The World Heritage-listed Kinderdijk windmills are illuminated by LED lights, at the Kinderdijk September 7, 2009. The wind mills are lit up this year to mark the first time energy-efficient LED lighting has been used.     REUTERS/Jerry Lampen

An internally displaced girl waits with her belongings in the parking lot of a bus terminal in Karachi, for transport back to her home in the Swat Valley region on September 7, 2009. About 1200 internally displaced persons, who fled a military offensive against the Taliban in the Swat Valley region a few months earlier, departed on a 20-hour journey to their villages from the southern seaport Karachi on Monday, an official overlooking the repatriation process said.   REUTERS/Athar Hussain

A woman dives in a lake in the Lobau area, the floodplain forest along the Danube River, as she enjoys the last summerdays in Vienna September 7, 2009.  REUTERS/Herwig Prammer

A member of the Edmonton Eskimos cheer squad is tossed into the air in front of a record 41,000 people during the annual Labor Day classic football game between the Edmonton Eskimos and the Calgary Stampeders in Calgary, Alberta, September 7, 2009. REUTERS/Todd Korol

Japan's voters may have overwhelmingly rejected Prime Minister Taro Aso at the polls last week, but he and my camera got along just fine.

The 68-year-old makes vigorous gestures with his hands and strong facial expressions. His crooked smirk and his eyes that sometimes seem to be  popping out of his head always gave me a lot of interesting photo choices.

Now the photogenic Aso must pack his bags and hand over the prime ministerial house keys to Yukio  Hatoyama , the leader of the new ruling Democratic Party of Japan.

Hatoyama, once nicknamed "the alien" for his prominent eyes,  is -- visually at least -- less interesting except for his unruly locks that sometimes blow about in the wind.

The problem for me behind the viewfinder was that Hatoyama was expected  to win by a landslide while Aso was the visual winner.

Surrounded by fluttering Japanese national flags, Aso in shirtsleeves looked vigorous when campaigning and his smile was that of a  winner and his strong hand gestures displayed an eloquence which did not exist in his words.

But Hatoyama, who mostly wore dark suits, hid behind microphones and covered his mouth when speaking and  on the rare occasion he tried to convey strength and determination through his body language, he came off looking awkward and unnatural.

On election night, Hatoyama won a landslide but just smiled. The jubilation that might be expected from such a massive victory was hidden from sight. By contrast, the defeated Aso stepping into shadown after making a speech acknowledging defeat looks like the fallen hero in a movie.

I hope Aso gives Hatoyama some advice when he hands over those keys. Something like “Try using your hands when you give a speech” should do the trick.

Photo credits: REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon (top), Issei Kato (middle), Toru Hanai (bottom)