Taran and Kate at the Heian Shrine, Part 2

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 400 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Ritual Cleansing

before entering the shrine

— at the Heian Shrine, Kyoto Japan —

Today's post follows “Taran and Kate
at the Heian Shrine”, where I posted a few
shots (and a wigglegram!) from a photoshoot the other day. Recent MBA-graduates Taran and Kate were looking to have some
photos taken while on vacation in Japan, and got put in touch with me. I haven't done much real
photography in a long while, except last month's mini
session at Kyoto Tea Ceremony Camellia GARDEN, so I wasn't sure what to expect from myself.

We first met to get to know each other a bit over coffee, and I found them to be a fun couple with super-photogenic smiles,
so I knew I'd have an easy time of it.

Nikon D4 + Voigtländer 125mm f/2.5 — 1/500 sec, f/4, ISO 160 —
map & image data — nearby photos

First Photo

of the day

We started with the typical “in front of the gate” shots...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 48mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

The little orange fence thing is there to stop people from driving in, because the front area can certainly look like a parking lot. At first it wasn't quite centered to the gate, which drives me insane, so I moved it over. I should have expected how heavy it was... it's solid wood. Ugh! But so worth it to have things centered.

(Now that I think about it, it's probably good that it's no longer blocking the path that the yellow dimple bricks
lead a sight-impaired person on. Prior to my moving it, they would have run right into it.)

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 102mm — 1/1250 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Such Easy Smiles

Before heading in, they did the “ritual cleansing” one's supposed
to do before entering a Shinto shrine. Taran used to live in Japan so he knows the ropes, including
tipping the ladle up at the end to let the last bit of water drain down the handle, cleansing it from your touch....

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 250 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Final Step







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 31mm — 1/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Heading In







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 40mm — 1/500 sec, f/9, ISO 1000 —
map & image data — nearby photos







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 24mm — 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 720 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Posed Shot

The Heian Shrine is a photogenic place, so there are lots of opportunities for nice posed shots, made all the better by there
being so few visitors at the moment. I tried to also let them move about to enjoy at their own pace, to
get more candid-ish shots.

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/500 sec, f/8, ISO 200 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Guided Tour

Taran has been here before, so he showed Kate around







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 130mm — 1/640 sec, f/8, ISO 100 —
map & image data — nearby photos







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 125mm — 1/2500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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“Hey!”

I'd interrupt their stroll occasionally by grabbing their attention







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 80mm — 1/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 —
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... and posing them for a nice shot







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

Walking by the tree filled with omikuji (which I explain on this
post almost a decade ago), I noticed one had fallen down, so I asked them to put it back onto the tree for the camera.

Eventually we went into the gardens...

Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 34mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 2500 —
map & image data — nearby photos

“Pretend”

that you're relaxing. Relax harder!

(Saying silly things sometimes garners a nice smile)







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 26mm — 1/500 sec, f/3.2, ISO 640 —
map & image data — nearby photos







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50mm — 1/500 sec, f/3.2, ISO 450 —
map & image data — nearby photos

of course I had to pull them back for a shot on the bridge







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 50mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 900 —
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Nikon D4 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 150mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 4000 —
map & image data — nearby photos

exposed for the very dark area under a tree







Nikon D4 + Nikkor 24-70mm f/2.8 @ 56mm — 1/500 sec, f/2.8, ISO 720 —
map & image data — nearby photos

Teeming Crowds

we had to wait a full minute to have the lake to ourselves

To be continued...