Giouji Temple Part 2: Gate and Walls
Formal Entrance Gate at Giouji Temple, Kyoto Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 22mm — 1/60 sec, f/2.8, ISO 640 — map & image datanearby photos
Formal Entrance Gate at Giouji Temple, Kyoto Japan

In the post yesterday about my trip to Giouji Temple (祇王寺) in western Kyoto, I commented about the formal entry gate (seen in the background of the second photo on that post). The picture above is the view of the gate while looking over the little door in the front wall.

The formal entry gate, having no doors to be closed or locked, seems to serve no practical function whatsoever. It just looks nice. Well, I guess on a rainy day it might provide some protection, but that's about it. It just looks nice.

You can see above how thick the thatched roof is... perhaps a foot thick.

Gate Roof -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 70-200mm f/2.8 @ 70mm — 1/40 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image datanearby photos
Gate Roof

Standing under the gate facing back toward the front wall, you see this little wall just to your left....

Thatched Wall -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 26mm — handheld, 1/13 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image datanearby photos
Thatched Wall

Yesterday was an overcast, somewhat blustery day that felt like rain would come at any moment (although it never did), so it was somewhat dark to begin with, and much more so under the dense tree cover in the temple area. So even with a fast f/2.8 lens and sensitivity pushed up to ISO 800, I still suffered long shutter times like the 1/13 sec of the shot above. Because I was doing this all handheld (tripods are not allowed), some results were clearly fuzzy (er, so to speak).

Still, I felt that both I and the camera were “in the zone” because some shots were really crisp and didn't show any of the high-ISO noise that the Nikon D200 is known for and that I frequently see in practice (although the lack of noise could be the new noise reduction of the beta of Lightroom version 1.1 that I'm currently testing).

One such “in the zone” shot is the next one, also at 1/13 sec, completely handheld. The fuzzy shot above is just to show the context of this one, taken while directly facing the wall edge on. I wanted to show the construction: bamboo top, wooden “roof,” and thatched wall.

Thatched Wall, Edge On -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 20mm — handheld, 1/13 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image datanearby photos
Thatched Wall, Edge On

I really love how they let the construction return to nature. The one above seems to be relatively new, with minimal rotting and minimal moss. Yet turning around from that position to see the opposite wall shows a much older one in an advanced state of serene....

Older Thatched Wall -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 17mm — handheld, 1/8 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image datanearby photos
Older Thatched Wall

The shot above was another “in the zone” shot, handheld at 1/8 sec yet crisp even at full resolution.

Looking further down the same wall, three's a section that was built around a tree, which I thought was interesting

The Old “Tree Through The Wall” Trick -- Kyoto, Japan -- Copyright 2007 Jeffrey Eric Francis Friedl, http://regex.info/blog/
Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55 f/2.8 @ 17mm — handheld, 1/10 sec, f/2.8, ISO 800 — map & image datanearby photos
The Old “Tree Through The Wall” Trick

Most of the walls were like this, which I found positively lovely. There is another more formal type of wall in one area of the grounds, which will be the subject of a later post....


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