Jeffrey E.F. Friedl's Blog, page 46

Inside the Roof of Kyoto’s Chion’in Temple

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In the article “Heading Up To See The Naked
Roof of Kyoto’s Chion’in Temple” the other day, about the
once-every-100-years roof repair currently being done at the Chion'in
Temple (知恩院), I'd ended the story having arrived at the top of the
temporary protective-shell structure where one could walk at the level of
the roof, which had its tiles and battens removed to reveal the rafters and
other components of the roof truss for the first time since 1907.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm — 1/80 sec, f/4.5, ISO 3600 —
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Naked Roof

at the Chion'in Temple (知恩院), Kyoto Japan

The roof truss was constructed in two distinct layers... the inner/upper parts were a regular gridwork of beams, while the
lower parts that sweep out to the edge are a jumble of raw tree trunks seemingly scattered at random.

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Upper Framework

with a walkway for the workers








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Central Area








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Eastern Slope








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Pointy Edge








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Detail

under the pointy edge








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Old Ironwork

I'd thought these things were made without nails or other metal, but
there were plenty of old bolts and nails. I know that the nails, at least,
predate the 1907 repair, and some perhaps date from the 1600s when the
building was built.

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Notches and Cut Marks








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“#14 From the East”

every piece was marked, though I was surprised they used nails(!)








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Wedge

the log was a bit too thick for the wedge size, so they had to trim it a bit








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“Half Of Massive” is still Pretty Robust

I made a few wigglegram attempts, but all came out pretty bad. Here's the least bad:

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Animatable — slowly sweep mouse from side to side to view effect
写真の上をマウスで左右にゆっくり動かすといろいろな影響を見えます。

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Looking Under the Eves








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“Replace”

written in chalk on the left piece








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Old Nails

square Japanese nails date from the 1800s and prior








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Modern (1907) Nail








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Where the Roof Jigs








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Insect Damage

One could walk the full breadth of the front face of the roof, and along one side for part of the way.

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Along the Western Edge








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Modern(ish) Bolts and Old Square Nails









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Center

of the western face

Off to one side they had the various onigawara (gargoyle like things) taken from the roof....

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Big One









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Lesser Examples









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Comparison

between an original (1600s) on the left, and a 1907 replacement on the right









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Shockingly Heavy

A few tiles were available to hold. They were as heavy as concrete.









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Original Edge Tile

from the 1600s









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1907 Replacement

All in all I'm disappointed with the quality of the photos, but as my
excuse it was dark and I wash rushed for time (it was already past closing
time before they even let me in, the line was so long). I'll try to do
better next time, in 2110, if I can remember.

Heading Up To See The Naked Roof of Kyoto’s Chion’in Temple

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26mm — 1/160 sec, f/5.6, ISO 100 —
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Doesn't Look Too Promising

but within is a rare site

at the Chion'in Temple (知恩院), Kyoto Japan

The 10 huge characters across the face of the massive building seen above say:

“National-Treasure Mieido Heisei Overhaul”

where “Mieido” is the name of the main building at Kyoto's Chion'in
Temple (知恩院), and “Heisei”
is the name of the current emperor-of-Japan's reign. The overhaul refers
mostly to the roof, which apparently undergoes this kind of thing about once every hundred years.

This is the same temple that appeared in “Huge Main Gate of Kyoto’s
Chion’in Temple” last month, which I wrote in preparation for writing
about the roof.

The ugly building above is a shell built around the circa-1639 main-temple building
being overhauled, and the line of people is for a special viewing were you
could go up and see the guts of the old roof. After having seen a news
article about the special three-day once-in-a-hundred-years event, I took a walk over, arriving just before the end of the final day. This was last November.

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Long Line

I ended up waiting in line for 75 minutes, but I figured it was better
to do it now than to wait for the next opportunity in 2110.

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Temporary Tile Storage

roof tiles, having been removed from the roof, stacked all over








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Built-in Throttling

I thought it was smart how they used safety helmets to throttle the flow of visitors... once all the helmets were used,
new folks could go in only when others came out and surrendered their helmets. It felt better than a security guard controlling
the flow like a bouncer at a club.

As far as I could tell, the helmets served no other purpose.

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Temporary Layers

one of the many floors of the temporary shell building








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Getting Closer

“National Treasure Miei...”








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How the Shell Was Constructed

As you got closer, various things were posted to give you something to do while waiting. The one above shows how
the shell was constructed over the temple building. First rails were placed on the ground along the north and south edges
of the building, then off to one side an 18'-wide slice of the building was constructed, then rolled on the rails to position
over the building. With this approach they didn't have to worry about construction accidents damaging the building. It took about a year to get all twelve sections into place.

Finally I got to the front of the line and put on my silly little hat, and could in and up the many flights of stairs
to get to the top of the building...

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On The Way Up

much scaffolding everywhere

And finally you could see what you came for...

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Naked Roof

the “bones” of the roof, after the tiles and planking had been removed

It was quite an amazing site to behold when first emerging from the stairwell, and the size and scale of the roof
is difficult (for me) to convey in a photo. It was expansive, to say the least.

You couldn't climb on the thing, of course, but you could get right up to it and touch the 400+ year-old wood.

To be continued...

Plum Blossoms are Coming in in Kyoto

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Standing Tall

at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮), Kyoto Japan

At Stéphane Barbery's suggestion that the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine's plum were ripe for the photographic picking, I popped over for a quick 45-minute visit
today.
This is the same place I wrote about a week or so ago, both in
“Kyoto Plum-Blossom Preview: Scenes From a Year Ago Today”
where I talked about how Feb 22 was too early for the plum blossoms, and
in the less blossom-centric post “The Many Lanterns and Overwhelming Sumptuousness of the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine”.

It was chilly (~10C / 50F), but a pleasant, relaxed atmosphere...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/5000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
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Shrine Visit








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Line

The shot above doesn't really “work” because the only thing in focus is the group of people in the far background,
leaving the big gate building in the foreground annoyingly and dominatingly out of focus. I'd intended it this way
(the group of people are in line to pay respects, as
described on this post), but nah, the result doesn't work.

From about the same vantage, toward the side I noticed a tree growing out of the stump of its ancestor (perhaps a fitting
image for reincarnation) net to some kind of cow statue...

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Holy Cow!








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Jangling

to grab the gods' attention

(again, as described here)

Having noticed that one of the
lanterns was dated 1879 while writing a recent post, I checked out a
few more lanterns for dates today. The closest of these three is dated 1866...

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Contemporaries

the other two are about 10 years younger

However, in the “hallway” I wrote
about before, I found one dated 1835...

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From 1835








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Its Bottom, with the Date

I didn't have time to check them all, so there are some left for my next visit.

I'd posted a photo titled “Lanterns” the
other day. These next two shots are similar, but from a different wall of
the same building...

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Of course, by this time in the season there are plenty of plum blossoms.

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Baby Plums
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I didn't take too many blossom photos because I've already got plenty (as a click on the “nearby photos” link under any of these photos will show),
but you can't visit during plum-blossom season without taking at least a few.

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In Bunches

The many variety of plum blossom at different times and different rates, so there's currently quite a range, from
bare trees to full-on maximum.

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Shade of Pink #12








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Relaxed Atmosphere

though these trees have a long way until full bloom








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Smattering of Color








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Close to Full Bloom








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Everyone's a Critic

The real draw of the place is the plum orchard, which costs about $6 to
enter. I didn't have time to do so today, but from what I could see from
the temple's main gate (the photo below), it was starting to fill in
nicely... much better than two weeks earlier in the
season when it's mostly bare....

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Orchard, from Afar

A Few Desktop Backgrounds from the Delightfully Whimsical Otaginenbutsuji Temple in Northwestern Kyoto

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Waiting, Waiting, Fervently Waiting

for world peace that never comes
at the Otaginenbutsuji Temple (愛宕念仏寺)

Kyoto Japan

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The New York Times Travel section recently published the article “36
Hours in Kyoto, Japan” (thanks Ed Pouso for the link), and one of the locations the author visited is the delightful
Otaginenbutsuji Temple (愛宕念仏寺) in the northern Arashiyama area of Kyoto.

I thought it was a missed opportunity that the article didn't include a
photo from the temple, which reminded me that although I've visited the
temple twice, in both the spring and fall of 2012, I'd not yet gotten
around to posting anything. My own missed opportunity, of which my photo
catalog holds so many. Sigh. So until I can do a full-on post, here are a few
desktop backgrounds of some of the 1,200 statues — ranging from
whimsical and silly to serious and pious — that dot and fill the
mountainside location.

(The author of the NYT article writes the name of the temple
as “Otagi Nenbutsu-ji”, but in this post I write it the way the
temple itself writes it: “Otaginenbutsuji Temple”. In any case, the actual
name is “愛宕念仏寺”.)

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Private Meditation
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Nodding Off
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Friendship, Love, and Hope
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Deep

this has an intensity I'm unable to put into words
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Among Friends
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To be clear, the captions are the feelings that I ascribe to the statue
as I look at them today while writing this post. I don't know what the
original sculptors intended to convey, but I suspect the point of the
collection is to let each piece evoke in the viewer whatever it evokes.
Along those lines, perhaps I should not put any caption at all.... (?)

To be continued...

The Many Lanterns and Overwhelming Sumptuousness of the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

Note: this article may not appear properly in news readers.

This article contains interactive aspects that are likely removed by most news readers. Please see this particular article directly on Jeffrey's blog for full functionality.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/1250 sec, f/3.5, ISO 200 —
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Paying Respects

at the sumptuous Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮)

Kyoto Japan
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The Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮) in northern Kyoto is perhaps
best known for its huge
plum-blossom orchard, but in looking over the photos I've yet to
publish from a visit a year ago, I realize that there's so much more to
show. So today we'll shift concentration away from the blossoms, and
continue with the non-blossom theme that yesterday's post ended
with.

All the photos on this post are from a visit a year ago yesterday.

The shrine has many buildings, but the main building is difficult to miss in its sumptuousness. As is common at shrines, there's
a big thick rope with a large crotal bell (“jingle bell”) at the top....
shaking the rope prior to your prayer rattles the bell, perhaps awakening the gods to your petition....

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/4000 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
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Shrine Rope

without context, it's difficult to get a sense of its scale
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Here's a shot with enough context to feel the rope's size...

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Shaking the Rope

to rattle the bell at its top








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The Bell

perhaps the size of a laundry basket








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Bull Carving









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“Rafters”

above the bell

Continuing the view as we move up...

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Overwhelming Detail and Color
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It was quite crowded the day I was there, so I had to wait a while to get the shot that leads this post.
While waiting, it was enjoyable to watch the folks queue to make their prayers.

I'd brought along a little-used Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 that I'd bought broken for a
low price and had repaired by Nikon, but it's never felt right. Sometimes
the “not right” lends a nice sense of dreamy ambiance, and for me that's the case
with some of the following...

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Queue
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This shot looks as if it's had a ton of “negative clarity” added in Lightroom (like this
or this or
this), but here the effect is all from the lens. You can tell from the lanterns that I hit focus
reasonably well, so this weird ghosting is probably because the lens is defective.

The effect gets quite pronounced if you miss focus, as I did to an almost comical effect in this next shot, but for some reason I really like it:

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Disfocused Effect








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Moments Earlier

with a non-broken lens

Yet, sometime, the 50mm f/1.2 can take a pretty good picture. I haven't figured out why this one doesn't have that “creamy imperfection” sense to it...

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Fairly Normal Looking

Anyway, turning to the left and looking past the queue, there's a sort of covered (but currently unutilized) area used
for market stalls and such...

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Boring from the Side

However, from inside...

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Another Set of Lanterns
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Unused at the Moment








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Exposed To Show the Wood
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And you can see above that down the center is yet another set of lanterns. Here's the bottom of one:

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Bottom of a Lantern

dated 1879, sponsored by “Shimada Bank” and others

It's perhaps interesting to note that the lantern predates electricity
in Japan, and as such was likely actually used to provide light. It's also interesting to note that it predates the ability of non-Japanese to visit
anywhere near Kyoto. I mention this because the lantern was
sponsored in part by the “Shimada Money-Exchange Shop” (presumably part of
Shimada Bank, which got top billing).

This was a time where foreigners weren't allowed anywhere near Kyoto under pain of death, and only 11 years after
Japan “opened up to the outside” and Japanese themselves were allowed to leave Japan, so I think it's a telling indication
of the rapid change Japan underwent during this time that a money-exchange shop could do well enough to sponsor a shrine,
especially in an area where foreigners were not even potential customers.

As far as I can tell, Shimada Bank has been lost to the dust of time, but its gift remains all these generations later.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 2200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Duck Carving








Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Yet More Lanterns

For some serious lanterns, visit the small east entrance. Here's a wigglegram
showing the view from outside looking in:

div#dENq2Cn8dn8dUcA img { width:690px; height:460px; visibility:hidden; position:absolute; top:0; left:0; border: solid 10px #311}

















Animatable — slowly sweep mouse from side to side to view effect
写真の上をマウスで左右にゆっくり動かすといろいろな影響を見えます。
East-Entrance Wigglegram

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮)

1)return true;var x=Math.floor((e.clientX||e.pageX)/BW);if(X==0)X=x;else if(x!=X){var which=x>X?i+(x-X):i-(X-x);if(which>=I.length)which=I.length==2?0:I.length-1;else if(which


div#dENq2CB8dB8dwcA img { width:690px; height:459px; visibility:hidden; position:absolute; top:0; left:0; border: solid 10px #311}


















Animatable — slowly sweep mouse from side to side to view effect
写真の上をマウスで左右にゆっくり動かすといろいろな影響を見えます。
From the Inside
1)return true;var x=Math.floor((e.clientX||e.pageX)/BW);if(X==0)X=x;else if(x!=X){var which=x>X?i+(x-X):i-(X-x);if(which>=I.length)which=I.length==2?0:I.length-1;else if(which

Revisiting the main building where people were waiting in line to pray,
not many people seem to know it, but you can actually go inside. Here's the
view from its veranda looking out to the line of folks waiting to
pray...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/3200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Front Porch

with multiple sets of lanterns








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/125 sec, f/4, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Parallel View, Inside

The bulk of the building is closed to visitors. In a small landing leading from the back, a monk's sandals await his return...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/160 sec, f/1.2, ISO 1800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Monk's Sandals

Back outside the main building, I just love the detail of roofs made with many layers of thin ceder shingles...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Roof Detail

Here's a wigglegram look at the main building from the side, as one approaches from the east entrance we saw earlier.

div#dFNq2CQ8dQ8dncA img { width:690px; height:459px; visibility:hidden; position:absolute; top:0; left:0; border: solid 10px #311}
















Animatable — slowly sweep mouse from side to side to view effect
写真の上をマウスで左右にゆっくり動かすといろいろな影響を見えます。
Main Building From The Side
1)return true;var x=Math.floor((e.clientX||e.pageX)/BW);if(X==0)X=x;else if(x!=X){var which=x>X?i+(x-X):i-(X-x);if(which>=I.length)which=I.length==2?0:I.length-1;else if(which

And finally, because this is the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine, an obligatory plum-blossom shot:

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Bountiful Harvest

Honeybee in honeybee heaven
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I first posted about this shrine six years ago. I hope both
my photography and storytelling has improved a bit since.

Kyoto Plum-Blossom Preview: Scenes From a Year Ago Today

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Some Paths Have a Few Blossoms...
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/640 sec, f/5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

...Some Don't

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮), Kyoto Japan

I've been thinking that it's about time for a “spring blossom preview”
post, to look forward to the many plum, peach, and cherry blossoms that the
calendar will soon bring to Kyoto, and when I dip into my photo archive, lo
and behold I find that it was exactly a year ago today that I visited the
Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮) and its famous (but only just starting
to bloom) plum grove.

今日の写真はちょうど一年前（去年の二月二十二日）北野天満宮（京都市）で撮った写真です。

I've already posted the following from that visit:

Plum Orchard at the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine: Not Quite Prime Time
More Budding Plum From the Kitano Tenmangu Shrine
Yet More Early Plum at Kyoto’s Kitano Tenmangu Shrine

Still, one can never get enough pretty flowers, so here are some more to get me in the mood for the coming spring...

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/8, ISO 1400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Rich Plum

Kitano Tenmangu Shrine (北野天満宮)







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/5000 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Spacy Plum
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The plum at this location are in a variety of deep pinks and creamy whites, but the photo above is extra creamy because it was
shot at f/1.2.

Even farther on the creamy scale, the following was shot with a 50mm
f/1.2 lens “freelensed” for increased magnification. I took the lens off
the camera and held it in front of the camera, probably at a slightly-off
angle. The combination of imperfections and light leaks makes for a certain kind
of “dreamy” look if you're in a charitable mood, “crap” if not. Personally, I can't decide.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 freelensed — 1/3200 sec, f/1.2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Creamy Dreamy Freelensed
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At this point on the calendar the gardens are not yet crowded.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 50mm f/1.2 — 1/5000 sec, f/1.4, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Teeming Crowds







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 360 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Because I Can

( answer to why I keep putting up the same kind of blossom shot over and over )
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Every Which Way

looks like the antenna tower on an NSA building







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 450 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Sucker

I'm a sucker for “path” shots









Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/800 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Multiple Stages







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ready

I guess the stamen develop inside the bud. Makes sense, but I'd not thought about it before.







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 560 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Almost Ready







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading Out

of the garden, back to the main shrine grounds...
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 450 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Current-Visitor Count: One

at a minor side building
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Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/2.5, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Lantern Detail







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/4, ISO 2200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Confusing

too many layers for me to decipher what I'm looking at







Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/400 sec, f/2.5, ISO 1100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Lanterns
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(Three weeks later I paid another visit, and by then the
grove was in full bloom.)

Congrats to Jan and Brian: From Zero to $19 Billion in Five Years

Note: this article may not appear properly in news readers.

This article contains interactive aspects that are likely removed by most news readers. Please see this particular article directly on Jeffrey's blog for full functionality.

WhatsApp Messenger

A couple of ultimate-Frisbee friends
from my days at Yahoo!, Jan Koum and Brian Acton, went on to make a little messaging app with
the silly name “WhatsApp” that I've been running on my phone for a few
years. It's quite convenient for communicating with friends while on the
go.

It's much nicer than the traditional SMS phone messaging. “Frictionless
messaging”. That's why 320 million people actually use it every day. I last used it an hour ago to chat with my brother.

Anyway, I just found out that these friends sold their little messaging app to Facebook for $19,000,000,000.

I'm so thrilled for them.

It's particularly sweet for Brian because early on while he was “helping Jan on his app”, Brian applied for a job at Facebook. He was turned down:

Facebook turned me down. It was a great opportunity to connect with some fantastic people. Looking forward to life's next adventure.

— Brian Acton (@brianacton) August 3, 2009

So he went full-in with Jan on WhatsApp. Quite the adventure, indeed!

By the way, the “WhatsApp” name comes from their original idea for their
app... when I first started testing it for them
in early 2009, its intent was merely a
current-status tool, so your friends could see what you were doing
at the moment (“At the gym”, “in a meeting; don't bother me”, etc.). I tried to be
helpful in testing, but practically speaking I
didn't think it would be useful; who's going to go to the trouble to
keep the status updated all the time on the off chance that a friend will find the information useful?

I'm glad that they moved the focus to messaging.

Congrats to Jan, Brian, and their small team! Unlike winning the
lottery, this was earned, building something from scratch that
creates real value for others. WhatsApp spawned a slew of copycats (the
most popular being LINE, which appeals to the early-teen crowd, and
Facebook's own Messenger), but WhatsApp remains the Gold Standard for
mobile messaging. Simple. Clean. Fast. No ads. cross-platform. A dollar a year.

Finally, a little tidbit about Jan from the early days at Yahoo!  Jan used to be the
most hated person at Yahoo! among the engineers, because when he joined as
the first person with a clue about Internet security, he forced us all to
start using secure tools for communicating among our back-end machines. We
had been used to an easy free (but decidedly insecure) world, and Jan's changes were
inconvenient and disruptive. We all hated him for it. Of course, he was
absolutely right, and over time he earned the respect he was due.

Huge Main Gate of Kyoto’s Chion’in Temple

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 29mm — 1/100 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Prayer in Passing

Main gate of the Chion'in Temple (知恩院), Kyoto Japan

May 2013 · Nikon D4

I'd started to write up a blog post about the
once-in-every-hundred-years roof repair currently going on at the Chion'in Temple down the
street from me, and intended to note in that article that the temple is
perhaps best known for its big main gate, when I
realized that the big main gate has never appeared on my blog. I'm not sure how that's happened, but I'll rectify that
now with photos that I happen to have lying
around in my Lightroom catalog.

span.camnote { font-size:90%; color: aqua }





Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Checking Email

May 2013 · Nikon D4

The gate doesn't look all that big in the photos above, but believe me, it is all that big:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/160 sec, f/3.2, ISO 1800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Sense of Scale

Oct 2013 · Nikon D4









DCR-PC101 @ 3mm — 1/100 sec, f/5.6 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Earliest Shot I Could Find

Jan 2006 · still frame from a Sony DCR-PC101 video camera

3-year-old Anthony with former-neighbor-in-California Brian Preetz

The shot above came just a few days after my point-n-shoot had broken
and been sent for repair, and I'd decided to move up to my first dSLR
but had not yet received it. So I was shooting stills with a circa-2002
video camera. Ugh.

I ended up receiving the dSLR I'd ordered (a Nikon D200) the next day.
My initial results with it were better than with the video camera, of course, but it took
a while before I grew into it. Anyway, here's a shot of Chion'in's gate with that Nikon D200 after I'd had a couple of years' experience under my belt:

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 at an effective 33mm — 20 sec, f/5.6, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Shot with a Tripod

March 2008 · Nikon D200

The gate can be quite pretty at night, but one needs a tripod to shot it properly, and I'm generally too lazy. I did head out with a tripod six years ago for
“Kyoto Higashiyama “Hanatoro” Lightup Event” and on the way apparently took
the shot above.

Several years ago the road leading up to the temple was redone with nice lighting, and for this a tripod is a must, but again, I'm too lazy,
but since I'm not too bad at
holding steady for a longish exposure, I sometimes give it a shot if I'm walking by at night and happen to have
the camera. Here's one such handheld attempt:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 35mm — 1/8 sec handheld, f/2.8, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Road to Chion'in

May 2013 · Nikon D4

I'd also tried to photograph the nicely-lit path the day I got that D4, and the following photo appeared on
my blog in “Took My New Nikon D4 Out For A Spin At Night (Before Reading The Manual)”:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/4 sec, f/4.5, ISO 12800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Path To The Chion'in Temple

July 2012 · Nikon D4

long exposure while propping the camera on a short light post

The gate wasn't lit up at the time, so it's almost imperceptible in the background shadows, but technically this does count as
an appearance on my blog so I guess today's post is not really its first appearance.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 85mm f/1.4 — 1/200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 360 —
map & image data — nearby photos

More Scale

Nov 2013 · Nikon D4









Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 36mm — 1/80 sec, f/2.8, ISO 3600 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ambiance-Destructing Commercialism

Nov 2013 · Nikon D4

One evening last fall I came across the beautiful scene in front of the
gate marred by a marketing display by Tesla Motors. This was particularly
disappointing because I own stock in the company, but I suppose the temple
has to make money somehow to pay for the every-100-years roof repair. (I
don't know who owns the land here, separated from the temple by a public
street, but I assume it's the temple.) A few days later the scene was
repeated with BMW, so I guess there's some comfort in knowing it wasn't
just Tesla.

And while on the subject of Tesla Motors, they weren't sold yet in Japan at the time so it was my first time
to actually see one, and the in-dash navigation system was positively pornographic in excess:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 66mm — 1/160 sec, f/2.8, ISO 1100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Nav Screen Bigger Than a Child

at 24", it's bigger than my screens at home

Nov 2013 · Nikon D4

Anyway, now that I've gotten Chion'in's gate out of the way, I can go ahead and write the blog post about the main building's roof repair.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50mm — 1/50 sec, f/3.5, ISO 6400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

May 2013 · Nikon D4

To be continued...

From the Garden to the House at the Seifuso Villa

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

View from The Back

from the back of the garden at the Seifuso Villa (清風荘), Kyoto Japan
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Slowly making progress from the outing already seen in:

Entrance Foyer to the Seifuso Villa in Kyoto
Approaching the Tea House
Between the Tea House and the Garden

(with photos also appearing here and here).

In the previous
post we had finally reached the garden, so now we'll take a short walk through
it...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/100 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Garden Path

Seifuso Villa (清風荘)








Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/250 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Shortcut over a Stream
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/800 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Stylized Shade

The light was pretty difficult that day, quickly changing from
brilliantly harsh to utterly dull. The shot above is from a latter moment,
stylized a bit in Lightroom.

(By the way, I've come to the conclusion that when I say “the light was
difficult”, I really mean “I'm just not skillful enough”; doing somthing funky in Lightroom
afterwards, as above, can often reclaim some value.)

On the other hand, the lead photo is pretty much as it was captured in camera. But successes outside in the sun that day were rare.
Here's another “stylized” result from 30 seconds after “Stylized Shade” when the sun was suddenly shining like, er, the sun:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/200 sec, f/1.4, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Stylized Sun

Making our way all the way around the lake, we finally arrive at the main residence,
which we haven't seen yet in these posts, except its photogenic entrance
foyer. Here we've come upon the outside of what might be comparable to the main residence's livingroom:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/5.6, ISO 3600 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Back Door

to the livingroom

Turning around to look back at the garden, you can get a sense for why the garden was placed as it was:

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/5.6, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Not Half Bad

view from the livingroom

And then actually stepping in and looking out, the exposure for the dark inside makes for a less accurate view
of the outside, but it's still a nice shot...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24mm f/1.4 — 1/50 sec, f/5.6, ISO 1400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The Living Room

and its not-half-bad view
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By the way, the long bamboo crosspiece on the floor in the right half of
the image is there for the rare occasion when grounds are open to the
public, to indicate to visitors approaching from outside that even though
the doors may be open to grant an unrestricted view of the inside, entry
inside is now allowed.

My visit, on the other hand, thanks to kind arrangements by my host,
Will Baber of Kyoto University, was absolutely Full Monty unrestricted.

To be continued...

It’s All About the Big Lens: Garnering Attention at the Kyoto City Marathon

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 360 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Hamming It Up for the Camera

near the end of the 2012 Kyoto City Marathon

2012 京都マラソン

There's something about the physical size of the Nikkor 300mm f/2 lens
(also seen here)
that
draws smiles and attention wherever it goes. I had it out a couple of years ago for the 2012 Kyoto City Marathon,
and with the 2014 race coming up this weekend, I was reminded of a post from 2012 that I've been meaning to write.

Because I've seen many fun reactions to the big lens (such as seen here and here), it didn't surprise
me when folks hammed it up a bit for it when I positioned myself at the
last turn of the marathon, perhaps 20 seconds from the finish line. People seemed to notice it from quite a distance away,
even though I was in a scrum of folks with cameras. It's a big lens.

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 280 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Some Folks Just Look








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Some Wave








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Fist Pump








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Victory








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 320 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Peace








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 450 —
map & image data — nearby photos

As Macho

as having just run 26 miles can leave someone








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/2500 sec, f/2, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Too Tired

I was happy people were reacting to the lens, but the number of folks
having the energy to do that after having run 26 miles seemed oddly high to me,
so it make complete sense when I stepped away from the throng of folks at the turn and
noticed that I'd been right beside a big “SMILE” sign!

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/1000 sec, f/4, ISO 220 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Smile

for an official race photographer








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/250 sec, f/22, ISO 3600 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Official Photographer

photographed by a runner

Of course, I felt really silly having thought that everyone was smiling just at my lens. Luckily, no one else
knew my self-centered secret.

I moved around the corner to aim at the finish...

Nikon D700 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/2000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading Around the Corner








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/1000 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Final Stretch








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/800 sec, f/2, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Not Very Satisfying

photographically speaking








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/3200 sec, f/2, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Slightly to the Side was Better

but still not great








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/3200 sec, f/2, ISO 800 —
map & image data — nearby photos

That Guy Had a Good View

he was not standing on anything; he's the tallest person I've seen in real life








Nikon D700 + Nikkor 300mm f/2 — 1/3200 sec, f/2, ISO 900 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Finish

The 2014 Kyoto City Marathon is this weekend and the finish line is right by my place, so I may pop out again to see whether I can't do
something more photographically worthy...