other things, I lost the domain. It’s gone. Someone else—another Dave who is a photographer and who is in Japan—grabbed it and set up a somewhat similar site. Smart move on his part. There isn’t much more than that.
Much of my online branding is still “JapanDave” which is, I admit, a bit confusing. If I had someone helping me out with all this stuff, I’d probably change all of that. As it is, I’ll do it slowly but surely. Bottom line is I have nothing to do with the new site on that domain. If you’ve been following me since I owned that domain, think of me as The Artist Formerly Known as JapanDave. And update your bookmarks to this site.
Are you the David LaSpina who is a photographer in New York?
Nope. Find him here.
How do I pronounce LaSpina?
Got you covered, my friend. See here.
Is there really [insert blank] in Japan?
Probably not. There are many modern myths about Japan, fueled by the general enthusiasm for Japanese pop culture that has worked its way worldwide. In general, if you saw it in a samurai film or anime/manga, it is probably not true, though it may be a small and warped reflection of something that is true. Feel free to send me questions if you really want to know. If I get enough interest in certain areas or you catch me in a writing mood, I may address it in one of my Ask Me Japan posts.
I love your photos!
Thanks. I’m happy you like them.
Can I save one of your photos to use as my wallpaper?
Yep. Go ahead. I retain full copyright of all my photos, but I license them under the creative commons, meaning they are mostly free for non-commercial usage. So go ahead and save all you want.
I might mention I offer some special wallpaper packs and other similar goodies as a part of my membership program.
Can I use one of your haiku translations on my website?
Sure, go ahead. Just please credit me as the translator.
Can I use one of your photos/translations/other commercially?
Commercial usage isn’t covered by the Creative Commons license. Contact me and I’ll let you know my rates.
Got a burning question not covered here? Send it to me.