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.

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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...