Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/9, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Heavy Burden

I posted one set of pictures from yesterday's snow in Kyoto, from the morning. I hope some of the pictures were nice, but mostly they were for storytelling – not for their intrinsic beauty – because the lack of beauty in the photos accurately reflected the snowy urban reality of the scene.

However, later in the day, I found myself in northern Kyoto, just before the city ends and the mountains begin, just as a snowstorm ended and a brilliantly rich, blue sky was emerging. This time, my pictures' lack of intrinsic beauty is a reflection of my lack of photographic skill, because the scene was stunningly beautiful.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/9, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos

As with the heavy snow the other day, there wasn't all that much snow, but it was marked by its ability to instantly stick to whatever it touched. The picture above is a close up of the tree seen in the first picture of this post — just look how much snow is piled on top of the most tenuous, wispy little twigs and stems.

Where the sky had not yet broken though, it was pretty much completely monochromatic. Here's the same tree from a different angle, a few minutes earlier.

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 35 mm — ¹/2000 sec, f/3.2, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Monochromatic

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 40 mm — ¹/3200 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Bridge

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 17 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/11, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking South From The Bridge

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/7.1, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Looking North From The Bridge

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/640 sec, f/4.5, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
just to add a bit of color...
More Berries
(there are lots of red berries in Kyoto)

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/250 sec, f/9, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Frosted Mountains

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/3000 sec, f/5, ISO 250 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Another Heavily-Burdened Tree
Every tree was the same; the trick was to get one with no power lines in the shot

Just to add a bit more color, the red of this car hood is absolutely blinding on my new Eizo monitor....

Nikon D200 + Nikkor 17-55mm f/2.8 @ 55 mm — ¹/1000 sec, f/2.8, ISO 100 — full exif & map — nearby photos
Enthusiastically Red